I found this picture while going though some of my past hunting photos and thought it would be worth sharing, as Blacktail deer hunting has historically been an intense passion of mine. This buck was shot in the Pysht unit around 1939 by my friend, Shannon's, grand dad. There is no mule deer in this buck's bloodlines, it is 100% pure Blacktail, and it's the biggest I have ever held. I rough scored this buck at 175 inches, which is on par with the largest Boone & Crocket buck on the books.

H E A V Y

unreal

What a deer. Was it ever offically scored? Might place high and everyone likes to be part of the books (at least I would).

It has never been offically scored. I came across it sitting in a big pile of dusty antlers in the basement of Jerry Dearing's old taxidermy shop in Port Angeles years ago. I then met Shannon who gave me the full story on the buck.

What a hog.

That's a pig.
Huge mainbeams.
Glad to see you getting a little giddy about hunting these days Tim.
Knowing how OCD you are about steelhead, you could do some damage in the woods if you set your mind to it.

Not sure if you have seen these or not.

This is the World's Record Blacktail.




These are some big blacktails that a taxidermist buddy of mine mounted last year.
100% BT.










This buck was killed just over the B&C boundary and shows Blacktail characteristics...

Very nice.

My chance of ever shooting a bigger more mature Blacktail than the one I killed already is pretty slim. I'm over 200 pounds in the photo below and this deer dwarfed me. The main beams were over 5 inches in circumference. To put that in perspective, a whitetail or mule deer has to get up around 200 inches total to have that kind of mass at the base.

I'll likely put my efforts into killing record book whitetail and mule deer bucks to go next to my blacktail.

Alot of nice bucks, My best is 142 PY 24" wide 5x5 killed in Kitsap county, The following year was a 6X9 that is a freak, It won't score as a non Typ because it has a third horn coming out of the base on one side. So basically 3x3x3 with 3 lagre eyeguards on each main set....He was bedded with a big 5x5 when I jumped them they both ran about 20yds, stopped and looked back quartered away, tough choice but the freak was awsome, and the typical was huge, freak died, Typical two years latter is pending state record..... But to this day don't regret my choice.

That's an awesome tale you spin, bro. I think beers and a photo show are in order.

Sal,

Not to take anything away from the deer you guys hunt down in California, but I think you draw from a different genetics pool than we have up here in Washington. Kind of like the Sitka blacktail in SE Alaska are different than our deer. There are many subspecies of Whitetails, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were differences among the BT's along the west coast.

Thanks for the pics though, as I do enjoy them.

Tim, that buck in your original post is a freak, one hell of a penninsula buck. I went down for a walk 2 evenings ago to see if I could find some sign of that big one I was telling you about but to no avail. I'll spend a little more time down there around the last week of October into November when he'll likely show himself...

Keith

Based on what I have see with CA and WA blacktails I think a couple things are going on. There are mule deer around on the west slope of the Sierra, but on the coast they are certainly no closer than mulies are here.

The CA deer are, at least in my experiance, smaller bodied. But, in general, they have bigger antlers. I NEVER saw a spike in CA; first antlers were always forked-horns. I was mainly hunting along the central Sierras, including foothills. Here, I see spikes all the time. At least when i was there, the ninimum legal deer was a forkie.

I think that, in general, the minerals in the soil lead to bigger antlers down there. I don't recall seeing any as heavy as I've seen in WA, and the color of a nice set from WA is amazing.

Also, like my dad said, he cooked those antlers for weeks and they still didn't taste too good. The deer I have eaten from up here in WA sure cook up better. I think the wetter climate has a lot to do with that.

Here's the pics of the bucks you sent me, bro. Nice ones for sure. I love the 5x5, but I wouldn't trade the mass on the 2x3 I killed for more tines.

Crazy rack on the freak. That would have been a tough choice to make. Too bad they weren't lined-up for a Scotch Double...j/k

Sal cracks me up, hangin' out at the taxidermy shop taking pictures like a hunting groupie...lmao...I used to do that too.

Here is a link to blacktail hunting website. Tons and tons of pics from California to B.C. Some real nice WA bucks.

http://www.blacktailcountry.com/index.htm

I'd like to see the body that was attached to the buck in the first post. I'm guessing he was a pig all around. A big cock o' the walk buck like that is gonna stink bad too. Makes me feel all warm inside.

Blacktail size, at least in WA, OR, and CA, seems to follow the typical bigger body in the north, smaller body in the south pattern. Like whitetails, the racks get smaller and the bodies get bigger as you move north in their range. At some point in their northern reaches that changes but then the subspecies issue comes into play.

Thanks for the link, that is a cool site.

As much as I adore the massiveness of the Oshawnassy buck, it lacks one element I look for in a perfect rack, and that is G2 points in back that are as high or higher than the G3 point that comes off of it. This gives you that stunning triangle antler profile viewed from the side. The Lester Miller buck that Sal posted (the world record) has that. You'll like this little tid-bit, Keith, that world record Blacktail was shot in Lewis County in your back yard.

You mean Clark County.... I know where some bucks are that have some wicked genetics. They're located right on the EF of the Lewis River where I beleive that state record buck was killed. I can still remember the day after football practice when I was driving home (age 17) and this monster either 5x5 or 5x6 crossed the road, he was one of the biggest blacktails I've ever seen. I raced home ran inside grabbed my 30 carbine (only thing that wasn't in the safe) and raced back down to where he was at. He had jumped a fence and was walking slowly right next to a house all rutted out with his nose up in the air. He literally walked right through a small neighborhood and I followed him looking for a shot but was too chicken shiat to pull the trigger on those peoples property. Looking back, I wish I would have just squeezed one off... He was an easy 19-20.5" wide and at least that tall, his horns looked way out of proportion for his body....

Keith

That's the difference between me and you I guess. I would have dropped that fuc%er like a wet pair of panties. Women and children be damned, that fuc%er is going down.

How is this pronounced? Always have wondered.