2023 Trophy Room. Let's see those animals

[nwwoodsman]

My 2023 blacktail. I passed on two forkies, blew my shot at a couple of 3x3s. Last day I had to hunt I spotted a doe sneaking away over a ridge in a clear cut. Climbed over the ridge and spotted what I thought was the same doe standing in the middle of a skid road next to the treeline. I pulled up a stump and sat watching her for an hour in case she brought in a buck. Once she started to leave, this guy popped out from behind a mound of dirt right next to her. One light primer strike and one round fired, it was time to get to work. How is everyone else's year going?

Read More

 

[ruger45blackhawk]

My first Blacktail in 2023 was with a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk Revolver and my own hand loads in 45 Colt consisting of a 255gr Poly CSWC.
Definitely a rush.

 

[NobullSKS]

My dog is good at getting rabbits. Haven't hunted yet but I think I would like to get some coyotes or a pig some day. Or a bird maybe.
Good job you guys…some of the deer or elk I see sometimes look impressive

 

[bionic knees]

thanks for starting the thread, I got zilch again this year!

 

[Koda]

My 2023 blacktail. I passed on two forkies, blew my shot at a couple of 3x3s. Last day I had to hunt I spotted a doe sneaking away over a ridge in a clear cut. Climbed over the ridge and spotted what I thought was the same doe standing in the middle of a skid road next to the treeline. I pulled up a stump and sat watching her for an hour in case she brought in a buck. Once she started to leave, this guy popped out from behind a mound of dirt right next to her. One light primer strike and one round fired, it was time to get to work. How is everyone else's year going?

View attachment 1761366

Thats a really nice buck, good work getting it done. I cant help but notice what I think is a huge elk rub right behind you.

I hunted blacktail 12 days total, saw lots of blacktail more than Ive seen in any other year so I'm getting better. All does, except I think one was a young buck that slipped by me. I hunted 5 days of elk in Eastern Oregon and saw 20 elk over 5 days, all cows, go figure how that even works out...
Tag soup.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Thats a really nice buck, good work getting it done. I cant help but notice what I think is a huge elk rub right behind you.

I hunted blacktail 12 days total, saw lots of blacktail more than Ive seen in any other year so I'm getting better. All does, except I think one was a young buck that slipped by me. I hunted 5 days of elk in Eastern Oregon and saw 20 elk over 5 days, all cows, go figure how that even works out...
Tag soup.

The deer population is the best shape I've ever seen it. I just hope that making spikes fair game on the wet side doesn't ruin that...That rub is a story in itself. My youngest spotted it a few weeks ago and told me that's where the deer were going to be (even if it is an elk rub). I hunted that area for four days before dropping him right next to the rub.

 

[Koda]

The deer population is the best shape I've ever seen it. I just hope that making spikes fair game on the wet side doesn't ruin that...

Ive read the Blacktail numbers are above targets. I've heard both sides to the spike/young buck debate and undecided. All I know is im not a successful enough Blacktail hunter to make a dent at even affecting spike populations.

 

[Bobbygun]

Ive read the Blacktail numbers are above targets. I've heard both sides to the spike/young buck debate and undecided. All I know is im not a successful enough Blacktail hunter to make a dent at even affecting spike populations.

I passed up a couple of spikes during the recently concluded rifle season, hoping to locate a bigger buck. As a result - tag soup for me. Same thing happened during bow elk season. Passed up a fuzzy horned spike opening morning only to have tag soup in the end. No deep regrets, although I do love deer and elk meat. I look at it as: I got to hunt longer. And, unlike those fools who tag their animals electronically, I have nicely rumpled paper tags for soup stock!

Those bucks are out there somewhere. I do all of my hunting in national forests and some intermixed private timberlands open to the public. I shed hunt in the Spring and Summer, and pick up sheds while hunting in the Fall. The sheds in the picture below were all found in calendar year 2023. When I find my first shed at the start of a year, I clear off the old woodstove and start anew. There are thirteen blacktail sheds and one elk shed. The matching set in the middle are the two largest blacktail sheds I've ever found. Each antler scores over sixty inches B&C. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time hunting the area I found those in, but wasn't lucky enough to even lay eyes on him. Ah heck, it would have been a brutal pack out anyway.

 

[solv3nt]

Hunted the Malheur National Forest a few days with my 6yo. Saw lots of animals, but only one forky that I jumped at 30 yards and never got a shot on.

 

[Tlock]

This was a great year to kill big bucks. The latest season I've remembered ever, bucks where definitely rutting. Passed alot of small bucks this year.

 

[osprey]

Glad to see y'all getting some nice blacktails!

I endured many hours in the stand and passed several decent bucks to bag this blackie!

 

[nwwoodsman]

Hunted the Malheur National Forest a few days with my 6yo. Saw lots of animals, but only one forky that I jumped at 30 yards and never got a shot on.
View attachment 1761934

At least you got out there. That photo is what it's all about. Time spent with the kids in the woods is worth far more than bagging any animal.

 

[solv3nt]

At least you got out there. That photo is what it's all about. Time spent with the kids in the woods is worth far more than bagging any animal.

It definitely is! I think I'll get a wall tent next time.

 

[kenboy]

Stubble fields 40 miles north of Pendleton.

 

[User 1234]

Amateurs. Come back when you can match this trophy kill:

 

[nwwoodsman]

Stubble fields 40 miles north of Pendleton.

View attachment 1762460

Awesome. I am a little envious. 20 years of playing this game and I have yet to hunt the dry side of the state.

 

[Bobbygun]

It definitely is! I think I'll get a wall tent next time.

You might look at the tent me and my son use, although my son is 19 years older than your son.

We used the Big Buddy heater in our Kodiak Flexbow canvas tent over at Hart Mountain when temperatures were well below freezing during my son's mule deer hunt last year. We only ran the heater while we were playing cards before going to sleep, and then again before getting up in the morning to take the chill off. We use cots with pads beneath our sleeping bags for insulation. Neither of us like mummy bags because they are too constricting. So, we use our old flannel lined Coleman bags from Bi-Mart and put an extra fleece liner inside them. We stayed warm. The morning we were packing up to leave, I had the Big Buddy running on high. Despite it being freezing outside, my son requested I turn it off - he was starting to sweat. We were very impressed with the Kodiak tent. Stood up to gale force winds and, along with the Big Buddy, kept us cozy.

The third picture is of the frozen stream about 15 feet behind our tent.

View attachment 1366110 View attachment 1366111 View attachment 1366113

 

[solv3nt]

You might look at the tent me and my son use, although my son is 19 years older than your son.

How did you power your heater?

 

[Bobbygun]

How did you power your heater?

The Big Buddy runs on propane. We just used the 1-pound canisters. I think there is an adapter you can get to run it off of the bigger tanks. We were over at Hart Mt. for six days and only went through a handful of canisters. I definitely brought home more than I used. We bow hunt over in the Imnaha Unit for elk in September. This year we didn't even get the heater out of the back of the pickup. Most years there are some cool (below freezing) mornings and we run the heater to get warmed up while getting dressed but haven't ever used up more than a few canisters in a week.

 

[solv3nt]

The Big Buddy runs on propane. We just used the 1-pound canisters. I think there is an adapter you can get to run it off of the bigger tanks. We were over at Hart Mt. for six days and only went through a handful of canisters. I definitely brought home more than I used. We bow hunt over in the Imnaha Unit for elk in September. This year we didn't even get the heater out of the back of the pickup. Most years there are some cool (below freezing) mornings and we run the heater to get warmed up while getting dressed but haven't ever used up more than a few canisters in a week.

How did you vent the heater?