First off I have known Mark for about 30 years, in the days of Burns Bros., Sportsmen’s Center and Burns Bros., Travel Stops. Mark and I hunt a number of times in the coast range for elk in those days! Mark use to make sure that during the days of the Travel Stops we would always have the day old Hostess Pastries for a hunting trip!
Mark now lives out in the country on a dandy piece of Blacktail and Roosevelt habitat land. It is bordered by a number of timber companies, so there is little pressure from the public!
OK! BUBBA – HERE GOES!
Not the best picture, but his neighbor shot one of the 7 bulls that came in and it scored 320 Net. Roosevelt Elk!
I JUST COULDN’T PASS UP THIS STUD BUCK!
This has been Mark D’s target buck for 2013! He decided not to show!
It was the most unbelievable sight ever for us! After spending many many hours in the blind in hopes of the monster 4 x 4 Blacktail coming in (before dark) or after light in AM, the second biggest one that I’ve gotten on Trail Cam showed up with enough daylight to get a pin on him. The waiting in tree stand has been a tough one with extreme global warming that we have here in Oregon in the temperature in the Teens!
Frontal Shot!
My son in law was with me to watch and witness the unfolding of a one in a lifetime shot!
The buck went broadside at 30 yards and mentally I knew my next plan was going to be in milliseconds.
As I was already at full draw, I let my new Mathews Creed go, the arrow hit high and sounded like I hit a rock. It seemed to pick that deer up off his feet and throw him down like someone body slammed him. Then he roared like a red stag! Wow! I have killed many animals with a bow over the years but never have spine one until now.
I shifted into panic mode as he was roaring and trying to get up so, I as quick as I could loaded another arrow and with him thrashing, shot again.
Dandy 3 X 3 Columbia Blacktail buck from west Clackamas County.
Well he twisted as I released the arrow and got another spine shot, this time in top… Crap! Double panic! I run out of the blind and as I approach him to put one in at close range, he lunges at me! Wow! Do they have power! I got as close as I could and got one through both lungs and he soon expired… Who would ever think that I could have gotten gored by a deer?
Mark D’s old time friend and his buck from Mark’s Place.
I hope to never spine one again, I much prefer a double lung on the first arrow…………………….
Mark D!
Mark’s 125 grain Thunderhead Broadhead went completely through the buck and severed part of the spine.
Before reading this story, I have been told I should have let this buck go another year. I thought about it strongly! One never knows if they get to hunt private land each year. I have been lucky to be able to hunt this land for 4 years. Another Vietnam Veteran owns the land and I know how he feels when he is in the bush here. The buck had bred for two years! He had a gross rough score of 123″. One can not harvest Boone & Crockett every time in rural America! Frank Biggs
Hunting success is a matter of timing in movement & being somewhere at the correct time!
A picture of Even 3 X 3 on the western sector of the property!
Most stories have more than one part, so naturally this story will also.
My son made a comment to me while he was raising the deer up in the tree with his truck winch. “Dad how come you always kill something when I am not with you?” Take time to think about that for a while!
Many of my readers have known that I have been in pursuit of one particular Columbia Blacktail buck that has been named the Even 3 X 3. Over the last two (2) years I have tried to harvest him via my Martin Onza 3 bow. First year 2012 I had him near my tree stand and made a terrible mistake when I setup the tree stand with the help of Mark and my son JR.! It was setup right- handed with no thought about it, and since I am left-handed, plus the fact of staging the deer right to left it created problems in a tight area in the treestand. Excuses? Yes! But Real!
In a previous story during the 2013 regular archery season, opportunity for Even 3 X 3 on opening day was there, yet wasn’t due to a subliminal message not to setup on the Even 3 X 3 at 42 yards. He surely would have gone down with the shot if I had taken it. I would have been selfish to say the least, with JR. having 5 bucks at a less than 5-6 yards from his ground blind. Thus Jr. harvested his first archery Blacktail buck deer! One of the finest shots I must say as he had the Even 3 X 3 with a pin on his boiler room and moved to the other buck! Why you ask? He knew that Even 3 x 3 was my target buck. This says a lot about my son and his relationship to me!
This was taken in the draw on 11-10-2013 at 1038. Last time he was caught on a trail cam!
Even 3 x 3 had not been seen by humans since August 24th of the opening morning hunt, he and the other entire local branch bucks disappeared from the area. It should be noted that he had only come into the trail cams 3 times in a three month period. Each time was during the wee hours of the AM time zone. He would not hang around long near the Cam areas, with few pictures.
JR. and myself went looking for the Even 3 X 3 during the regular archery season, but only saw glimpses of a couple of spikes and one other deer a 4 X 3 with a single eyeguard. This particular buck and his brother another 4 X 3 with two Eyeguards had shown up twice on draw trail camera from July to August. All of sudden about two weeks into the archery season single eyeguard showed up twice, once with JR. and he was unable to get a shot on him. The following evening hunting by myself the buck was on the exact path I had seen him the evening prior. I was not expecting him and I felt there was something there. I was on my ass watching another opening in the timber, not aware that he was working in on me. I get a glance of him at about 50 yards head down. In one fluid motion I swung around to the kneeling position and pulled up on with the 40 yard single pin on my H.H.A. Sports Optimizer and the Martin Onza 3 bow. I release and he never knew what or who had hit him. He went down in the spot he was standing and kicked for only moments with the heart shot. JR. as usual was very quick to come out to the place and help Hawaiian quarter the buck.
Let’s get back to the story of taking down the Even 3 X 3 buck that I have had an obsession with for two years.
The Ford Escape was maneuvering around the frozen over potholes on the access road to the vineyard, trying not to make so much noise. My intention before going to work was to reset the trail cams and put in new batteries. I figured at 0830 there would be nothing moving and I could get the job done in about 10 minutes and get to work and not be the last one there. Rifle and cameras are all in the back of the rig.
This was taken in August just before opening archery season!
Just to keep things straight I had an Oregon 615 Willamette Deer tag, which is an anything; goes tag from September 1st until February 28th 2014. This allowed me two deer in the 2013 year with an Oregon archery deer tag and the Oregon 615 deer tag. I of course wanted to harvest another buck with the Martin Onza 3, but un-expected things happen once in a while.
As I was avoiding the frozen potholes in the gravel road, I see to my right at approximately 150 yards a big buck trotting across the open grass area that lies between the vineyard and the forest. I wasn’t going fast, so I came to a stop, put the gear lever in park, open the door and leaving it open moved without losing concentration on getting to the back of the Escape and opening the rear hatch. Hatch open, I un-zipped the case, slipped out the Weatherby 257 mag., jacked a round into the camber, jumped into the ditch and then atop the blackberry berm. Trying to find the buck in the timber, I could see movement, but when I first pulled up on the movement, I could not see well enough as I had my sunglasses on. Quickly they were pushed up on my head and I could see that buck moving from behind a large Douglas Fir tree finally, then he stopped by another Douglas Fir tree in the mist of blackberries! In one quick movement I pulled down on him with the crosshairs solidly coming to rest on the boiler room, I pulled the trigger (I had been on the ready). To my surprise the buck dropped in his tracks with no movement. I was using a 120 grain Barnes X bullet hand load! “Crap I’ve gone and done it!” The distance to the buck was at about 275 yards + or minus 10 yards. Not a bad offhand shot freestyle, reminds me of the days of shooting competition in high school. The buck was the Even 3 X 3 and I knew that mentally when I saw him at 150 yards in first sight, the only buck on the place with a light color rack.
What is really IRONIC about a new mystery is I put that single 120gr. Barnes X (Vintage of the year 2000) into the chamber, with 100 gr. Hornady Weatherby factory loads in the magazine (Jr. buys factory). I have yet to find any of the remaining Barnes hand loads! I switched to Barnes Bullet in 1998 and the first time out, I shot a Mulie at around 650 yards and he dropped in his tracks! In the same year I shot a Bull elk at 1000 yards and it dropped in it’s tracks. A believer!
Minutes after putting him down. I did move him out of the blackberries to take the picture.
Note: I am a firm believer in not shooting off-hand unless I have too. I have a bi-pod on all my rifles when I take them in the field, which these days is not often. Tree limbs work great when the opportunity arises or going to the sitting position.
Note: This 257 Weatherby MK 5 rifle (Left-Handed) that has not been shot at game for over 10 years. It had always been a tack drive of a rifle since 1983 when I got it from Gene Ramsey, who bought it from me while I had the Burns Bros., Sportsmen’s Center on Grand Ave., in Portland, OR. A great time to be a Weatherby dealer in the days of Harry Bane and Roy Weatherby himself!
Again JR. would come to help with the quartering of the deer! This time he wanted to do old school and gut and take in whole! Jr. said to me “Dad that is more than 300 yards”, Frankie we will keep it at 275 yards.
This leads to me to the first comment that JR. made in the story! Many times when the mentor is hunting with the underscore we are not there for personal gain. Our thoughts are on helping others get it done. We react differently when by ourselves while hunting or any other activity. We react to the situation without thought when alone. Most season veterans have already gone through the process of saying “I saw four 6 X 6 bulls moving on the hillside”, without taking a shot. This comes with only experience in the field in any hobby! I like to think I am in combat mode! “Timing and Time are Limited!”
What is great about my Weatherbys’ that I have, whenever I have used one, they have always performed. If I miss, it is me and not the rifle or bow!
One has to react to the situation in the moment with knowing it is right! React with no hesitation! Never take too long to setup a shot, as WILD Game waits for no one! Most deer don’t wait for one to setup the sticks!
The Oregon General Archery Season Opener proved to be a successful opening day hunt in the Willamette Valley for Blacktail Deer Bucks’. Neither of the two young men had every taken a Blacktail Buck with the bow and arrow!
The anticipation of the 2013 Oregon Archery Season Opener had been a very exciting anxiety brain thought for me.
Having myself wanting to target two (2) different bucks during the season, I was ready for the opener on August 24th, 2013. There would be two (2) other hunters hunting the small parcel (90 acres) of un-fenced land in the Willamette Valley of Oregon in the Clackamas County zone outside of Oregon City, Oregon. Neither of the other two (2) young bucks (Frankie or Mark) had ever taken a buck deer with the bow and arrow. Considering the Columbia Blacktail deer is one of the toughest to hunt, the odds are lowered. One hunter was my son Frank Jr. who has been hunting since he was 12 years old and the other hunter Mark S. one of Oregon’s finest… Both are experience hunters with the rifle and have taken Mule Deer, Blacktail Deer, Elk and Pronghorn. Mark would be hunting from his treestand at the far end of the property in which he can view the vineyard that the deer were still working over during the year. Jr. would be in a ground blind in the same draw that I was in, though I would be in the treestand. This year Jr. would be hunting for the first time with a 2013 Martin Rytrea Alien XT and also for the first time the HHA Sports 5519 Optimizer Bow Sight. All of us would be using again for the second year the Slick Trick 100gr. Broadhead.
Mark’s Blacktail in the velvet!Frankie’s Blacktail in the velvet and how he saw him on opening day, but in the daylight!
Anticipation by all was at its highest with all of us to harvest a Blacktail buck, since we had many bucks working the area. At times it would seem we would have an atmosphere of a buck pasture, as does working the area lacking! Just before shooting time, I get a silent text message from Mark, “they are all around my tree”. My thoughts were of course those of jealousy with him getting first lick on a buck. Legal shooting time was upon us and I get another text message from Mark “Elfi is down, I smoked him”. Now I had a bit of relief that he did not take the Number 1 Blacktail on vineyard and there would still be a chance in the future.
Mark with his P & Y Buck! First bow kill of big game!
Mark text me again that he would stay in this stand for an hour to wait on the deer and give us a chance.
Now the story gets really interesting, as Mark’s last text comes in, I see a lone deer moving through the tree to my left at a good pace. Thinking back the deer was running a bit erratic. This would come into play in about an hour of this sighting! It is now about 30 minutes later and I spot from the treestand about 4-5 bucks in the Douglas Firs, just milling around across the gravel road from the draw. I see they are moving to the North and there is an opening in the blackberries. I knew at this time they deer were heading into the draw. The bucks and a couple does go out of sight as they go around the blackberries, travel 30 yards down the gravel road and turn east into the draw. Quickly sending Jr. a text that they were coming towards him and too be on the ready. The action is about to start, as deer are under my stand coming from the South and I can see the bucks with does coming from the West into the draw.
Frankie with his first bow buck kill with the bow and arrow!
I am just mesmerized by the movement and the amount of game upon us. I have my Optimizer set at 30 yards in anticipation of the bucks coming into my open shooting zone. The deer are on top of Jr.’s ground blind and I just sit there watching the action and not wanting to standup and get ready.
He still lives and looks to have made it through the rifle season in Oregon. No one is suppose to hunt this place with a rifle!
The big Even 3 X 3 is at 42 yards from me, if I were to shoot at the easy shot, the arrow’s flight would have to zoom between Douglas Fir branches and then over the top of Jr.’s blind. All the deer just stop at this point which is 2 – 10 yards from the blind. They know something is up at this point, but still wanting to move down the draw to the creek bottom. All of a sudden one of the bucks looks into the only open window in the portable blind. The buck has eye contact with Jr., (should have had sunglasses on) snorts and bulks. With that movement Even 3 X 3 and all the other bucks and deer are gone in a flash. I was mistaken since I could not see one of the bucks that remained. A Forked Horn with Eyeguards (only buck that is still in velvet) stands his ground at 5 yards from Jr.’s blind. In my mind I am saying shoot, what are you waiting for Frankie! A split second later I hear the report of the arrow hitting the buck in the zone. The buck walks off directly away from him, turns and jogs about 40 yards and the rest is history!
As for myself I am still stunned that I did not take the shot, but there was something in my mind that told me not do so it. Reasoning or Mind Drift? Quickly I am out of the stand congratulating Frankie and he find his deer in minutes. You ask why Jr. didn’t take the Even 3 X 3, same question I asked him! “Dad that is your buck that you have been chasing for 2 years, I wasn’t going to ruin that moment!”
A great hunt that I got to see the hunt un-fold from above!
After finding Frankie’s buck from a good blood trail within a couple of minutes, taking pictures and High Fiving, Frankie now tells me that we need to help Mark find his deer. This happen to be a work day for me and want to get one deer Hawaiian Quartered and then worry about Mark’s buck secondly! We do go over to Mark who was coming back to the truck to get rid of his gear. His buck had not dropped out in the vineyard. We all went back to help him find his buck. A most difficult venture at first as there was little sign of blood to track. After about 15 minutes I told Mark we would be back, as we need to get the buck taken care of now! Mark informed me and Jr. that he had called his Dad, Dan to come and help.
Dad and Son teamed up to trace the buck! 4 eyes many times works better than 2! Hoorah!
As you read this you wonder about Mark’s hit on the deer. It will be another story once Mark gets it written, but from the video he had taken, it was a good hit and finding the buck would come. We get Frankie’s deer done in about 30 minutes Hawaiian style of quartering, taking only the meat out.
Get with Mark and Dan, as they found some more blood. Telling him about the deer I had seen moving through the trees just after his shot, proved to be the positive outcome of finding his buck. The deer have had the habit of escaping or when hit to travel down into a deep canyon on the farm, that I did not even know existed until January of this year. As soon as Mark and Dan hit the deer trail at the top of the canyon the blood trail was very heavy, but not without the buck expiring in the in heavy cover. The dandy Pope & Young Blacktail buck didn’t travel more than 300 yards from the stand, though he made an oval track circle to the right, then straight into the canyon.
Frankie’s buck was a really nice Velvet Forked Horn with Eyeguards, with great sylemtry. Mark’s buck was a very tall 3 X 3 with Eyeguards and would make Pope & Young. It also was the buck that I had put an arrow completely through in 2012 that did not affect the deer. Strange as there were no signs once skinned he had ever been hit, yet we have pictures the day after in 2012 of wounds on left and right side.
At this writing Even 3 X 3 is still alive waiting for the rut to find him. Since opening day he has only been seen 3 times, twice on cameras at the wee hours of the darkness in the morning and once during the general rifle season out in the open field!
It is great that the two young shooters found their marks on bucks to give them the confidence of the bow and arrow on big game.
In the State of Oregon, bowhunters have greater amount of time and opportunities to hunt for big game.
Showing off his buck to the boys down in Springfield Cablea's!
Thought I would share this picture of a first time bowhunter and first harvest with the bow outside of Springfield, Oregon. The hunter rattled in 3 bucks one being a forkie x spike, this 3 x 4 and a monster buck that would not come into him, but did come into 54 yards to his daughter who was also hunting. She did not take the shot as her bow was only sighted in to 35 yards… It was a great hunt for daughter and father with success and a buck that only went 75 yards!
I believe that the buck was taken on the evening of November 24th, 2012!
Though this story will end up with harvesting of a small Blacktail Buck from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, it is more about the principles and aspects of aging in the hunting scenario.
I would like to say this is the buck of harvest, but not! Right Handed Tree Stand in background!
Over the years, especially when I was younger I lived to hunt and fish. I was very selfish and would spend most of my time either at work or doing the great outdoors. It was a total escapement from reality after serving in the U.S. Navy and being In Country. I found great excitement with chasing and harvesting game. My fishing was about how many fish I could catch, later finding it was more fun to catch and release.
Now later in life I find I do not have as much time to hunt and fish with the reality of still working into my 60’s. Weekends are a thing of the past since I have been in the RV selling business. Hunts have now turned to hunting in the valley close to home for the elusive Blacktail Deer.
What started with getting permission to take pictures of Blacktail Bucks on a parcel of land outside of Oregon City & Canby, Oregon has turned into the place to have the opportunity to harvest a Blacktail. The landowner himself is a Vietnam Vet and I know he finds great peace to be able to walk his timbered land and in some places be able to escape the daily grind!
This year was different from the past years on the M & L Ranch as I call it. It is the first time other than a Blackberry thicket blind, that I have setup a real tree stand and fixed ground blind. My thoughts have always been to glass, spot and pursue the game, with an occasional wait at a nearby waterhole for Pronghorn.
I had past him up at 40 yards, but this is not what I saw from 40 yards through the Blackberries!
The 2012 Archery Season in Oregon was of great expectations in harvesting one of the Big Three Blacktail bucks that we all had captured on Trail Cams. With Odd 3 X 3 leading the pack, “Sticker” second and finally the P & Y buck Even 3 X 3. You do notice that I have never mentioned a 4 x 4! I have yet to see a 4 point buck western count in 2012. In the past I have seen a number of them and have put them on film!
I truly hate to say it, but many of the big bucks I have seen have been poached. I have heard rifle shots in the familiar sound of hunting situation before the archery season and during the season. Poaching has become a major issue in Oregon! It can’t be about the meat, but about the rack.
P & Y Buck at probably 110" Maybe JR can get him!
So with the missed opportunity on the Even 3 X 3 in the first couple of days really took me back mentally. The easiest shots, can most often not work! I am sure most know that deal in hunting. Having hit the tree stand rail not once but twice on the 25 yard shot was embarrassing for sure. Small note: WHEN PUTTING UP A TREE STAND AND SETTING UP THE LINE OF THE ANIMAL TO BE POSITION, MAKE SURE YOU PUT UP YOUR STAND IN RELATIONSHIP TO BEING LEFT HANDED OR RIGHT HANDED. In this case for me being Left Handed I should have put it across the path to the opposite tree. It is definitely a Right Handed tree stand. Guess I will have to get another one and put it on the opposite tree 25 yards across the path! My partner’s JR (Frankie) and Mark are right-handed! They had decided what tree to put the stand up before I can to help! Pretty smart guys!
As most of you know that are in the circle, with two weeks into the archery season had a second chance with a 20 yard shot on a nice heavy 3 x 3 at 20 yards (No Hesitation Either).
The one that also got away and survives another day! Flesh Wound!
I shot through the Camo mesh of the ground blind, leading to a close Kill shot (3”) to a glancing arrow hitting the shoulder and ricocheting upward and out. I have had someone call me unethical for not making this one buck the one find and harvest. In this case give me a break with a Blacktail and the odds, especially with a bow! Mark and myself spent 3 hours looking for blood on the buck, which ended with one final drop about 300 yards away in the dark at 2200. The following morning I spent another 3 hours and found no more blood on the ferns and what appeared to be a buck with normal walk back into the forest (no broken limbs or down branches).
Great shot on a Blacktail Buck - Martin Onza 3 on display also!
So in the following weeks the buck has been on trail cams in good health. In fact when Mark was in his tree stand with his rifle (Willamette 615 anything tag) the buck came to within 12 yards of him in good health. As this is another story of Mark’s buck that he took at that time, all I can say is the buck might have been a vendetta for me to get him, but I was not worried about his health any longer. Just a bad hit!
It is now Sunday September 9th in the morning about 0430 and my wife wakes me up and says “aren’t you going hunting this morning!” Na! I got to work and need my sleep! I am now awake and say to myself, I am gone. In minutes without combing my hair I headed out the door and into the darkness. Looking at my cell found I see JR.; my son left me text messages (10) about the morning hunting. I text back are you awake as I am already heading to my secure parking spot! No return text, guess I got the place to myself today! It would have been great to have him with me!
It does not take me long to get ready once there and I head off to the stand about ¼ from the parking spot. Quickly get up in the stand with the anticipation of a good hunt, as it cooler this Sunday. I figured I might get the spike and of course plus the one doe with twin fawns in first, with maybe a big boy coming in before 0700. I patiently wait, which is a major problem for me as it super quite in the draw. The only noises are the wind rusting the trees and occasional Scrub Jay squawking in the distance. I should add the lone owl hooting in the canyon!
It is now approaching 0700 with no movement at all on the forest ground, I am extremely bored and need to get on feet and make a ground hunt. I lower my bow and day pack to the ground, check the trail cam and see that only 6 pictures from the 12 hour period. I thought about heading back to the house and catch a few winks before work, but I would not get any sleep. I dropped the pack and headed over to Mark’s stand near the edge of the western sector of the farm. No movement in the heavy grasses and I surely did not jump anything, as Mark’s stand borders the field and heavy timber. Hmm!
I pick up my day pack and talked to myself and ask the question to drive around to the eastern sector and hunt from there and see if I can jump a Blacktail Buck. I tell myself to go back to the stand and head up the trail that leads to the dry creek bed and the eastern sector of the farm (most of us old war dogs talk to ourselves a lot). I decide that I wanted to go light on this expedition with only my bino’s, range finder and bow! I am wearing a Camo long sleeve shirt and I have my booties on as it is very noisy place to walk and think you are quiet when making a good stalk.
Here I am only about 200 to 300 yards from my stand on the trail and spot a doe that had just come up out of the draw that leads down to the creek bed and the other side of the farm. It is a warn trail now and used by the game since Frankie (JR) and his cousin had taken a D-6 Cat through the property, it has given a game when not disturb a bit easier route to feeding areas. There are places near the creek bottom that are so thick; I would have to eat the deer there!
Ok! I spot the doe and she is a ways out there, I would put her at about 50 yards line of sight. Not sure if she has caught me as slither back into the Scott Broom. I decide to range her in and use my left hand, my release hand. Shaking a bit, I target to the left of her to a small bush and it says 48 yards. I got the area pretty well dialed in and will wait to see what come out of the draw. Finally a very smart move on Cobra’s part! Her fawns that no longer have spots doodle along and up. I can not see the doe at all during this time and I assume she did not see me! Then I see a deer coming up, it stops and see it has a rack, I can not tell the size it all seems to blend into the background of brown grasses and the fir trees. Knowing what my Martin Onza 3 can do for me, I am at instinct mode and without though of size or distance my eyes as they are looking through the peep side have the orange 40 yard pin set about 1-2 inches above the back bone. The release is very smooth and no hesitation on my part. I see the arrow in flight as the Norway Zeon Fusion (pink) vanes are evident in flight.
I love the way these beauties fly and glow for me!
The buck has moved forward during the short time of flight of the arrow. “Damn” is all I could say when I see the arrow hit the hind quarter forward. What surprised me was to see the deer drop like a sack of bricks and then he shook! Wow! Then to my further surprise the buck go back up and struggled into the Scott Broom. Out in the distance at about 100 yards there is a monster buck facing directly at me when I stepped out to lay the bow down! I quickly move up to the spot and find blood. I marked the spot with my bow and head back to the day pack to get what I needed. I call my JR and to my surprise he answers his phone! Hoorah! He is on his way with his truck that he can get back there and not be upset with the blackberries scrapping the side of his truck. I do check at my launching point and range find to the spot the buck was initially standing at and it hits 63 yards.
I have a head in this picture! Keep it clean! I still have the ability to shoot some distance!
I have to tell you that during the flight of the arrow, there seem to be little arch (trajectory) in the flight. What a strange feeling of watching the flight which was under a second, like out of a movie! The Martin Onza 3 is most likely pushing 330fps with my setup! Outstanding performance for me! Martin bows have never failed me on a hunt!
I have pulled my rig near the stand, hoof back to the area with cameras and my Gerber’s. I did not have to go very far from the hit spot, the blood trail was extensive and the buck was stretched out about 80-100 yards from the impact area. I could see the buck is one that I had seen on camera and past up an evening before when I went to the stand and had him at 40 yards. He was a young 3 X 3 or better 3 X 2 with no eye guards.
I was in combat mode during this time period of spot and shoot. I truly love to spot, stalk and then kill! I have found that the times in the field with difficult shots and I go to combat instinct mode the job usually gets done. I do not think about anything, but the mind has allowed me to react! One can read a book call “Blink” and understand what I am saying. Thinking about a situation to much, I feel that you can make a dumb mistake! Let me tell you I have made mistakes and failed number of times. Being on the ready at all times makes for success.
The arrow did hit his hind quarter on the right side, failed to pass through. During the Hawaiian Field Dressing operation I could see what had happen and I am most surprised, as I have never seen this before. I failed to mention that JR had given me a package of new broadheads to try and just that morning I did put one on my arrow. The broadhead does not look like it could be as effective or un-effective as the Thunderheads I had on the rest of the arrows. The name of this broadhead is Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum.
This is a picture of the Slick Trick 100 gr. Magnum after hitting the ball and socket!
So during the Hawaiian field dressing using one of my gifted Gerber Gator knives I find that if the arrow had passed through there would have been pumping out even great flow of blood, but what happen once the arrow hit the flesh it angled back and somewhat down hitting the knuckle in the hip joint pulverizing the ball joint. I have never seen this done to an animal with a Broadhead in all my years of bow hunting. I have seen ribs cracked or cut, but for the arrow to go through that much tissue and still do that at the range of 60 yards is simply amazing. As you know at this time I will be changing in the future to Slick Trick Broadhead. Another thing that arrow flew as straight as if I had shot at 10 yard target. My Onza 3 highly tuned, as all my Martin bows have been. Reminds when I tried Barnes X bullets 225 grain in my Weatherby 340 on an elk hunt and took out the bull at 1000 yards approx (testimonial proof) and he dropped in his tracks. I have never looked back on using the product. Knowing that the product will do the job, if there is a mistake it is usually the hunter! It can be equipment also if you don’t check and make sure it ready to shoot! So my deer hunting for 2012 has come to an end and I now can if time permits to focus on elk or help JR get his archery buck in the State of Oregon!
This story has been posted in Archery Talk, which is a big deal for me to get a story posted!
“Dad, we need help!” “Holly has a buck down!” Sure she has a buck down, you have to stop kidding! “No she really has one down and we need your help, you still at work?”
This hunt would have to be related to a while back on this particular piece of private property in the Willamette Unit.
I have been watching the property for more than 6 years I guess. Since 2004, while driving to Valley RV Center in McMinnville, I would make that the route in the morning so I could get pictures of Blacktail bucks before the archery season, knowing that I would never get a chance to hunt the property. Finally this year I had the nerve to call and ask the landowner if it would be ok to archery hunt their property. During the course of meeting the landowner while in the field, permission was granted for Frankie’s wife Holly to hunt with a rifle during the general western buck tag. Frankie and I went through the archery season with zero kills on the land. We probably skipped a couple of key times in the field after running into what we felt was an armed pot grower with silent running dogs. Left un-easy feeling and it took about 2 weeks to make it back into the field.
In the Velvet with the group!Buck is down with heart shot!Holly and here 2010 Blacktail Buck
Finally the General Rifle season for bucks opened two Saturday’s ago. Holly with Frankie guiding her in the field made it the opening morning, encountering only one buck, but unable to get a shot off. The Sunday of the opener I went out with the kids and I had them stay on stand while I did the driving. NO BUCKS!
I got a call just after 4:30PM that they were going to go hunting and were into the field by 5:00PM.
The plan was to glass the plowed field from about and the entrance points that deer would enter the field to feed on WEEDS from about 600 yards. They spotted a buck and a couple of other deer in the field. The landowner had made comment that he didn’t want any shooting over into the field, because of the neighbors. The two of them decide to head to the entrance road to the property and park outside of the perimeter.
The deer had moved back into the timber and Blackberries and the last movement was in the direction of the draw that was mid-way up the access road.
Holly worked her way on the road using the grass edges as cover and sound proofing of the stalk. Little did she know that the buck would be just off the gravel road?
As she spotted the buck, which looks really big to her, she keeps her cool and pulls up on the buck that was broadside at 20 yards. Using a Remington Rifle 770 loaded with 130 grain, Remington Core-Lock Ultra Bonded she squeezed on the trigger only to have the rifle still on safety. Without hesitation Holly push the safety off and made the heart shot as the buck turn to run.
The 3X3 buck with symmetrical horns dropped in his tracks. Now Frankie and Holly shared High Fives on a great hunt… Now the work would start!
Ironically as you can see in the story I had taken pictures of this buck in Velvet.
With Frankie’s training on the movement of the deer in the area, he was able to calculate how he was going to hunt the property.
It is now always the size of the harvest, but the hunt and story!
Pine Grove, Oregon Blacktail on Opening Day
It is not always about hunting for the largest rack of antler on a deer. For the most part having harvest a number of dandy Mule & Blacktail bucks of the years, I have become pretty picky. Finding it easy to past up on smaller deer and sometimes just take a picture. Maybe I just don’t want the work afterwards that means a pack out.
Now that is not to say that I haven’t harvested some small bucks over the years, I have done so. A couple of them have been Blacktail bucks in more recent years than the past.
On one such hunt I had my son Frankie and another old hunting partner with me. We had gain access to a section of land up out of the town of Pine Grove on the way to Maupin, OR.
Now the rancher/farmer was a tough old bird and pretty picky who he would let on his place. He raised wheat, alfalfa, cattle and of course lots of deer.
My equipment was of course my Martin Pro Series Scepter II, Easton Arrows XX-75’s, Thunder Head 120gr. Broadheads, Mel Stanislawski’s Sight and Superb Arrow Rest. Ya! Know a bit of olds school on shoot aluminum arrows, sight and rest. I had been a shooter for Martin in the past on the word of Mel that I could get the job done.
Martin Scepter II Bow in the field 2011!
Having been in the area before during scouting trips, it was pretty easy to get a lay of the land. On this hunt there where only two (2) people hunting, Frankie and myself, with MM coming in later from a scouting trip for a future rifle hunt in the Grizzly Unit. Frankie and I would hunt slightly different areas, as I wanted to explore and he could work the gravel pit on the property. In remembrance, I should have stayed with him, as he got close to a number of good bucks (No Blood, just rocks). I saw my share of bucks, but could never close the distance on the morning hunt. It had to be about 90 degrees from first light to late into the evening!
It was extremely hot on this hunt and even though I would use the trucks going by and the running canal water used for irrigation, I could not be that quite and there were a lot of deer in the area making close stalking difficult.
Frankie and I regrouped in the afternoon and the old hunting partner came by for the evening hunt. We only had one day to hunt on this opening weekend of deer, as I had to be back to Valley RV in McMinnville on Sunday.
We had about 1 ½ of light left and we started to work a spur road on the property. Frankie and I got glimpse of the buck at the same time to our left; I was already up at full draw and heard the call from MM that he was at fift———y yards as the arrow left my Martin\ Scepter. The arrow hit the buck right in the boiler room, even though he flinched a bit and he went straight up in the air and came down in where he had been bedded. The arrow went completely through the deer and never to be found again.
Not sure if Frankie and MM could believe the shot, as I had released as the range came out of MM’s mouth. We did have to Hawaiian field dress the deer out and make a short pack, the owner of the ranch did not want any kind of vehicles on the place due to fire hazard.
He was a small 3X3 blacktail buck, not much to hang in the garage, but a great shot made on the buck, reassuring my son that the old man can still judge distance and make the shot happen. It was a good hunt with lots of game seen and it was the second time that I have harvested a Blacktail with him along.
