Black-powder-black-tail-tales

I returned from my Colorado mule deer hunt right smack in the middle of the blacktail rut. With Emily and Hunter's blacktail tags already filled and my muzzlelaoder tag not starting till Thanksgiving, I was off to help good friend Tod Lum and his son Jacob kill a buck. Jacob, a growing 17 yr. old, was hoping to get a shot at a blacktail where he would have time to get set-up with his .260. He likes ballisitics, shooting long distance, and laying prone for his shots. He commented how much he enjoys antelope hunting because you can see them from long distances and then spot and stalk. I agreed; however I questioned if we would have such a chance at a coastal blacktail during the rut when bucks are always on the move!

We got lucky and found this 3-point buck bedded around 330 yards in a clear-cut. After several minutes of clearing brush and helping Jacob set-up for the shot, he was able to connect with the buck. Congrats Jacob!

Brady and I drew late-season muzzleload tags this year for blacktail near the house. Of all my hunts this year, this is one that I really looked forward to...maybe that isn't fair to say since it seems I look forward to whichever hunt was next! Anyhow, you get my drift. I was excited about this hunt. We shot our rifles several times this summer trying to find the right combination of lead conical bullets and powder. I struggled a bit but finally found the Precision Rifle's 400 grain semi-spitzer with 90 grains of FFG to do the job. I also played with several open-sights until I finally settled on a ghost peep sight to help since I was struggling shooting fiber-optic open sights accurately. Let's just say while my new set-up wasn't super-accurate, I could hit the broadside of a barn at 100 yards.

Brady "Off Season" working up a load with the smokepole

I hadn't been back from Utah/Colorado very long and, naturally, work and family demanded some time. I couldn't get my mind off the upcoming hunt. A couple days before opening day of season it snowed...and snowed...and snowed  in the higher country. I knew we couldn't access some of my favorite spots high in the Cascades so we needed a quick chance in plans! The day before opening day, I ran to one of my favorite lower elevation spots and found a mature buck chasing a doe right off the bat! The rain was pouring down hard and the heavy-antlered buck stood 60 yards from the road oblivious to my presence. This is where we would start our hunt in the morning!

The day before the opener!

Opening day was great. We only hunted half of the day since it was T-day. At first light, I spotted a wide 20" 4x4 across a clear-cut tending a doe. "Why do we have to see such a nice buck opening morning?!" I snuck up on the buck and passed him at 80 yards. Am I crazy?...Maybe, but it was opening morning and I was looking forward to a full weekend rattling bucks with Brady. I wasn't ready to be tagged out already, even with his 3" eyeguards and heavy bases...Okay, maybe I was a little crazy to pass him up. We saw several bucks that day, including a forked-horn that came to a rattle stand.

Do you see the buck? This buck was rattled in but hung-up at 80 yards in the timber. (He is in the center of the photo)

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                                         Fresh rubs and tracks of a big buck in the deep snow!!!!

 

We weren't the only predator hunting blacktail bucks on thanksgiving!



 The following day we head towards the higher country. The snow was deep and most roads were completely inaccessible...which helped our odds in some areas some but also kept us out of my favorite stomping grounds. We hunted hard through the weekend and had plenty of opportunity. In fact, by Sunday afternoon I believe we had seen over 30 bucks! While most of these bucks were smaller-caliber bucks, several of them were shooters. but something always interfered with connecting with thise bruisers...whether it was racing darkness, not being quick enough with the smokepole, or a bad primer (you'll have to ask Brady about the 140" buck and the bad primer. ughhh). 

I was happy to have rattled a few bucks into muzzle range, including a spike, a forked-horn, a three-point, and a small four-point...but nothing quite big enough to wrap my tag around. The snow, the fresh big rubs, all the deer tracks...it was a lot of fun to be hunting big cascade blacktails! Brady was able to sneak up on a nice 4-point and make a great 60 yard shot on Sunday afternoon ending his hunt. Congrats Brady on a great buck!



After Brady killed we headed home. That was my mistake. I should have taken some time off of work and stayed in the high-country in search of a big buck, but I was feeling some pressure at work. I did get out a few times closer to the house before work with a little luck. I even took Hunter one morning and let him shoot at a small buck three times with my muzzleloader before the buck finally decided he better leave since hunter's aim was getting better with each shot. (:  Hunter caught the muzzleloader bug! The last day I could hunt, I went into an area that has haunted me for years. I have seen some big bucks in the area in years past and by the looks of the tracks in the snow, there didn't seem to be a lack of deer this year.

Well, I didn't kill a big buck...but I saw him. He outsmarted me. I snuck into his bedroom, rattled him in, and got busted with rattle horns in-hand. He was a dream foothills blacktail buck and I question whether I will ever have a chance at such a buck again in my life. I left the area a bit deflated. I got in the truck and dropped elevation until there was no more snow. I knew I was running out of time so I stopped the pick-up at a fresh rub I had noticed had been getting some action lately, and hiked down hill. I rattled antlers, I kicked brush, I broke sticks, I did everything I could to sound like a serious buck fight....with no response. 15 minutes passed and still nothing. With nothing to lose, I kicked and rattled again for a few minutes and then stopped and listenened. I got thinkin' and realized in most of my successful rattle sessions, the buck only comes in while I stop rattling. When I rattle, they stop and watch. I decided I would give a buck time to come in by just sitting patiently...well, it worked. 5 minutes later, a buck appeared 80 yards below. I quickly lined up my peep sights and squeezed the trigger not wanting him to get away.  Through the veil of black smoke, the buck ran head over heels and died 60 yards away. The 400 grain conical sliced through the heart.  

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I was more than pleased to be able to harvest this buck at the last minute of the hunt...but I'm haunted. I'm haunted by those giants that elude me. I close my eyes and I picture their ghostly white faces and heavy dark-antlers. Every rub, every track in the snow is a reminder that they do exist and that is enough to energize me to keep hunting so one day, I will catch up to one of those old timber ghosts.