...We are located in North Western California in Mendocino County, which consists of nearly 4,000 square miles of excellent Columbian Blacktail Deer habitat. With a population of only 85,000 there is still lot's of prime Blacktail hunting country available in the area.
...The Boone and Crockett (B&C) record book has proven that Northern California and Southern Oregon are the places to go for big Columbian Blacktails. I have been hunting Blacktails for close to 30 years and have taken some nice bucks, but it wasn't until I moved to Mendocino county twelve years ago that I found out just how big pure Columbian Blacktails can really get.
...I grew up a hundred and fifty miles South of here, hunting in the hills of San Joaquin and Alameda counties. Where rarely did we encounter truly big Blacktails. We considered a 16-inch wide, 3-point a real trophy and it is, in San Joaquin County. But here in Mendocino County it would only be considered a little better than average. There were most certainly bigger bucks in the area but they were few and far between.
...In Mendocino County a 16-inch buck is still a nice trophy, but not all that uncommon. We spend a lot of time every year filming and hunting Blacktails on our ranch and surrounding areas. Every year we see hundreds of bucks in that class. "Big" in this part of Blacktail Country starts at about 20 inches wide (outside) and 16 inches high. With at least three points per side and lots of mass.
.. A "really big" Blacktail will have a spread in excess of 24 inches, brow-tines and four or more points per side. Every year in our area there are Blacktails killed with spreads approaching 30 inches and others with numerous points and extreme mass. The number one Columbian Blacktail from the state of California (according to the Boone and Crockett Record Book) has an outside spread of 30 5/8 inches and an inside spread of 26 5/8 inches. Another huge Columbian Blacktail taken in Trinity County California, has an incredible outside spread of 35 3/8 inches and an inside spread of 28 6/8 inches.
. ...If you are in search of a truly exceptional Blacktail and an incredible hunting experience, give Northern California a try. There is lot's of public land available for hunting and most of it holds trophy class Blacktails. For those of you who can afford to pay the price, there are also limited hunting opportunities available on private land with the average price for a fully guided Blacktail hunt costing in excess of three thousand dollars.
..When we are not hunting or filming blacktails we design and maintain Websites. The name of our company is CyberMagic. We specialize in outdoor oriented sites but can build all types of websites. If you like the look of BlacktailCountry.com and are in need of website development or maintenance please keep us in mind. We can be reached at blacktailcountry@comcast.net