how rare are 8-9 yr old blacktail bucks?

are there any experts out there??? this is the oldest buck i've ever seen personally, was just wondering how often a buck gets to reach an age like that...not to mention, the roads we walked to find him are all on the vail tree farm map...i would have liked to see this old ******* in his prime, had to have been a bruiser---drop tine to boot!!

Pretty rare to shoot one public or open ground. I think they are more common than people think they are. The big boys go nocternal as they get older and stay that way most of the year. They also inhabit the thickest stuff around and its hard for people to hunt them. Most people on this side road hunt anyhow. We are seeing more of them taken in the late bow season as people adopt whitetail tactics and use tree stands. I would say a trophy class BT in Western Wa is the toughest hunt in North America.

i agree with theKING. i live in whidbey island the finding an older buck recquires a lot of scouting and hiking. the first buck i shot here was a 3x4 and about 4or5 yrs old. i heard of one taken around the greenbank area that weighed around 190 pound. i think the rack was a 4x5 or 5x5. 3 years ago a 6x6 was taken a few miles down the road from my house. in the past 3 seasons i have shot 3 2x2s and 2 does. this season i am after a buck i spotted last year the day before deer season. it was a 3x3 then. i found both of its sheds a few days ago near the property line. a trail camera seems to work very well for thick areas. i borrowed a friend, but only captured 2 spikes and a few does. all of the deer taken have all been within 70 yards with the closest at 15ft.

my mom shot a 3x3 a few years back that wieghted i think it was 280 and field dressed at 195 lbs of meat. it was huge.

anyway the butcher guy said the deer had to be at least 7-8 years old.

idk it wss big thats all i know.

Every clear cut on the west side that I have walked this year is covered with sign, but I have only seen two does. I think that the big, old ones are there, but are just near impossible to find. I have seen just two real trophy black tails, one in a residential area during the rut,and another in the middle of 7 to 8 year old christmas trees. It had snowed 6 to 8 inches, then turned into a down pour when I walked up bow hunting on the one in the christmas trees. He was bedded down in some blackberries next to some christmas trees. I was 15 yards away or so and couldn't get a clear shot. All I could see was patches of a huge rack. As I tried to get a clear angle, he slipped away with out a sound. Without doing a push and getting real lucky, I think these boys just die of old age without ever being seen.

I have always been a archery hunter, and have taken three quality bucks in my life....at least to me. If you want a nice buck you MUST find a place that receives little rifle pressure, or none. All the bucks I have killed were in areas that rifle hunters can't shoot, and I cherish these shots!!!

I find it unfortunate they do not have a 2-point restriction state wide for ALL hunting methods.....just my opinion you would over a 3-4 yr time see more quality bucks killed, and sighted.

chumster