A few PICS from this year...

[steepNdeep]

Don't get much time to hunt these days, but I had fun trying to make the most of it this year...

Had a blast chasin' coastal blacktails in September. I had a couple days to learn some new country & try to fill the freezer. An old friend pointed me to this spot & I got into deer the first night as I still hunted along the edge of a nice flat cut. The wind was still & the deer were just starting to creep out of the thick timber. I saw glimpses of 5 of them, but they were so small they disappeared quickly in the fireweed... The next morning I watched a few does in the cut. No bucks... That afternoon I climbed a tree in the same spot thinking it was a gimme, but the wind swirled & I didn't see a single deer. :lol: I forgot how wiley these little jungle dwellers can be, since bow hunting them when I first started hunting..

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/bsunset.jpg

Decided to find some new country the next morning & drove ~40km to a spot I google-scouted. I met a retired C.O. from AB camping, we bs'd hunting & he confirmed that the area looked good. I road hunted some cuts learning the area & saw quite a few does, but no bucks. Late in the morning, last chance of the trip, I decided to go for a little hike up a steep open draw & found a nice secluded little bowl. I sat & glassed. As the sun was just hitting the spot, a nice buck finally stepped out of the thick brush where I'd been hearing movement. I tried to line him up at 80m, but the sun filled my scope. He had me pegged, disappeared & started climbing. I tried to cover the sun with one hand & missed a shot as he topped out over the hill...

Just as I was getting mad, out popped his little buddy, who had no idea what happened. Same problem & he disappeared as I tried to find him in the glowing scope. I got a couple glimpses of him as he followed his buddy's trail through the bush. He stopped to rub a big bush & I could see the top of it moving in my scope. If he kept going, there was a good opening for a shot... I got the sun sorted & after ~5 min. he stepped out & I dropped him. Stoked to get one down! He's my first blacktail, cool little buck, prob. 4 or 5 yrs. old (based on his teeth & antler mass). His buddy looked a couple years older & bigger (same 2pt frame). Next year... )

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/blacktail.jpg

[LuckyIfYouGetOne]

Nice write up and buck

[dougan]

Great buck he defiantly has mass !

[steepNdeep]

Thanks boys! Fun quick hunt. I was surprised how old that buck was, considering he only weighed ~120 lbs (about the size of my bro's dog). I don't know much about blacktails, but from what I've seen, it seems that the coastal & island deer have genetics similar to alaska's sitka blacktails. Whereas, the 200+ lb blacktail around Pemberton are basically muleys with a black tail.

Where do the 'lines' for sitkas end & muleys start?

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/bfoot.jpg

[MB_Boy]

Hey Buddy...the descriptor for Columbia Blacktail boundaries is at the link below. Nice buck! :wink:


https://www.boone-crockett.org/bgRecords/records_boundaries.asp?area=bgRecords

[kennyj]

Nice solid looking buck! Just genetically small I guess. Good going.
kenny

[steepNdeep]

Thanks kenny. The twitchy little buggers are fun to hunt - like whitetails in prickly bush. Anyone know what's the ~average weight of deer on Vancouver Island?

Good info MB_Boy. Get out for chromers much this year?
.
I'm lovin' the surf N turf in the back yard & eat a lot more seafood these days. Had some crab for lunch today...


http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/spoint.jpg

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/scrabs.jpg


4 salmon rivers close to home. Fished a couple of them this fall...


http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/scoho.jpg

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/sriver.jpg

[IronNoggin]

... I don't know much about blacktails, but from what I've seen, it seems that the coastal & island deer have genetics similar to alaska's sitka blacktails. Whereas, the 200+ lb blacktail around Pemberton are basically muleys with a black tail.

You think along the same lines as I do.
I've taken a good handful of Island Bucks, and a lot of Mulies over the years.
There is truly NO comparison between these on The Rock, and those in Pemberton.
They are vastly different animals, and should likely be classed as such IMO.

As for your question regarding "average size" of Island Blacktails, most fully mature bucks will only run around 150 or so on the hoof. There are exceptions - I did take an older regress buck that went over 225, but they are exceedingly rare.

Nice Deuce!
Welcome to the Addiction!! :twisted:

Cheers,
Nog

[Squamch]

Great pics, and a very respectable island deer!

I would agree with Nog, over 200lb is a thumper of a deer. I've shot one, and seen two...within 200 yards of each other. Average "good" deer on the island is in the 150lb range. My two biggest were 148lb hanging, skinned, legs off, head on, and 121lb in the same state.

[steepNdeep]

Average "good" deer on the island is in the 150lb range.


most fully mature bucks will only run around 150 or so on the hoof.

Nice Deuce! Welcome to the Addiction!! :twisted:

Thx - I figured ~150. Yep, yummy too! I'll be back... )


Closer to home, I enjoyed a few hikes in the mountains & got into a few goats.

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/gpip.jpg

Didn't buy a tag this year & found 'em lower than we did last year. 8 hours of nasty bushwhacking to break into the alpine. But it was worth the hike to get into some amazing country, waterfalls everywhere, glaciers, hanging lakes...

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/glake.jpg

Sleeping in bear burritos makes for interesting dreams in grizz country! lol

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/gcamp.jpg


Filled the freezer with chanterelle mushrooms. Awesome with BBQ'd backstraps!

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/gmush.jpg

[ElectricDyck]

Great Pics!

[jacksondog]

WTG Dean, your Avatar pic looks like a beauty buck as well.

[HarryToolips]

Beauty BT, and love the pics, fantastic country....I'm happy I got the pack alarm, helps to sleep a,little better in griz country, worth the $$, works well..

[steepNdeep]

Beauty BT, and love the pics, fantastic country....I'm happy I got the pack alarm, helps to sleep a,little better in griz country, worth the $$, works well..

Thanks. I usually just throw some dry branches in the likely approach routes as an alarm. I'll have to check out the pack alarm...



WTG Dean, your Avatar pic looks like a beauty buck as well.

Thanks Gord. I've shot mostly typicals over the years & I'm looking for a gnarly old non-typical (like your av' stud)... Every species is fun to hunt in their own way, but for me nothing beats chasing muleys in the high country.

http://fluidstudios.ca/UP/mfire.jpg

I spent a few days hunting some of my remote spots (that weren't being pounded by the wolves) in late October snow - any buck season. Despite the wind & -15'C temps, it was an awesome hunt - lots of bucks cruisin' & even got to watch a couple scraps.... :cool:

Here's a few clips (click on the vid' title to watch full-screen in youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQmyTW5QG2w&feature=youtu.be

[steepNdeep]

Apparently, I've taken muley conservation to heart & only shoot 'em with the camera now... lol I had my finger on the trigger with a couple of mature bucks, but just not the one that would motivate me to spend days packing out of a deep hole. It was satisfying to finally catch a big bruiser moving in daylight on the tail end of a storm, in an opening of a steep draw that I'd stalked big tracks down into in the past.

http://fluidstudios.tv/UP/m30.jpg
A 30+" muley that only showed up in the dark...

I laugh when guys talk about 'trophy hunters'. Everyone that I know hunts for meat. The difference is that some guys shoot the first legal buck they see, but others enjoy the experience & have the motivation & patience to be more selective.

To me, the antlers are just a token that honours the memories of the animal & the hunt. The natives who respected their animals more than most, utilized the whole carcass, including the rack. For a while, hunting was a lifestyle (& hopefully will be again one day) - shed hunting, scouting, checking trail cams & spending season(s) hunting for particular animals. The more that you put into the hunt, the more memories are evoked when you look at a rack...


There was a dominant 3x3 that I was tempted to shoot. Does anyone know the genetic probablility of bucks passing on their 3 x 3 rack?

[twoSevenO]

Nice video! Looks like you had a heck of a time out there this season. Beautiful country!

How do you film those bucks? Were they close enough that you just used the camera on its own?

I tried to film some bucks early this season that I saw, but through the spotting scope it was just too shaky in the end.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Great stuff, Dean!
Thanks for getting back on the sharing train!

SSS

[Sitkaspruce]

Great stuff, Dean!
Thanks for getting back on the sharing train!

SSS

X2, great to see you back sharing your trips!!

Thanks!!

Cheers

SS

[klondikemike]

Thanks for sharing, thoroughly enjoyed the awesome pics and movie.

[steepNdeep]

Thanks boys!


Thanks for getting back on the sharing train!


X2, great to see you back sharing your trips!!

Just tryin' to walk the talk... (unlike some of the preachers on this site these days ; )



How do you film those bucks? Were they close enough that you just used the camera on its own?

Mostly with the camera at 2-300 m & the blurry shots were with my phone. I suck at video, had some SD card issues & missed some bucks.
I never try to film bucks that I'm thinking about shooting. Unlike LEH hunts in AB or US, big bucks here are few n far between & rarely stick their heads out in daylight for long...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TtVQNPU7vw&feature=youtu.be

For those that missed it, that was my welcome to Region 3 this year... I had 3 different packs howling around me from different mountains for ~20 minutes.

Parts of Regions 3 & 4 are infested with wolves now, which is why the wildlife biologists set no bag limit or closed season for wolves there. They are moving down from the north & up westward from the states starting to chew their way through Reg. 8. They have completely changed hunting in BC since I saw my first wolf near the border ~15 years ago...

As part of wildlife conservation, wolf populations have to be managed like all other species... Everyone needs to do their part to help or they have no right to complain about dwindling ungulate populations. Get out there & support your local wildlife organization & http://www.bcwf.net/index.php/about/our-mission

[steepNdeep]

Thanks boys! Just tryin' to walk the talk... (unlike some of the preachers on this site these days ; )


Thanks for getting back on the sharing train!


X2, great to see you back sharing your trips!!

Great to see some of the original hardcores still around!



How do you film those bucks? Were they close enough that you just used the camera on its own?

270 - Mostly with the camera at 2-300 m & the blurry shots were with my phone. I suck at video, had some SD card issues & missed filmin' some bucks.
I never try to film bucks that I'm thinking about shooting. Unlike LEH hunts in AB or US, big bucks here are few n far between & rarely stick their heads out in daylight for long...

VOLUME +++ & LISTEN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TtVQNPU7vw&feature=youtu.be

For those that missed it, that was my welcome to Region 3 this year... I had 3 different packs howling around me from different mountains for ~20 minutes.

Parts of Regions 3 & 4 are infested with wolves now, which is why the wildlife biologists set no bag limit or closed season for wolves there. They are moving down from the north & up westward from the states starting to chew their way through Reg. 8. They have completely changed hunting in BC since I saw my first wolf near the border ~15 years ago...

As part of wildlife conservation, wolf populations have to be managed like all other species... Everyone needs to do their part to help or they have no right to complain about dwindling ungulate populations. Get out there & support your local wildlife organization & http://www.bcwf.net/index.php/about/our-mission