I’m jealous of you guys getting to hunt moose! That’s on my bucket list for sure. We have Blacktail on my side of the state, the west side, and mule deer to the east. Everything east of the cascade mountains is pretty much a lottery draw. I learned to call elk from watching the old primos hunting videos and Larry D Jones and applied that into the woods. Then it’s all about putting miles on the boots and finding good areas that hold elk. We don’t have great hunting for elk around where I’m at but I’ve learned the area good enough to have a decent chance. That’s good they’re keeping the Whitetail numbers down. They’ve taken over a lot of the mule deer range here. As you probably know they have dominant genes. When they breed a mule deer the babies end up being whitetail.
Good luck on your hunt!
Pretty good I must say! Rabbit deff way better… one year I shot 22! made rabbit sausage with the casings stuffed with pepper jack cheese and bacon…
PHENOMENAL
Ya on the west side of the coastal range in BC we get Blacktails and big mulies on the east side between the fraser river and the coastal range. They intermingle during the rut migrations and we get blacktail/mulie hybrids… many of these are scored as Blacktails by hunters not quite being honest about which area they got thier trophy rack from LOL
I love it though, Blacktail deer hunting is one of my favorite things in life. They are so sneaky and cautious as they slip through the forest. I’ve hunted the exact same gps spot for over 20 years now and still as productive as the first year I went.
can’t wait!!!
Yep blacktail deer are the most elusive smartest deer hands down. They’re basically nocturnal until the rut hits. That’s why I bow hunt them because at least I get to see more. I grunted in a nice one 5 years ago. It scored 130”
Those mule deer get huge in Canada. That seems like the place to go anymore to get a big one.
Here’s my blacktail and a cougar I got along with some trail camera pics. I used to have cameras out all the time. Not so much since I had the little guy.
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What all process you use to get the skull super clean like that?
I gave it to the taxidermist and had it stripped and cleaned by carnivorous beetles in a tank. They may have cleaned it after but I was under the impression instead of boiling and bleaching. The beetles did the work… @JustSumTomatoes
Went out for last day of teal season with a buddy this morning not thinking itd be a great day for it… setting up decoys and had three bluewings land in the water with us at about 10 yds… so i figure thats it on the ducks we’ll see…
Got into the blind and heard wings overhead, big group of maybe 75-100 teal zooming up top, circled and swung back and a few dropped into the decoys, the swung back around and we lit them up and dropped a few… they went out turned around and came back, dropped a couple more… then two more groups came by and we got some from them and ended up with 10 down by 7am… waited a few minutes and a group of 4 came in and we dropped two from that for our limit… i saw two… i dropped one and one was so close when my buddy shot that it literally just poofed into a wing connected to a neck and a bunch of feathers.
It was a great day of shooting.
The last one i knocked down swimming next to a hen decoy and the pile of feathers that was the buddys last duck lol
I really want to go for teal someday. I missed our early teal season this year. I heard they are delicious though small. One month until duck season opens here. Stoked to bang some shells at woodies soon.
I heard those spinner decoys work well for teal, they work wonders for dove. People would be shooting at them and they would turn and dive right into my spread lol.
When i first started duck hunting i hated teal hunting, but i think its mostly cuz my uncle was taking me to swamp mud flats in the middle of the early September afternoon heat and getting swarmed by mosquitos and never seeing anything…
When we moved here and the boss said i could duck hunt the pond i said fuck it, ill try teal in the morning, itll be cooler and less buggy… flight after flight after flight that first time i went out and couldnt get my gun to fire lol
Now ill say that big ducks dont show up in great numbers on the pond but ill shoot a few mallards a year and occasional gadwall or widgeon… last year opener was weird cuz the first duck to fly by me at shooting light, i dropped… went to get it and it was a ringbill… on a farm pond and also just by itself… very odd for a deep water river diver to be hanging out in the middle of the country 10ish miles from the river itself.
3 weeks for me and i almost oopsied a woodie last weekend cuz it came in with a small group of teal and just as fast, had to remind my buddy not to shoot the big duck lol I didnt call the shot on that group because i wasnt gonna take the chance of hitting it, im not that great a shot lol
That they do, for both… buddy had a hen and drake spinner, i had two drakes out, and then maybe a dozen hen mallard decoys cuz early season plumage and all… so hard to tell which ducks were drakes and which were hens without getting super close
Overall, i think the thrill of teal season for me is hearing the wings whooshing like a turbo on a diesel from that group of 20 or so tiny little birds and how fast they fly… so fast…
Very small lol that picture of the decoys a few up has the teal i winged sitting next to a lifesize mallard hen decoy lol its like a duckling in comparison.
I may hunt some this year.
I slayed many deer, ducks
Doves etc over the years.
I have abundant game for eastern
NC around me.
Thing is the older I get the less I wanna hunt lol ,hernia lyme disease
Etc But I have a strong craving for
Deer Jerky.
We see, but I do hunt a lot with my camera now.
And I am into ratting big time.
It’s almost that time in NC
Bow season may be in now?
Happy hunts yall
well, the first deer hunt of the season was a resounding success.
The one friend I have shared this spot with drove up on the 1st and set up the ladder for my treestand that I leave there year round. Can’t use it without the ladder and seldom do hunters around there actually walk around in the bush, most road hunt in trucks, atvs and sidebysides.
So my friend hunted the evening sunday and had the stand to himself monday. I made a 5 hour drive down and met up with my brother and then another 3 hour or so drive to camp. We arrived in time for supper and enough light to set up our stuff.
Tuesday morning my friend and I did a slow hike up the mountain to the little hollow that my treestand is in. Ideally we would have been in the stand an hour earlier but we were not in a rush. We were not even in the stand an hour when the first buck of the day came wandering in from the right like they so often do. I nudged my friend and signaled for him to take the shot and at 30 yards his rifle barked and the deer was down clean.
It was early enough that we decided he would drag out his deer and I would stay in the stand. It was a smart move as not long after he left, the deer kept coming. Lots of healthy does and lots of fat little fawns too. Good to see the numbers and the health of the animals as it bodes well for healthy herds and many more years of productive hunting.
So after seeing probably 13 does and fawns, Movement to the right caught my eye and as I slowly turned my head, I see 3 does heading in from the right, straight to the stand. To the left of them and about 10 yards from me is a big old growth tree and as the does came to about 20 yards out from behind the tree comes this brute of a blacktail. I could not see him as he was walking straight at me but in perfect line with the tree. I could only see the does travelling with him until he stepped out. I swiftly aimed my rifle as he took a left and presented for the shot. He fell at 10 yards from the stand with one shot. The does were not sure what to do and acted like they never heard the shot. They did not notice me in the stand as I just sat there motionless and full of adrenaline. After about 20 minutes they went on thier way and I climbed down from the stand and walked over the the animal. I was surprised by it’s body mass and it had cool 3x2 antlers that were thick like a mulie rack. I don’t concern myself too much with antler size as I am a meat hunter but who doesn’t like a nice rack eh?
It wasn’t long before I heard a whistle down below me as my friend had made his way up the trail when he heard the shot. He did the muscle work while I kept an eye out for black bears or grizzlies and down the mountain we went.
About the grizzlies… they are usually to the west of the river but apparently in the specific area were were hunting there were recent sightings. Info given to us on the way in when we stopped to talk to the Conservation Officer parked at the head of the road in.
Next day my brother and I hunted and saw lots of does and fawns but no bucks…hmmmm
The weather was getting a bit on the warm side and we decided to hunt one more day and call it. So thursday morning I hobbled up the trail on my own and got into the stand nice and early. Deer were moving right away and then nothing from 8 am to about 10am… then the flood gates opened LOL Deer coming through every 15 minutes or so. I figure another huntet was on the mountain above us or along the saddle beside us. I heard a machine around 9:30ish and I bet it was that hunter moving on. Regardless, the deer started coming through but agaiin, does and fawns… counted 16 deer by 11:15 and that is when a nice 2pt came right down the chute in front of me and presented a tect book broadside shot. Job done I sat there and smoked a joint and let the forest settle down.
Heard my brother whistle from down below me and he joined me to help get the deer out. At least the second one wasn’t a monster like the first one LOL
So I punched the 2 tags I was allowed to fill in that region and have one left to use and that’s it. Can get a white tail or a mulie and there is plenty of opportunity and land to hunt not far from my driveway. 
My wife has not filled her 3 tags yet but we may not need to if I bag another one.
Here’s pics of the 2 Blacktails from this season’s coastal mountain adventure 
and some hunting humor… 
Congrats on that , I am jealous you already have your meat. Our bow season just kicked in and I found a nice scrape a few yards from my ladder stand.
I’m impressed…
I used to do a bunch of duck/goose hunting in TX and AR, but now more into deer and bear where we are at now. It’s nice walking out the back door and straight to a stand. I got a small bear a couple weeks ago, gave him like 3 chances to not come back, but he kept coming in.
We always liked to make jerky from the breaths and smoke the legs. We’ve brine them in full pickle brine for a few days, wrap on bacon, and then use a hot honey rub. Toss them on the smoker at 225-250 and they are damn good. I was skeptical about the dill at first but they are awesome.
I never could hunt birds, I bred parrots and always preferred ‘living birds’, I’ll eat those you might bring me though.
Love elk hunting, 10 seasons in NW Colorado before our hunting group went different directions.
The coastal blacktails around here are hardly worth taking after you have had a few bull elk in the freezer. Still get a tag and take the rifle for a walk…skipped more shots then I’ve taken in recent years, having fun hiking with the pupper these days, less messy.
Just got back from hunting got me one,. 4 by 2 with eye guards. No pics. Also got a few grouse and will be making some up in a bit. Sounds dank. I got back and took a edible and am still fried. Holy hell. Fuck yes. Got one!
Now for elk season!°°°°° 