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Would you shoot a spike buck?

  • No I wouldn't

    Votes: 30 41.1%
  • Only the last 3-7 days

    Votes: 11 15.1%
  • Only if it's a perfect opportunity or shot I like

    Votes: 5 6.8%
  • Yes from day I take the shot on a spike

    Votes: 27 37.0%

  • Total voters
    73
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.
That's actually what happened to me the other day. They were just does, but still. I had glassed it over and over, Hit the edges, etc. then decided to give it just one more glance and there they were. Lots of the pro blacktail hunters commented on that as well. Just how many deer people are driving by because they are just beyond view or hidden in the thick brush. They also note the need to methodically break down the clear cut since most road hunters just pull up, look for 2-5 mins and drive on.
 
my 2 stepsons have seen 3 nice bucks in the last several days while fishing. they have bow tags so no dice. 1 buck was swimming the Alsea river by their fishing hole. i didn;t buy a deer tag this year.
 
They used those at my university to clean big whale bones. I think boiling can ...do something to the bone. Weaken it, I think?

I'm heading back to Mt. Nicolai Friday-Saturday, I think. Not sure I want to sleep and cook out there this year, but I am going to be persistent.

On the topic of big cats... that's the one thing that worries me about hunting alone.
 
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I passed on a couple of small forken horns yesterday. Hope I don't end up regretting it, but they were both awfully small. I thought about sending a shot into a stump or something, because they saw me and just continued feeding about 50 yards away. If they don't wise up, they won't last long. This was in the National Forest and there are usually plenty of other hunters around. I'm still not seeing a lot of fresh rubs or torn up banks/trails where I hunt (Indigo Unit). Up in the snow where there was a fresh four inches, the only tracks seen were from a medium-sized bobcat. Since our tire tracks were the only ones there, we had high hopes but were seriously disappointed. Doc appointment today, then back at it tomorrow.
 
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.

View attachment 1056631 View attachment 1056632 View attachment 1056633
The shot looks like it impacted the shoulder knuckle. Is that correct? Any pics of the exit, or is that it?

And by shoulder knuckle I mean the joint where the leg bone attaches to the shoulder blade.
 
I've seen at least does, and at times a few fast moving bucks, every day I've been out except the last two days (although something crashed through the brush as I was walking back in the dark). Just haven't been able to get a shot off.

I did find some old sheds today so it wasn't a total bust
 
I did find some old sheds today so it wasn't a total bust
Any day I find a shed is a good day. I feel like I "counted coup". I found one last week in the same area I found three in the Spring. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate the shedders. At least not yet.

Didn't see much of anything today. It was awfully warm. I took the chainsaw along and gathered 1/2 cord of firewood, so I had something to show for my trip.
 
Well. Tagged out on the same spike I didn't shoot on Monday. Came up on a clear cut (last stop for the day) and saw a doe scampering off. Kept watching and immediately saw the same spike. While getting my stuff ready, they all started to run away. I quickly dropped to kneeling and fired. First was a clean miss. They went behind a hill and I saw the doe pop out on a trail opening. Waited for one of the bucks. 185 yds running. Hit the heart and both lungs like a textbook. Went 40 yards and piled up. Not a wall hanger like what I've seen in my game cameras, but super stoked. First fair chase blacktail. Bittersweet tagging out. Going to help my brother in law and see if I can't find a bear. I may have to try for elk just to see what that's about….
 
You guys are making my 90 yard shot from 160ft above sound like a long one. I used a cheap 131 grain s&b load in my Savage 110 6.5 creedmoor. Did exactly what it was supposed to, even recovered my bullet!
 
The shot looks like it impacted the shoulder knuckle. Is that correct? Any pics of the exit, or is that it?

And by shoulder knuckle I mean the joint where the leg bone attaches to the shoulder blade.
It was a little higher than that. The skin being flapped over kinda makes the deer look wider than what he truley was. It was dangerously close to the backstraps. The exit hole was about the size of a dime.
 
I started and ended the day with Does hanging out just outside of the hunting boundary. No signs of any Bucks.

97C486FD-C54A-41C5-A729-50C37BA404FF.jpeg

I also saw lots of turkeys and a few coyotes.
But I think my spot is tapped. If any of you have a tip in a good spot I'd be happy to share in the bounty.

1CD19179-0C20-46CC-8C05-038A14BFD293.jpeg

On the bright side the sunset was gorgeous tonight.
 
You guys are making my 90 yard shot from 160ft above sound like a long one. I used a cheap 131 grain s&b load in my Savage 110 6.5 creedmoor. Did exactly what it was supposed to, even recovered my bullet!
I wonder why I spend so much time making sure my rifle shoots tiny groups when I never shoot long distance... Longest shot I've taken in 20+ years was probably 50-60 yards. This one, from yesterday, was 10. Glad it was close and I got to see where he went (10 feet) cuz he'd kicked himself under the ferns and could have been a bugger to find if it was dark and he wasn't close. Shot him at 5:40pm. Had enough time to move him and gut him out before it got dark.
2021 spike.jpg
I'd been watching the game camera and the nice 4x4 had been getting very close to legal shooting hours, but on the last weekend I'm not passing any legal deer. This one walked right under my treestand and was headed into the orchard. Clicked the safety off, BOOM! Double lunged, exit right on the front point of the shoulder, directly above the front scope ring.
Not big, but bigger than last years, which was my goal. Tagged out two years in a row. Pretty happy about that.
 
Halloween last day of reg season. 300 yards 17 degree slope watched him for awhile and when he stopped facing me down at the top of the ridge I decided that spike was whats for dinner. 6.5x284 berger hvld 2950fps. Just missed the front shoulder on left side came out last rib on right side didn't touch the guts. I was happy, he wasnt

20211031_090522.jpg
 
Good job fellas!

Hopefully some more Halloween bucks will be posted tomorrow.

We had back strap for dinner Thursday night. Best red meat I've had in a while. Certainly more satisfying when it's your animal thats on the plate.

My wife was content not filling her tag this year so we went bird hunting this morning.
 
Sadly I think that's it for my season. Last three times I've been out I haven't seen anything except a few Does hanging out in farmers fields outside of the hunting area. Saw a few bucks early in the season but they skedaddled before I could get a shot off. I'm out of town for work starting on Wednesday so I think that's it for this season. Hopefully the elk treat me better.

Good luck to the rest of you!
 
Saw nine antlerless deer today. Seemed to be more activity with the rain and some scattered fog. Unfortunately the game camera I checked showed bucks only at 4:30 a.m.. None moving in daylight.

I'm already beginning to regret passing on those two little forkies last week. Only three days left for me to fill my tag because I'm headed over to Hart Mountain on Friday to help a buddy with his mulie buck bow hunt. That's a tough tag to draw. I hunted there with a muzzleloader about 5 years ago. Found a really nice shed, but saw only small bucks and does.
 
Big weather coming in Wednesday night and Thursday for most of the coast range. Will be an amazing way to close the general rifle season. Good luck to all!
Sounds good. At this point I feel like I'm beating my head against a brick wall in the Cascades. Walked seven miles today. Saw seven deer - no horns. Not really much in the way of signs of rutting activity. Planning on giving the Melrose Unit a try tomorrow. Maybe head further west on Thursday.

Good luck to you as well!
 
Sounds good. At this point I feel like I'm beating my head against a brick wall in the Cascades. Walked seven miles today. Saw seven deer - no horns. Not really much in the way of signs of rutting activity. Planning on giving the Melrose Unit a try tomorrow. Maybe head further west on Thursday.

Good luck to you as well!
Everything I've read and heard is that the rut behavior begins earlier on the coast range than in the valley or cascades. I've seen tons or rut-like activity during the day and on the game camera. This is mainly in the form of 2-3 bucks following a single doe. Sniffing the ground every 3 feet. Hope folks can get out today and tomorrow to try to connect.
 

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