HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!
Many of you remember my buddy Benny Pinney from Wisconsin as the kid who I mentored from age 16. Benny has gone on to complete a four year degree in Biology and now is in his last of four years of dental school at Oregon Health Science University (OHSU) in Portland, OR.
Over the years Benny and I have hunted together from the Caribbean to the North Slope and many places in between. (See the 2005 Hunt Archives)
Since it will be Benny's last year in Oregon I decided that I better get down there and hunt Columbian Blacktails with him before he left.
To complete his dental program, Benny has to pass his boards (Which, I'm proud to say he has already accomplished) and get checked off on dozens and dozens of proceedures.
I have gone to Portland several times to be his Guinea-pig from some of these proceedures and this trip would be a combination of "drilling and filling" in Steve's mouth AND deer hunt.
This was going to be the first time I have really been in the woods in the continental Pacific Northwest so these deer were new to me.
I arrived on Saturday evening and Benny picked me up at the airport and we headed south towards Roseburg. We decided we were going to hunt funnels like we would for whitetails back in the midwest so Benny had pre-scouted a few locations to get us going and hung a pair of stands.
Here is what the country looks like. This is the west slope of the Cascades.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG1_AreaScene-1.jpg)
The first morning Benny put me in what he thought would be the better of the two stands. Here is a view from that stand. That's my boy!
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG2_Stand1ViewB_111107-1.jpg)
I didn't see a single deer but that was alright. I really had no expectations for this trip other than getting some gold in my mouth and probably getting wet in the Oregon rainforest.
To be continued......
QuoteOriginally posted by Steve H.:
I really had no expectations for this trip other than getting some gold in my mouth
Guess Chad Johnson of the Bengals was Ben's other guniea pig :biglaugh:
Happt Turkey Day Steve.
Hey you know next year is the 10th Mojam. You going to make it?
Stevie, finally some pics that will fit on my monitor screen, LOL! I think Benny just keeps your mouth sore when you visit so you don't eat all his food...hehehe...
Oh Boy!!!!! Nother one of Steve's stories!!!!!!!
Yes another one! PART 2:
Now while I was seeing NO deer the first morning in the "good" stand, Benny saw TEN (10) deer including 4 bucks from the other stand! Put dear old "Dad" in the good stand huh?! Many of the deer were in range and he could have killed a pair of does but the bucks stayed on the move or in brush.
We hunted that evening, me hanging a stand at a new location, but we didn't see any deer. That evening we headed back to Portland and the following morning Benny drilled a cracked tooth and prepared it for a gold crown. Tuesday at a VERY early hour had me headed south while Benny remained at school, prepared "King Steve's" gold crown.
For some reason I decided to go where Benny had seen the ten deer. I hadn't been to this spot so I made sure I had detailed instructions of how to get to the stand. As the dark gray turned to light gray, it became obvious to me why this was such an incredible spot. A drainage dissected a steep ridge, a creek paralleled the ridge on one side and an old logging road on the other, and a mature timber stand edge with reprod on the other side came in opposite of the drainage. That is several funneling features all coming together in ONE spot!
I sat back and eagerly awaited the unknown buck that I just knew would show!
Here is a photo from near the stand.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG3_Blur_NewStandTree-1.jpg)
I expect some of you just KNEW a deer would show up! Finally, all of a sudden there he appeared walking downhill sniffing the ground for does. A spike, no there's more! Wholly crap he's got a rack!
I had to remind myself to stay calm. He started to angle away then headed my way. At ten yards he was slightly quartering towards me but it looked like it would get worse from there on as Benny had set this stand really high due to the steep terrain and having been busted in the past with deer at eye level on the hillside above.
I pulled back and shot.
Come on Steve!
We're Waiting........ :saywhat:
tap, tap, tap.......
I climbed down from the stand about 25 minutes later and started looking for signs of my arrow or red. As I was looking for first sign I see a flash of brown and then antler. A nice 3 x 3 plus brow tines must have heard the disturbance and had come to investigate. He soon spotted the lump in the trail and slipped away.
I continued searching and soon found this:
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG4_Blur_BloodLeaf3.jpg)
I just got back from hanging a SITKA Blacktail stand with Chris "JuneauLongbow" Fannin. We gotta good trail.
Anybody even still reading this?
I continued following a good trail that went farther that I first thought and jumped the buck. The blood sign read "liver". I feared dripping water washing away the sign even though it seemed like it could be a nice day. Water drips off the trees big-time down there. Occasionally I would find REALLY good blood. The buck crossed and re-crossed the small creek.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG5_Blur_BloodGlob.jpg)
I trailed the buck down into the stream bed but was getting nervous since I couldn't locate where he came out again. I waded upstream trying to figure out where he came out of the streambed.
HEY Steve ,I'm readin,keep writin!! Lookin better! :thumbsup: :)
Come on Steve, kennym and I at least would like to know what happened.
Come on Steve this i s better tahn the Dallas/Jets game.
QuoteOriginally posted by Jack Denbow:
Come on Steve this i s better tahn the Dallas/Jets game.
Yeah - We know what's going to happen there! :biglaugh:
Come on Steve, give it up.
Finally, this in what I found:
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG6_Nock.jpg)
Sorry, I've been "triptofaning".
He made it back to water one last time. Notice the distictive "black"tail.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG7_DeadBuck_Stream_111307.jpg)
Not bad for a blacktail first! He has a 19" outside spread, and....
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG8_OR_Blacktail_A_Thinned_111307.jpg)
....and I was surprised when I check his teeth an they were worn down to the gum. An OLD warrior! This is on public land but I believe there is limited controlled gun hunts.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG9_OR_Blacktail_Z_THINNED_111307.jpg)
Way to go Steve, what a beast! I like your choice of footwear. How about a pic of that gold crown? Oh, and is that an empty quiver in that first photo? Maybe there's more to this story than he's let'n out.
PS Got your message earlier. You at home now?
Meat yield indicated he was probably in that 165-175# class.
The next day after buthering and packing was complete, I headed back to Portland. Benny finished casting my gold crown and fitted it and we headed south again on Saturday at O'dark-thirty to look for a deer for him.
We went to another spot he had seen several bucks from last year and where he had killed a doe. It was far closer so we went there first. I had pulled the earlier stands so I went and hung a stand a few yards away from where I had killed my buck and did some additional scouting.
I drove down to the Umpqua River where there exists a sub-species of whitetail called the "Columbian Whitetail". These deer have a unique white bullseye around their eyes and after a bit of looking I found a couple mature bucks running does.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/TG10_ColumbianWhitetails_BuckDoe1.jpg)
Unfortunately it rained and it poured and Benny's deer sightings were pretty limited for the weekend. Benny will have a bit more time next weekend before the season closes on the southern spot.
Yes, Luke, come by for pie!
That's a beauty Steve. Congratulations. I want to hunt those blacktails someday.
Keep it coming!!!!!!!!!!!!
congrats on a outstanding hunt.
Wow...Congrats!
Nice one Steve, and on public land ! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Gil
That is one of the biggest blacktails I have ever seen! Great tracking job. :thumbsup:
Good job on the recovery. So was it a liver hit?
Congrats.
Wow,,,, great photos and nice blacktail....
Very nice!
Great buck and story Steve!!!!!!!!
Man, if I had only known you needed dental work when we were in Junuea in August I would have been glad to have done it for you. No, I'm not a dentist but I wouldn't be afraid to give it a try.
Nice deer and story. Happy Thanksgiving holiday.
Actually the arrow angled down between the two lobes of the liver and it was hard to find the actual path. What was weard was I did not see a cut on either lobe but I think it cut the connective tissue between lobes.....does that make anatomical sense, LOL?
I intend to send the pair of incisors off for dental cementum aging as I'm really curious how old this deer really is.
(Jack, wow, what an offer!)
Nice buck Steve!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Great job!!
You're a Mo feller aren't ya?
Have ya ever been to the Moberly trad shoot(bout 15 years +/- ago)?
Way to go Steve. Great buck.
Wow that was nice. I hope to find one tommarow.
No kennym, I'm a Nebraska boy. I got stuck in Arch-town for a while thou and have degrees from NWMSU and MU.
I don't think I have shot at a Moberly Trad Shoot or is that the one where I met up with Strubby once???
Ahh, home sweet home. Great country, eh, Steve. You probably already know it, but that is one heckuva nice blacktail! Congratulations.
Stan
I'm going out tomorrow. Hope I get a chance at the huge buck I say last weekend! Your pictures have did a good job of getting me stoked for the hunt! It's interesting that some guys have said the bucks they took had very little fat on them. I hope the remaining bucks can winter over ok if we have a hard winter. Thanks, David
Quote on page 3 by Jack Shanks
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" Man, if I had only known you needed dental work when we were in Junuea in August I would have been glad to have done it for you. No, I'm not a dentist but I wouldn't be afraid to give it a try"
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Jack, did you stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night? Lol!!
Now that's funny!!
:biglaugh:
-Leonard-
I agree Leonard...That's the quote of the month in my book!
I didn't have a basis for comparison for these deer and what kind of winters they are up againts but no, there was very little fat. He was a bit gaunt, I assumed from chasing does.
Might also have something to do with his age.
Maybe you intercepted him on the way to the dentist...you said he appeared to need some crowns.
A few months from now when I get the age I'll resurrect this thread and post it. My guess is 8 minimum but we'll see.
Oh and by the way, I went and looked at this spot and others that I had been on the ground at on Google Earth and there is a lot of good scouting for funnels than can happen ahead of a hunt for anyone contemplating a trip like this to OR from an unfamilar area.
Hey Steve,
Great dear and some good info on the Google search.
Outstanding !Getem Ho! Schuster will be lining a FRee hunt with you in no time so he can tag along on your next hunt....Its been really neatreading about young Ben over the years gettin grown how bowhunting remains a factor in his life..your a great Mentor.. happy holidays
Very nice buck Steve! Congrats!
Congrats on the buck, Steve....a real nice deer!
Very nice story and photos, and congratulations on that fine buck!
Congrats on a great buck! Thanks for sharing your hunt with us. Cheers, Matt
....and the story unexpectedly continues.
Benny calls me last night and says he is watching the weather reports and it looks like a break so he changes from not scheduling any patients on Friday to none on Tuesday. He would get up early and travel to the closer spot and hunt there.
This morning my cell phone breaks the silence; I'm the only one at work. Benny whispers: "I just shot a nice buck but I didn't get much penetration". We discussed the scenario and he decides to wait seveal hours. He then says "I think I see the buck! I gotta go."
..and there I am hanging.....
...and there I am hanging.....
I'm hanging.
..sorry, had a meeting....
Benny called back later after not waiting as long as he intended as it started raining hard.
He said he didn't find any blood at all and so he went to the spot he last saw the buck.
AND? Jeesh Steve, your story telling....umm....needs some work :D
hey...i get off work at 8am and i want to see the end of this one...great story and great blacktail!
I forgot HOW to modify the title to let those who have seen this know there is NOW a new and unexpected addition to the story.
So he went to the spot he last saw the buck and nothing. So he started looking around and there it is, laying dead on a bench.
He calls me all pumped up as it is a really nice 4x4 plus brow tines.
Hours later I called him back and this is way after dark. He is still working on getting it out of the woods as the short cut didn't pan out and he went from futile dragging to realizing he was going to need to quarter it on the spot. This was around 7 pm last night and if he got back to Portland at a reasonable time, he would e-mail me photos. None yet so I am suspecting it was a very late night that started with a very early morning.
So sorry, no photo until I can get some too!
Great job, old buddy Steve. And for Benny too. Gotta love these 'vicarious' hunts.
A late-nighter that I am sure ended with a tired but satisfied ending. Can't wait to see this brute!
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a137/SteveHohensee/Benny_Blacktail_2007.jpg)
Finally. Just in.....
Another awesome trophy for Ben! Way to go, both of you guys, and thanks for sharing the stories, Steve!
nice buck Benny!
Steve great blacktail!!!!!! Don't know if you realize how fortunate you are. Big Old Blacktails like that are few and far between.I've been hunting them for 30 years and have only taken 3 in that class. They are truely a wonderful animal to hunt, in great terrain and really miserable weather.Again congratulations!!!!!
WAY TO GO, BENNY! You are DA MAN!!
I think I'm getting a toothache...
"A few months from now when I get the age I'll resurrect this thread and post it. My guess is 8 minimum but we'll see."
I just got my cementum aging data in yesterday. Bringing this thread to the top and will post "the rest of the story" from my other computer later today.
Cool, looking forward to it Steve!
We have completed processing on the specimen you submitted on December 7, 2007 for forensic aging. We promised to have the results back to you by April 7, 2008. The cementum-annuli analysis has determined that the age of "2007 Oregon Blacktail" is 9.5 years. The cementum lines were very clear and distinct. Congratulations on a great, old trophy. We would love to see a picture of him. He is the oldest blacktail we have aged to date. Wildlife Analytical Labs thanks you for doing business with us. We will be sending you a paper copy of this e-mail via the US Post Office. If we can be of additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Henry Chidgey
CoFounder
Wildlife Analytical Laboratories LLC
www.DeerAge.com (http://www.deerage.com)
NINE AND A HALF!
dude, you killed a senior citizen! :biglaugh:
Congratulations!
Great story, Steve. I get to see "gramps" this weekend, right?