Poll: The 2021 Official Blacktail Deer Thread

[orygun]

I get partial credit.

You did get the "hole" size right.

 

[pharmseller]

You did get the "hole" size right.

Paging @FourTeeFive not to walk through this door…

 

[CatScat55]

This year was a pretty good year for me. I helped another hunter pack out an absolutely beautiful mature buck. My main goal this year was to harvest a buck with my reloads. I was able to take a little fork. I was pretty happy with my reloads but I was a little shocked at the damage. I will probably be switching bullets. I was using a 280 rem with 140 grn Accubond. I think im going to try a partition or mayby a barnes copper bullet.

 

[pharmseller]

This year was a pretty good year for me. I helped another hunter pack out an absolutely beautiful mature buck. My main goal this year was to harvest a buck with my reloads. I was able to take a little fork. I was pretty happy with my reloads but I was a little shocked at the damage. I will probably be switching bullets. I was using a 280 rem with 140 grn Accubond. I think im going to try a partition or mayby a barnes copper bullet.

Describe the shot. Distance, placement, how the animal was standing, etc.

Include a description of the damage.

What is the muzzle velocity of your load?

 

[Koda]

I wrapped up my Blacktail season yesterday in the rain and heavy fog unsuccessful this year. I drew an eastern Oregon elk tag that opens this week and runs into the weekend so I'm spending today switching gears.
I put in an extra effort this year to preseason scout and pattern some bucks but wasn't prepared for them leaving that area for all of October. I could have sat on my stand for a week straight last week and would have never seen one. I will be studying what I missed or overlooked for next years hunt to add to my strategy, though currently at a loss.... I suspect hunting pressure in this spot drove them out... my trail cams picked up 2 different bow hunters in Sept, then a couple of rifle hunters were in there too... my guess right now is the increase in activity in the small spot kept the bucks out of the spot.... (its not a terribly large location).
I'm creeping up on enough preference points to start considering applying for a nice controlled mule deer tag but will always hunt blacktails on the off years but they continue to stymie me...
Good luck to everyone still getting out over the next week and a half.

 

[GI JEW 555]

Not a black tail but early archery on the east side. They don't stay in the velvet long so was really happy to have got this guy. However, it was one of those hunts that if things could go wrong it dam well tried. Backed out to make sure he didn't jump. It got dark and wasn't a good combo with the location. I couldn't find him for almost 12 hours about five miles in and steep. One of those locations if you get injured not going to go well for you. I don't know how many times I went up and down the mountain with a flashlight. Every thought running through my head. Was the shot as good as I thought, is the meet going to be bad, if I don't find him should I just notch the tag and call it a season. Daybreaks and I finally find him that next morning. Deer hadn't gone any further than 100 yards max. In the meantime I had lost my skinning knife, my arrow was in the right place and passed almost completely through to the point it snapped it when he fell. Long story short this is the first velvet mule deer I have taken.

I have done the boiling , and ants. I here the beetles are better though. This guy is going to be a semi -sneak and he's getting finished in a shop. He will need a cape because it was a hack job for sure.

I'll post my black tail because that's the thread, he was killed last year and was my first black tail. The other Mule deer was killed the year before opening day of rifle and a much easier hunt.

Late archery I'll get the wife out there to see if she can tag her first deer ever. We will be sticking to the west for black tail and elk.

 

[PNW Partisan]

I wrapped up my Blacktail season yesterday in the rain and heavy fog unsuccessful this year. I drew an eastern Oregon elk tag that opens this week and runs into the weekend so I'm spending today switching gears.
I put in an extra effort this year to preseason scout and pattern some bucks but wasn't prepared for them leaving that area for all of October. I could have sat on my stand for a week straight last week and would have never seen one. I will be studying what I missed or overlooked for next years hunt to add to my strategy, though currently at a loss.... I suspect hunting pressure in this spot drove them out... my trail cams picked up 2 different bow hunters in Sept, then a couple of rifle hunters were in there too... my guess right now is the increase in activity in the small spot kept the bucks out of the spot.... (its not a terribly large location).
I'm creeping up on enough preference points to start considering applying for a nice controlled mule deer tag but will always hunt blacktails on the off years but they continue to stymie me...
Good luck to everyone still getting out over the next week and a half.

I had heard lots of people spend part of November scouting where bucks still are alive and plan on that area for next season. These blacktail are such a mystery.

 

[CatScat55]

The shot was 60-70 yards broadside. The only portion of the deer that I could see was head and neck. The bullet performed as designed shedding half its weight during the first few inches of penetration, and the base carried on through the deer for a complete pass through. I had a good amount of bullet/ bone fragment. I would like to find a fully bonded bullet in the 160 grn range that my rifle likes.

Ruger Hawkeye
140 grn Accubond
fed 210 primer
RL-19 56.4grns
Muzzle velocity - I Was unable to get an accurate velocity when testing this load. It was a very cloudy day and I could not get the chrono I was using to give me a good reading. I hope its in the 2900-2950 fps range.

 

[Koda]

I had heard lots of people spend part of November scouting where bucks still are alive and plan on that area for next season. These blacktail are such a mystery.

this is a very useful tip.
I spent a couple days this summer checking out the edges of my spot looking for deer trails and access points. At the bottom of the timber stand is a clearcut with a reprod stand on one side. I found a game trail into it. I spent an afternoon or two glassing it scouting this summer but didnt see anything but that was summer and we know blacktails love reprod. On the other side of the timber stand is a very steep and deep canyon into a creek.... I doubt any hunters will head into there, and my experience off trail in the coast range in creek bottoms is a cluster suck of impenetrable brush. I think the trick will be to find entry and exit points the deer are using to travel in out of places like this.... scouting project over this next 12 months to find some and move a game cam there.

 

[orygun]

I spent this weekend dealing with other obligations, but checked the last couple of weeks worth of game cam pics this evening. There is certainly some rut or pre rut activity goin on. The big buck that seems to be hanging out is moving closer to daylight on either end of the day. This next weekend should be interesting.

 

[PNW Partisan]

I'm going to head out today to look around after this storm. Even if I tag out, I still have a bear tag, so I can be in the woods and scout the bucks.

 

[BBQ Guy]

I'm going to head out today to look around after this storm. Even if I tag out, I still have a bear tag, so I can be in the woods and scout the bucks.

I have a bear and cougar tag.
I left the gut pile from my buck in the woods. I was tempted to go sit and watch it yeasterday.
We had to much work to get my buck butchered though.

Good luck today. I hope you find one to hang your tag on.

 

[PNW Partisan]

I have a bear and cougar tag.
I left the gut pile from my buck in the woods. I was tempted to go sit and watch it yeasterday.
We had to much work to get my buck butchered though.

Good luck today. I hope you find one to hang your tag on.

Thanks! I'm going to pick up the Sportsmans package next year just in case I see a cougar (somehow out in the day). I keep hearing cougar tastes amazing.

 

[BBQ Guy]

Thanks! I'm going to pick up the Sportsmans package next year just in case I see a cougar (somehow out in the day). I keep hearing cougar tastes amazing.

I have an e call and i have gone out a few times with no luck calling one in.
I have found cougar prints in my boot prints from my morning walk in when i have come out in the afternoon during deer season. One of the places i hunt frequently i have a large tom i caught on my cameras. Eerily large.
I could have shot one 3 years ago as i turned around to look up the road before we dived into the reprod. I watched him cross the road and walk up on the berm next to the road. I had my crosshair's on him. No tag in my pocket. My integrity to do the right thing all the time prevented me from poaching it.
I watched it slip into the woods. We then went after it to see if we could find it. We found prints but no kitty cat.
I have bought a tag since then and will continue doing so. It is just a matter of time before i catch up with one again.

If you want to team up and go find a cat or two sometime, message me.
I cant find any friends that want to go cat hunting.

 

[osprey]

This year was a pretty good year for me. I helped another hunter pack out an absolutely beautiful mature buck. My main goal this year was to harvest a buck with my reloads. I was able to take a little fork. I was pretty happy with my reloads but I was a little shocked at the damage. I will probably be switching bullets. I was using a 280 rem with 140 grn Accubond. I think im going to try a partition or mayby a barnes copper bullet.

Going to a 150 or 160gr bullet will help a bit. The accubond is a great bullet and it usually will retain more than 50% of its weight. The 6 or so I have recovered averaged about 70% weight retention. Close shots hitting bone will do that kind of damage, in fact a partition will be worse as they are not bonded and the front half will completely come apart on close shots while the base drives through. That is why they kill so well. Monolithic bullets may cause less damage on closer shots but when bone is hit the fragmenting bone will to some extent, cause the kind of damage you saw. On closer shots maybe shoot higher on neck. All in all you have to get a hole in them so good job on filling your tag. Realistically you probably only lost a couple #'s of meat.

 

[2gr8dgs]

I put the sneek on this guy sat morning. Trask unit. My cheap little pawn shop 308 did just fine. But, at 30 yds. just about anything would have. Still, It was fun to develop a load, plot trajectories out to the next county, & so on...
I've had a lot of practice missing deer in my life. I'll take the close shot any time.

 

[PNW Partisan]

Well. Covered 13 miles. Saw 6 doe and only one buck, a spike, that I passed on in my mildly hypothermic state. He was 30 yds and tending a doe I had just spooked at the start of a clear cut. In hindsight, I should have filled my tag then and there. Had that though "meh I'll find a bigger one". Guess I learned another good lesson today. Still got time left luckily. I was behind a locked gate, but nevertheless, some asshat drove the entire route I was going to walk just as I started on the main stretches. Likely scared anything easy off into the brush. Went on some deep trails into heavy brush but most the deer I saw were right off the main logging roads. Hunted heavy in the storm and didn't see anything in the four clearcuts I accessed. I also learned my "rain gear" is garbage and that I want to reimplement my wool layers rule when hunting in any weather.

 

[Koda]

I was behind a locked gate, but nevertheless, some asshat drove the entire route I was going to walk just as I started on the main stretches. Likely scared anything easy off into the brush.

Ive often wondered if road traffic even matters much with coastal blacktail and if they just get used to it and duck for a few minutes. I dont know, cant say... but yeah I agree its frustrating when someone just drives thru a road your wanting to walk or glass from.

 

[PNW Partisan]

Ive often wondered if road traffic even matters much with coastal blacktail and if they just get used to it and duck for a few minutes. I dont know, cant say... but yeah I agree its frustrating when someone just drives thru a road your wanting to walk or glass from.

Yea good point. It could likely go either way. I'm thinking if they are on the road they are definitely bolting. Stuff in the brush already near a road likely just duck or quietly walk off. Like everything blacktail, it probably "depends". lol. I was quite excited to approach everything on foot. I have a game camera set up and have not seen a single person on it in the last 10 days.

 

[Koda]

Yea good point. It could likely go either way. I'm thinking if they are on the road they are definitely bolting. Stuff in the brush already near a road likely just duck or quietly walk off. Like everything blacktail, it probably "depends". lol. I was quite excited to approach everything on foot. I have a game camera set up and have not seen a single person on it in the last 10 days.

Definetly bolting if on the road but I imagine many road hunters drive by many blacktail in clearcuts and never see them cause they are driving. Sometimes you catch them out in the open easy enough but ive glassed cuts for a long while and about ready to give up then suddenly spot one right in the middle. Its just so random.