I haven’t posted any reports on here in years. But we all complain about the lack of trip reports and there seems to be an influx of them in the later part of this season, so I’ll do my part as well.
Hunting this buck was incredibly exciting. I haven’t had my heart rate jacked all season like I had trying to get to him. I parked and it was just getting light out. Geared up and went straight up the wet, slippery slopes of region 2. I was seeing almost no sign at all, but I no longer let that discourage me. Lots of times I haven’t seen any sign, only to see a whole bunch coming down 100 feet from the way I took up. No big deal. I had my Google Earth target to get to before I really began my hunt.
The grueling steep climb took 1.5hrs. I caught my breath, drank some water and began to work the side of the hill. The name of the game now was “snails pace”. Few steps then stop and glass and listen. Rinse and repeat. I covered more ground than I thought I would have, but I guess that’s what happens when you have few reasons to stop. I ran into a couple of does and watched them for a long time but no buck anywhere near. I started to wonder if the rut was completely over. I mean, it was December after all.
It was now 2pm and I started to work my way down the hill. It would be dark soon, and I was getting tired of the wind knocking snow off the tree tops onto my head. I saw a nice clearing on my way up that would offer a good opportunity to still hunt so I decided I was going to do that for a while and rest my legs. Just as I was making my way to a rock I wanted to sit on I spotted another doe. 60 yards down and aware of my presence. She stared at me for a few seconds then went back to feeding. Perfect. I grabbed the binos and began to scan. Slowly sweeping one way, then back. Rinse and repeat, again.
After 15 minutes of this I caught movement of another deer. 30 yards behind the doe and behind too much brush to tell what it was. But I kept my binos on it as best as I could. The deer walked back and forth 3 or 4 times. Now I started to think he might be a buck … Perhaps he smelled me, but really wanted to get to that doe? Maybe it’s all in my head? As I was analyzing this in my own head, the deer finally showed his own. Standing between two close trees all I could see was his forehead and spike antlers. Just a little guy. Always nice to see a buck, regardless, right? Then he took a step forward.
He stepped a foot forward and turned his head to the side. It was now I came to realize he’s no spike. That was just his brow tines I could see earlier! He was actually a pretty good buck! My hands got the jitters. He was dancing all over in my binoculars. But he was still hidden. I could not move. There’s no trying for a different angle. There’s no standing up now. The doe between me and him was the only hope I had that he wouldn’t just keep walking behind the brush in the other direction. But, she wasn’t much help. In the 10 minutes she finished her feeding and bedded down.
It was now 3pm. Light was already starting to fade in the timber. I’d been watching him for probably 10 minutes and he wasn’t stepping out on his own. I reached into my pack slowly and pulled out my rattle bag. Convenient to carry, but not great for reproducing real antler sounds. I’m no buck and even I can tell it sounds fake. But what if I give him just a little? Just a taste to pique his interest? I had nothing to lose. I took the strap off and gave a 5 second rattle. Slow start then a couple of loud rattles.
It bloody worked! I could see his white throat patch trotting out from the brush. He came right out and looked directly at me. He only stepped out 10 feet. But, it was 10 feet too far. My rifle had already been shouldered in anticipation of his reaction and my nerves completely calm in the 10 minutes I’d been watching him. The crosshairs found their mark and I gave the trigger a steady squeeze. I watched him fall over through my scope. No stumble, no struggle. He fell out of view, but I knew he was down for good.
I grabbed my things and made my way down the hill. The doe that was there let me get to what felt like 20 feet before bouncing away. I was thrilled. He’s no wall hanger, but he’s a great buck. Nice chestnut antlers. Awesome brow tines. Very cool knurling on the bases … and a big ol’ body on him too. He was great. I was happy with him. I happily cut my third and final deer tag of the season on this guy and proceeded to debone him on the mountain. By the time I wrapped everything up it was pitch black. The rifle was strapped to the pack and off came the trekking poles.
It took 2.5 hours to haul him out of there. The ground was soaking wet. I was soaking wet. In some sections I spent more time sliding down on my butt than I did on my feet. The hike was terrible. Every step you took you either slipped on a fallen log or you fell through between some logs. A thick layer of wet and slippery leaves covered the ground so that you couldn’t see anything underneath. A nightmare. To make matters worse several times perfectly spaced water droplets on the underside of a branch would reflect in my headlamp and for a split second make me think a cat was after me! But, I took my time and made it out injury free. Got to the road and had about a quarter mile hike back to the vehicle. Loaded him in the back, downed an entire bottle of Gatorade, and drove back home with a big smile on my face and a good feeling of accomplishment.
Rifle: Tikka t3 243 Winchester + Leupold VX1 3-9x40
Bullet: Handloaded 100g Nosler Partition.
I don’t think you can get any better than a 243Win for hunting blacktails. It’s perfect.
The bases have a lot of character for sure. And look at that big ol' nose on him. I was happy with him.
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