Blacktail Hunting With A Buddy
Part 2

...Last year Doug could get only three days off of work during the last week of deer season. The first day and the third day would pretty much be used up traveling, leaving us just one full day of hunting. Since Doug hadn't killed a buck the year before, I really hoped he would be successful this season.
.. As usual, I had several drives planned. But I felt that making drives would be substantially more difficult this year because of the heat. It's always hot during the day in late September, in Mendocino County, but last year we were having a heat wave. The temperature rose to over 100° every day that week.
...As Doug and I drove the winding rock road up the mountain, the morning of our hunt, we noticed how warm it was even though it was still and hour before daylight. We both agreed that we would glass for a little while, at first light, and then begin making drives right away to take advantage of the relative coolness of early morning.
.. We parked the truck in the usual spot, in a grove of huge Douglas Fir, and hiked over to Porch Rock to glass. We call it Porch Rock because it resembles a porch. It's one of the best spots on the ranch from which to glass a large area as the sun comes up.
.. I believe that it's essential to find a good vantage point (if one exists) and glass continuously from first light until the sun is shining directly on all the hillsides. It's not that many deer will be out feeding at that time. I believe it's usually just the opposite. The deer have had the opportunity to feed all night long. As first light approaches, the unbearable heat of the sun can't be far behind ( at least during our coastal California deer season). Deer, especially bucks, are more likely to be moving toward the safety and coolness of heavy cover, where they will spend the day, than they are to be out feeding. Often, at first light, I will see deer bedded down on open hillsides contentedly chewing their cud until the first hot rays of the sun send them heading for shade.
.. Behind us, the eastern sky was finally becoming lighter. The hills in front of us, across the canyon, started to become visible. Doug had no sooner put his binoculars to his eyes when he said "there's a deer. It's a pretty nice buck." It was still so dark that I couldn't believe that he could see a deer at that distance but as I put my binoculars up, I too could make out a tiny gray image with a pretty good rack.
.. The buck was moving across an open grassy hillside from our left to our right. He was just below the horizon moving in a straight line toward a large stand of timber located at the head of the canyon. We had used a range finder on that hill before and knew the distance to be between six and seven hundred yards. When the deer was about 50 yards from the timber he suddenly stopped and bedded down.
... As it became lighter, we could see the buck more clearly. Just his head and neck were visible above the tall dead grass. We got out the spotting scope. With it, we could see that he was a really nice symmetrical 4x4, about 18 inches wide and 15 inches high. His horns had good mass evident by his 2 inch eye guards. He was dark blue-gray in color. His neck was "swollen" showing that he was physically ready for the rut
... We wanted that buck but there wasn't much time to plan a stalk. We knew that the he would get up and move as soon as the sun hit him. We had to cut the distance in half and we had to do it fast. Between the hilltop that we were glassing from and the hillside that the buck was bedded on, are two major creek ravines running crosswise. There is a middle ridge between the two creeks. Oaks cover that ridge and grow down through both creek beds.
... I believed that from that middle ridge we could see well enough through the trees for a shot of about 300 yards to the next hillside but getting there was going to take some time. We would have to go down 500 yards then back up 500 yards just to gain 300 yards in distance. We had to do it quickly, before the sun got the buck moving.
... I said "Come on", and we grabbed our empty chambered rifles' and snuck around the back side of Porch Rock. Since I am more familiar with the topography of the ranch, I led the way. By using small drainage's and hills I kept solid ground between us and the buck, so he had no idea of our approach. When we were half way down our hill the bucks view of us would be completely blocked by the middle ridge. From this point on, we trotted to the bottom, crossed the creek, then headed up the opposite hillside.
.. As we neared the top of the ridge, we got down on hands and knees and crawled, side by side, the last 10 yards. As our eyes slowly crested the ridge, we hoped to see the buck, still laying down, now within rifle range. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated. The dense tops of some tall oaks were blocking our view of the portion of the hillside where the buck was.
... I could see the very top of the ridge maybe 50 yards above where the buck should be. The sun was now hitting there and within minutes would be shining directly on him.
... Doug went to the left and I went to the right. We stayed below the top of the ridge moving parallel to it and away from each other. We knew the buck would be moving to cover any second. Keeping low, we would sneak a few feet then peek over the top of the ridge hoping to find a place where we could see the buck through the trees. We did this three or four times each. Suddenly, Doug dropped to a prone shooting position. Nothing happened. He eased up then backed down the hill a few feet. He motioned for me to come over.
... With the look of disgust on his face, Doug told me what had happened. "If I had gotten here 10 seconds earlier, maybe five seconds earlier, I would have had a shot. Instead, I only got a glimpse of the buck as he trotted the last ten feet before he went into the timber. What are we gonna do now?"
... I had no easy answer. We found a spot to rest where we could see as much of the open ground around the stand of timber as possible, in case the buck left it. In whispers we discussed the situation. We both agreed that the chances of getting that buck were very small at this point. We have never been successful in driving bucks out of that particular stand of timber.
... This stand of timber is about 200 yards wide and sits on a hill at the head of the canyon. There are three steep rocky and wooded drainage's leading away from it and down the canyon. Bucks like this patch of timber because it offers a view of almost 360° and there are many escape routes.
... We have attempted to hunt this grove on a few occasions in the past and every time the results were the same, horns disappearing over the horizon 500 yards away on the opposite side of the timber. The bucks are aware of hunters approaching from any direction and simply slip out the back and leave the area quickly.
... I was made to really feel like a fool on one occasion. I was in full camouflage, wearing cover scent, approaching from downwind. I was sneaking along with what I thought was the cunning of the best Indian hunter only to see two huge bucks quickly leaving the area over the horizon as if they were being chased by a pack of hungry coyotes.
...................
Doug and his 2000, 4x4. Extensive scouting went into making his one day
hunt a success. Patience and perseverance are key to a successful Blacktail Hunt.

... Doug and I knew that one of us could easily chase the buck out of the timber but we felt that it was extremely unlikely for the remaining hunter to get a shot because of the great amount of escape directions possible and the rugged terrain of three steeply wooded creeks. What I really felt was that between the two of us; one moving to a stand and the other getting into position to push, we would be spotted and the big buck would be gone before we could try anything.
... The sun was up now and the temperature was already in the 90's. We still had not decided on a plan. Should we take a blind stab at trying to drive the buck out of the timber and after quickly failing (which we knew we would) get on to making some drives that we had more control over, or should we put more thought into getting this buck which was probably the biggest one that we would see in a single day of hunting? The longer we waited to start making other drives, the hotter it would become.
... It was Doug's hunt so it was his call. "We can go up and drive that buck out of the timber anytime today. He's not going anywhere in this heat. For now, let's sneak along this ridge a little farther and watch those oaks for a while", he said.
... The ridge that we were on was a continuation of the ridge we had earlier hoped to get a shot from. It led up to the head of the canyon. Doug picked a spot about 300 yards below the stand of timber that the four point was now in.
... We were pretty much in the center of the three steep drainage's that originated below the timber. We looked out over the middle one. We had a good view of the oaks and grassy openings that crossed the now gentle drainage below us. The ground rose to another ridge about 150 yards out. Beyond that ridge was a second creek that we could not see. The third creek was down the hill behind us and also out of our view.
... Blacktails are more active during the heat of the day than must hunters are aware of. If undisturbed, they will get up several times during the day to feed and move the location of their beds. They usually don't move far however, and they always remain in the shaded areas. Does are seen more often during the day than bucks because they are more likely to bed down in scattered oaks. As the rut approaches, bucks, especially the mature ones, become very reclusive and solitary spending their days in heavy timber or thick brush.
... As Doug suggested, we concealed ourselves and watched the oaks below for midmorning deer activity. We could not possibly be seen. We were dressed in camouflage, sitting back in the shadows of a couple of oaks that were about 20 feet apart. When the sun is bright the shadows are black making what's in the shade almost invisible. We each leaned against the trunk of an oak holding our rifles across our laps. We were close enough together that we could whisper to each other.
... Personally, I have never had the patience for stand hunting. I find that my mind wanders and often I have a hard time staying awake. I would rather go find a buck than wait for one to come to me.
... Doug, on the other hand, is much more patient. He can sit and remain alert for long periods of time.
... My mind was wandering. I was thinking about the temperature steadily climbing with each minute we sat. I was thinking that we were wasting our time and when we finally did get around to making some drives and doing some still hunting, the temperature would be unbearable.
... It was about 9:30 AM. We had been sitting for almost two hours. I was just about to tell Doug that I couldn't take this anymore and that we should try to run that 4x4 out of the timber, when out of the corner of my eye I saw Doug put his binoculars to his eyes. "There's some does", he said.
... In the drainage below us, about 100 yards away, four does were up feeding. They had probably been bedded down, just below us, all along. It wasn't until they stood up and moved a little that we could see them.
... We watched the does feeding in front of us. They were eating acorns in the shade of the oaks. Very slowly they were making their way up the hillside, moving from our right to our left. It appeared that the does would soon cross through a clearing on the top of the ridge and then drop down into the drainage on the other side. Staring at the feeding deer was hypnotizing me. I was falling asleep.
... Suddenly, Doug whispered, "There's the buck." An instant later his 7mm roared. The four point was just cresting the ridge, from the back side, when the bullet hit. All I really saw was a brief glimpse of horns, and then at the sound of the shot, I saw four hooves pointing straight up from a cloud of dust as the impact knocked the buck backward and out of sight. " Wow", was all I could say as Doug was already getting up to check his buck.
... There was no doubt in my mind that the 4x4 was dead, just over the crest of the ridge, but just to be on the safe side, I didn't follow Doug to the spot where we had seen the buck last. I circled down to the left, crossing the ridge much lower and followed the drainage back up. By doing this I would be more likely to intercept a wounded deer that would probably be headed down hill.
... I followed the drainage then climbed the backside of the ridge to where Doug should be. There he was, admiring the fine 4x4 blacktail which was partially obscured by the low hanging branches of a young bushy Douglas Fir.
... Doug was obviously very pleased, He knows as well as anyone that the odds are very much against a hunter who hopes to kill a nice blacktail in just one day of hunting. This is especially true when the temperature is around 100 degrees. We knew how fortunate we were. I said loudly "This was absolutely perfect!", emphasizing the word perfect. "Congratulations, buddy", I said while shaking Doug's hand. "You know, if I didn't know better, I might think that you actually knew what you were doing." Doug smiled as he tried to out-squeeze me in the hand shake, failing again.
... I handed Doug the cell phone, He punched in numbers then put the phone to his ear. "Uncle Dan, I got a buck.... A nice four point... Just below the timber at the head of the big canyon. Are you coming up? Okay, good. Bye." My brother Dan, is our other huntin' buddy. It's tradition, Doug always calls his Uncle Dan right after he kills a buck.
... We would meet Dan and his wife Linda at the camp behind Porch Rock. There we would film some video and take some still pictures, and Doug could tel l" the story."
... The task at hand was to get the buck skinned and out of the heat as soon as possible. We would have to drag it about 500 yards, mostly uphill, without the benefit of any shade, just to be able to get the truck to it.
... We talked between gasps for air, as we dragged the big bodied Blacktail. "I think I know just what this buck was doing," Doug said. "I'll bet he was laying up in the timber watching those does. He must have slipped down the next drainage figuring that he would meet them on the ridge where he could check them out." "I think you're probably right," I agreed.
... We trudged upward. The sun was straight overhead. We laughed and kidded around as the sweat poured off our foreheads burning our eyes. "Absolutely perfect", could have been heard more than once coming from our direction. I'm sure it was over 100 degrees, but that didn't matter. Our muscles were aching but we didn't notice.
... This moment is why I hunt Blacktail Bucks. The funny thing is, I don't even need a rifle or a tag for the part of deer hunting that I love most. All I need is a good huntin' buddy. And you know, there's no better huntin' buddy than my son.

Dave Gibson
Mendocino County, California................................ Blacktail Articles Index
.