Author Topic: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season  (Read 10105 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Bryce

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 3,125
  • Pacific Ghost Longbows
My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« on: November 08, 2020, 12:51:16 am »
 I'll try to make this quick and short:)
I had only a few days to hunt deer this year. In my unit the season is only a month long but i only hunt the last two weeks since blacktails hit the rut just a week before Halloween. They need that cold and rain to push em into sexy-time. Any other time blacktails are extremely nocturnal. seeing them in the day, even in the early mornings or late evenings isn't very common.
Since I'm injured i use my wheeler to get to and from my hunting blind. well for some reason i was having fuel infection issues and wasn't feeling great about getting stranded in the woods and having to wheel myself back to the house through the impossibly thick moss covered everything rain-forest that is the pacific northwest.
 After a bit of diagnostic work i had figured out the problem and needed to buy some parts which wouldn't arrive until after the 5th of November. mind you at this point it was only the 22nd of October.
After some thought i decided to risk it. did a bit of some jimmy-rig'n and chicken wire BS and brought some essential tools along with me, just in case.

  That morning i hadn't seen a single critter. only 2 forked bucks early in the a.m. the previous day. other than those two it was quiet. I knew there was a larger buck in the area that i had seen pre-season while surveying for a new spot to plant the ground blind. I was just waiting for him. i really have a hard time harvesting young deer. i like to maintain the practice of scouting and finding a mature buck that has lived his prime and can fill more than half a shelf in the freezer (blacktails are small when compared to other species of deer) and i know others don't agree with this practice saying that its not always an option, and you cant eat antlers. to which i can agree with, slightly. i.e. if it was coming down to the end of the season and things are looking grim then by all means take whats legal. i know i would, since we dont get our meats from anywhere other than the woods.

 Anyways back to it. i had gotten to the point that i had eaten all i had brought with me. but i was still starving lol kind of to the point it hurt my stomach. and there wasn't much to gather around me. mostly just Wood Sorrel to graze on and keep the stomach aches at bay lol. then it was about 11:30am. i thought "ok, I'll jet back to the house grab some food and come right back. hopefully not startle any critters while im at it...i know, impossible"
Well as i was rolling out of the blind i could barely hear the sound of a mossy twig snap. which sounded less like a snap more like a *tunk* or something like that LOL.
 So i hunkered down and waited, hoping my stomach wouldn't make any disturbing noises. As i waited and listened, a group of 3 Doe's where slowly making their way through the timber.
Being that the rut had just barely started to kick off, this was a bit weird behavior for female blacktails. but i also thought "okay 3 doe's..... at least one of them has to be throwing out that irresistible sexy stank". I waited and as i suspected, a buckaroo was tailing these 3 ladies. and it was THE Buck i had put on my list. it took him about 20 or so minutes from the time i first saw him, for him to get within range of my bow.
as i watched him he looked very aggravated and distracted. kept racking everything in sight with his headgear and would try fighting with the branches laying on the ground. all i could do was observe with most of my attention drawn to the spot i wanted to shoot, but it just wasn't right. the situation wasn't ready for me yet. and he was standing in an awkward angle. all i could do was stare.... then he took that front step, pushing his front leg forward, his eyes glued to the doe's as they ate lichen off the lower branches of the fir trees. without a thought of any kind or inner monologue, i remember nothing else but watching the fletching spin through the air and completely vanish into that pacific ghost-grey fur of his. i cant even recall drawing the bow.
 The arrow passed through with, what looked like an almost friction-less encounter. as it hit the moss carpet on the adjacent side he slammed his feet to the ground and looked directly at the arrow with confusion, as his blood ran down the fletching onto the ground. i started to count. 1..2..3.. his front legs buckled and the entire front half of his body refused to work. but the back side wouldn't give up. even managed a few steps, but that just pushed his face and chest harder into the dirt..5..6..all of him was now, at rest.
unfortunately the stone point had broken. but i figured it was worth the sacrifice, after all that point had killed 2 previous deer for 2018 and 2019 season and even a smug coyote. maybe it was just too tired to stay in 1 piece after all that:D
oh yeah and i had finally made myself a knife for once lol. i used a file, elk femur, abalone, and aquamarine gems.

***heres the link to the knife if you wanted to check that out a bit***
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,68983.0.html

  Anyways hes a beautiful 7 year old, 4x4 with a gorgeous double white patch. i could not be happier with the result. here are a few pics thanks for check'n out my story.









 Momma with her twins. the little button buck sticks close to mom while sister wonders off lol






and a few Coho taking flight in the nearby creek



Clatskanie, Oregon

Offline chamookman

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,971
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #1 on: November 08, 2020, 02:55:26 am »
Congrats on the Buck, thats a Dandy  :OK ! Bob
"May the Gods give Us the strength to draw the string to the cheek, the arrow to the barb and loose the flying shaft, so long as life may last." Saxon Pope - 1923.

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,462
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #2 on: November 08, 2020, 07:19:45 am »
Again, Bryce, you are my hero!  Well done.   :OK :OK
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Bad juju

  • Member
  • Posts: 24
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2020, 07:49:01 am »
Congrats on a nice blacktail

I grew up in southwest BC hunting blacktail and miss hunting them. It’s the only hunt that I got excited when it was raining

Offline WhistlingBadger

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,576
  • Future Expert
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2020, 07:35:45 am »
Thanks for sharing, Bryce.  Congratulations.  T
Thomas
Lander, Wyoming
"The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.
Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for."
~Louis L'Amour

Offline JW_Halverson

  • Member
  • Posts: 11,823
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2020, 09:05:40 am »
Sounds like you caught him completely unawares and quite literally could not figure out a reason to jump out of fear. These quick and clean kills are the goal. Good job on the woods skills that made this possible.

Nice day's work, you pinecone!
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline Bryce

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 3,125
  • Pacific Ghost Longbows
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2020, 09:39:06 am »
Congrats on the Buck, thats a Dandy  :OK ! Bob

Thanks man:)

Again, Bryce, you are my hero!  Well done.   :OK :OK

Lol thanks Pat! I think slowing down and sitting still longer has given me a slight edge that I didn’t think to utilize before.

Congrats on a nice blacktail

I grew up in southwest BC hunting blacktail and miss hunting them. It’s the only hunt that I got excited when it was raining

Ah! So you know the blacktail struggle!  Where abouts? We used to live in Bellingham, then over by Cowachin lake. And then the southern end of Vancouver Is. before we came back to the states.

Thanks for sharing, Bryce.  Congratulations.  T

Thank you sir

Sounds like you caught him completely unawares and quite literally could not figure out a reason to jump out of fear. These quick and clean kills are the goal. Good job on the woods skills that made this possible.

Nice day's work, you pinecone!


Yeah could be! I think he was so love drunk that nothing else mattered. Which I’m sure we can all relate 😂
Hahha right back at ya you pinecone! (Yeah my niece still uses that as an insult...😂)
Clatskanie, Oregon

Offline Fox

  • Member
  • Posts: 992
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #7 on: November 09, 2020, 10:33:18 am »
Congrats on that man,,, beautiful deer,  and forest. Nicely done



-Fox
Why must we make simple things so complicated?

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,462
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2020, 10:39:05 am »
Every cloud has a silver lining if only we look for it.  8)
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Bad juju

  • Member
  • Posts: 24
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2020, 11:09:52 am »
Bryce I hunted blacktail in mission, Chilliwack, and Harrison but I targeted strange pockets that most overlooked. It took a lot of time and failure before I could take blacktail consistently

Hunters always talk how tough whitetail can be to hunt but that is because they never hunted blacktail lol

Congrats again on a nice buck and I definitely understand the abuse one takes chasing these coastal ghosts

Offline willie

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,164
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #10 on: November 09, 2020, 08:10:16 pm »
i could not be happier with the result. here are a few pics thanks for check'n out my story.

nice hunt, that smile sez it all

Offline GlisGlis

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,477
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2020, 02:23:33 am »
beautiful deer
hunger is definitely a good motivation :OK

Offline jeffp51

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,640
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2020, 01:26:11 pm »
nice hunt and nice story.  I wanna see the bow.

Offline Bryce

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 3,125
  • Pacific Ghost Longbows
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2020, 03:21:23 pm »
Congrats on that man,,, beautiful deer,  and forest. Nicely done



-Fox

Thanks man. I love it here.


Bryce I hunted blacktail in mission, Chilliwack, and Harrison but I targeted strange pockets that most overlooked. It took a lot of time and failure before I could take blacktail consistently

Hunters always talk how tough whitetail can be to hunt but that is because they never hunted blacktail lol

Congrats again on a nice buck and I definitely understand the abuse one takes chasing these coastal ghosts

Oh man! I used to LOVE fishing the chilliwack river. Lot of good times along that river.

Yep I hear ya man. I’ve guided a few Midwestern and eastern boys. And it seems that whitetails have patterns that they like to stick to relatively. Whereas blacktails don’t play by the rules.
Now, I’ve never hunted whitetails. Mostly blacktails and Oregon desert muleys. And of course the Roosevelt Elk.
But from what I’ve heard from those that hunt the whitetails. It sounds like a lot of fun!

i could not be happier with the result. here are a few pics thanks for check'n out my story.

nice hunt, that smile sez it all

Thanks man lol I was getting trolled pretty hard on Instagram with that pic lol lots of Tom cruise comments.


beautiful deer
hunger is definitely a good motivation :OK

For sure. Thanks man:)


nice hunt and nice story.  I wanna see the bow.

Oh it’s just the same yew bow i e been using since umm.... 2017. James Rempp made it back before I was born. I think early 80’s. A really dense piece of yew. Rings so thin I can’t even count them under a mag glass. But it’s just a bow that fits me so well I haven’t hunted with anything since. I’ll see if I can find a good picture of it, and post it.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2020, 04:14:26 pm by Bryce »
Clatskanie, Oregon

Offline Bryce

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 3,125
  • Pacific Ghost Longbows
Re: My 2020 NW Oregon Coast Blacktail Season
« Reply #14 on: November 10, 2020, 04:35:00 pm »
 i took a couple pics of the bow on the fly but they dont do it justice but this bow and these arrows have been what ive been using for the last few years. and have only had to replace 1 of the columbia river agate points from when i shot a deer in the dead....

anyways; a super dense smooth shoothing yew bow with some tapered and horn nocked Surewood Fir shafts. with 70-90 grain Columbia River Agate points. that are sharp as all hell.
just a few pics of the arrows and the bow(what i was able to scrounge up real quick. one of these days ill give the bow a full photo shoot)

the gold ring on the shaft so i know how far my proper draw length is, for consistent shooting.





the bow with a deer from a ways back









and it doesnt have the arrows that i use in there at the moment but i made myself a bobcat quiver next to my Pope and Young type of hip quiver thats just another back quiver.






anyways i hope thats that
Clatskanie, Oregon