Trad Gang

Well, Oregon Blacktail buck and Blacktail bow.   :archer:  

This morning I went up to hunt a treestand where I've been getting some pics of decent bucks for the last month. A couple days before Thanksgiving I had a 140ish 4pt broadside at 30 yards from this stand, but he was just beyond my shooting range and wouldn't come any closer.

It was pretty cold but calm when I climbed in the stand this morning. But I had my wool on and insulated pacs, so I figured I was good to go. As it began to get light I tried a series of mock battle with my rattlers. After about 30-40 minutes I spotted movement coming up out the reprod. Elk! 4 cows, 2 calves, and a spike bull came in and milled around my stand looking to see what all the racket was about, then they slowly fed off and out of sight.

As time went on I lost all feeling in my toes, and was forcing myself to stay put 10 minutes at a time, then another 10 minutes, and so on. The sun was finally working it's way down in where I was, but I was considering climbing down. I rattled again at about 10:35 and about 10 minutes later I caught movement off to my right. I could see the back half of a deer, so I nocked an arrow. Then the deer stepped clear and began walking toward my stand.

Now, I've been trying to kill a deer or elk from a treestand for years, but I usually lose patience or get cold and climb down. I've also shot over several animals in the past.

Well this buck continued on and slowly walked by me. I started to draw my bow, but I so cold and stiff from sitting for 4 hours I could only get half drawn. I thought my shoulders and back would pop and spook the buck, so I let down. The buck sniffed the ground and took several more steps and was quartering away at around 15 yards. The buck dropped his head again and I came to full draw and released. My doug fir arrow passed through the buck and he kicked and ran off, but angled down into a draw. He had gone about 60-70 yards and I saw his back legs begin to give out as went behind some small trees.

After sitting in the stand and collecting my thoughts for several minutes I climbed down. I was sure the buck was down and dead as I picked up my arrow. But I knew it would be a tough drag back up the draw, so I walked on out to the truck to retrieve my packboard. More than anything I needed to get warmed up by moving around for awhile.

After getting warmed up and getting circulation back in my feet I went down the draw and easily found the buck. He's a 3x4, and had lots of trash on the bases.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v117/treekiller/trophy%20photos/2009buck2.jpg)

I put on my '95 Ducks Rose Bowl T-shirt this morning for the fun of it, and it brought me good luck.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v117/treekiller/trophy%20photos/2009buck3.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v117/treekiller/trophy%20photos/2009buck4.jpg)

All Right, Ron!  Really happy for you!

Stan

Great job Ron!  That's a bomber of a Blacktail and a sweet perk after sitting in a stand for that long. As you well know by now you take these kinds of "gifts" when they come your way when hunting these Blacktails.  Lord knows I have spent many an hour hunting stands that never produced sight of a deer.  Well done.

Congratulations.

Those Blacktails are sure handsome.

Awsome Ron, Great buck and great story,. I have set up tons of tree stands over the years but never killed a blacktail buck out of one. Like you < I always got down too fast. Back in the day we built them into the trees. I have old stands all over southern Oregon LOL. Most never had an animal taken out of them.

Great job.

I thought this day was coming!

Congrats Ron,to stay put up a tree stand is tough in those temperatures.

NICE! You'll get used to treestand hunting after a couple thousand hours,ha (I've spent a lot of time in trees).

Great Blacktail...congrats   :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Very cool.
Jack

Nice mature blacktail buck and good hunting, congratulations.

Treekiller, I am ALWAYS looking for your Blacktail pics--you shoot some FINE specimens!  Is that sunshine in those pictures?

:thumbsup:

beauty!, congrats

A very nice buck! Can't say enough about how fine an animal he is.

Hey...you're not gonna wear that T shirt again anytime soon are you?    ;)  

Kevin

great buck . have you looked at thermosoles?   fixed my cold feet problem for good.

Thanks guys!  He's a stinky old fella, but so am I at times.    :saywhat:  

QuoteOriginally posted by Owlgrowler:
NICE! You'll get used to treestand hunting after a couple thousand hours,ha (I've spent a lot of time in trees).

Owl...what's the secret to keeping the feet warm? After about 2 hours, my toe's were numb! I was wearing 100% wool socks inside insulated LaCrosse pacs.     :campfire:

Ron,what is that white core strip on your limbs,foam?Felix

QuoteOriginally posted by LITTLEBIGMAN:
great buck . have you looked at thermosoles?   fixed my cold feet problem for good.

No I haven't. I have/have had plantar fascitis in both feet, so I have special orthotics I use in my boots. Any more insoles would probably make my boots too tight. I had some heavy felt insoles I removed from my boots so the orthotics would fit.

QuoteOriginally posted by cacciatore:
Ron,what is that white core strip on your limbs,foam?Felix

Bamboo, I think that's all Norm uses for the core of his limbs anymore.

Been waiting for this thread! Congrats Ron on a dandy of a blacktail!!  :thumbsup:

Very nice Blacktail.  Way to go Ron.  Way to hang in there.  

Brock

Great job and congratulations.

That's a beauty! I think the blacktail is the hardest deer to get from what I know.

Thanks for sharin' Tree Killa!

AWESOME!

I knew that it would all come together for ya!

Good shootin' and keep those toes warm - silk socks as the first layer before the wool would help.

Shoot straight, Shinken

Nice.....

Ron, My feet are always the first to go!

This is what I do; Spray my feet with unscented antiperspirant, blocks the sweat gland pores and keeps the tootsies dry. Then liner socks, wool socks and Schnee's warmest pac boot.

And my feet still get cold on stand, which is what I used to do,stand, I rarely sat down. Then last year I realized that by standing on my feet constantly, I was putting a lot of pressure on them and I think it must slow the circulation. Now I try to sit more, take the pressure off and wiggle those toes.

:thumbsup:

how much for the t-shirt?   :biglaugh:

Ron...

Great job as usual!!

Bob

Nice buck.  Way to stick it out.

:bigsmyl:

Great blacktail. I like the looks of your Blacktail bow too....new? The freezing paid off! I know what you mean about not being able to draw your bow when you are cold, stiff, and frozen.  
I'm heading out again tomorrow..hope the rattling is productive.

The Blacktail bows have bamboo cores.

Dang it Tree Killer that is and awesome Buck.

beautiful deer Buddy
Congrats

Luv it! Look forward to this thread every year    :notworthy:  

Congrats bud    :clapper:

Do you have that buck on Trail cam?

:bigsmyl:    :thumbsup:    :clapper:

Wow,congrats on a fine buck!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by snag:
Great blacktail. I like the looks of your Blacktail bow too....new? The freezing paid off! I know what you mean about not being able to draw your bow when you are cold, stiff, and frozen.  
I'm heading out again tomorrow..hope the rattling is productive.

The Blacktail bows have bamboo cores.

No, it's the same old brush beater Blacktail bow I've been hunting with for 4-5 years now.

Good luck snag, it's COLD and WINDY up here this morning. Glad I don't have to go try and hunt this next week!    :saywhat:

Thanks for all the kind words folks, it's nice to get lucky now and then! These rutted up old Blacktails tend to get a little tough and gamey this time of year, but he'll eat just fine with my crockpot recipes.     :notworthy:  

Congrats bud     :clapper:  

Do you have that buck on Trail cam?

---

No Curt, had never seen this buck before. There's some pretty nasty high country back upstream from where I was hunting and the weather is getting wintery, so he might have just migrated down from up above?