Loading ...Posted on: September 7th, 2010 Redemption
Zack Walton With His Third Biggest Blacktail
Checking my watch, I couldn’t believe I had been waiting nearly two hours for the buck to stand. He had risen from his bed once, but stayed behind some trees and never offered a clear shot. Now I was growing impatient and worried the wind would switch, ruining my opportunity at the big blacktail.
His wide, velvet rack pivoted side-to-side as he watched below for any threat. I had been perched undetected 60 yards above him with a steady breeze lapping against my face. But the breeze had slowed and when it would switch direction was unforeseeable. I needed to make my move soon.
Downed pines and other obstacles blocked any quiet passage to close the distance between us. I drew my bow and started with a soft mouth call, trying to entice the buck to stand. No luck. I repeated this several times, each with a little more enthusiasm. He rapidly spun his head, looking for the source of the noise. But he would not get up to inspect more closely.
Finally, after I had given up on making him stand, I saw his head rock forward and his rear end lift. I hastily drew my bow, but he had seen the movement and was looking straight at me. He was 57 yards away, but between he and I stood a line of pines, obscuring the buck like he was on the other side of a picket fence. One tree blocked the buck’s shoulder, while another concealed his paunch and hip. But between the two was an opening several inches wide that offered a channel directly to the buck’s chest.
I settled the pin low on the vitals, between the two pine trunks, and felt the bow’s recoil. The arrow stuck with a loud crack and the buck wheeled and sped away. A perfect three-blade hole was pierced through the trunk of the dead pine just a few yards before the buck’s bed, and another mature blacktail had escaped me unharmed and even wiser.
This sums up most encounters I’ve had with mature blacktail bucks. No other animal is more wily, more reclusive and more difficult to take with a bow and arrow than a chocolate-horned blacktail. I missed this buck during the last weekend of A zone archery season and it had been five long weeks of constant thought about the miss. Even after taking a nice buck during the opening weekend of B zone, I still fixated on the shot and what went awry.
Labor Day weekend I was headed back to the same area I had encountered the wide buck that got away, and in the back of my mind I was hoping for another chance. In my experience, coming across the same mature blacktail more than once in a season was a rare occurrence, so I didn’t have my hopes up.
I hit the road and dropped my camp with a couple hours of daylight remaining. I quickly headed out with hopes of setting a couple trail cams and a tree stand for the following morning’s hunt. I set one camera and then headed to a dark stand of timber where I wanted to put my second trail camera.
Last year, I had spooked a nice buck out of the exact spot because I haphazardly entered the secluded stand of trees and saw the wide rack bound away forever. I would not make the same mistake this year. I circled to get the wind in my favor and started sneaking along the trail. I was about 40 yards from where I wanted to place the trail cam when I caught the flicker of an ear to my right. I walked a couple more yards and hid behind a large pine.
Leaning out from the tree, I glassed an ear with an antler sticking high above it. I nocked an arrow and started slowly closing the distance, keeping the tree between me and the buck. I periodically peeked around the tree just to see antler but keep myself from his view. When I got to the tree, I ranged the log he was lying next to at 31 yards. I drew, eased out from behind the trunk, and released a perfect arrow.
The buck shot from his bed and tore through the trees. Slashing around trees like a slalom skier, the wide rack looked strangely familiar. I could see the arrow buried to the fletching and knew he wouldn’t make it far. Seconds later I heard him crash, as the Montec had devastatingly slashed through his chest.
When I walked up to him I realized I had seen this buck before. Although last time I saw him he was in velvet and crashing through the trees after a pine had sacrificed itself to save his life. Five weeks after missing him, I had my redemption, and the 19-inch 3×3 did not escape this time.
I put all my effort each year into taking a mature blacktail, and when it happens the feeling is indescribable. It makes the thousands of practice shots, the countless miles hiked and the year-long preparation worth every sweat-dripping second.
I’ve been fortunate to bow hunt many species in several states and nothing is as difficult or exciting as chasing mature blacktail. Most times he gets away, but each time I learn something new and use that experience for future encounters.
This buck is bitter-sweet for me. Even though I wouldn’t change having this buck in the freezer, it was my second deer in California this year and now I’m out of tags. When I think about that, I get a little sad. Until I walk to the garage and pick up the buck’s antlers.
This little guy got separated from momma
Look what I found on the trail cam
5 Responses to “Redemption”
-
Steve Walters Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 9:44 amOutstanding! Congrats Zack!
-
Roy Hoglund Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 9:52 amNice job Zack!
I had success in Colorado. I will send pictures and a story, hopefully before I leave for Idaho.
Roy
-
Jeff Fabry Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 11:31 amGreat Job Zack! Thats definately a buck to brag about and a good end to your season in Cali. Glad the B-Stinger is working for you. Now you can focus on the other hunts that you have lined out!
Best of Luck.Jeff Fabry
The Stabilizer Company -
Mario Vasquez Says:
September 7th, 2010 at 5:12 pmWay to go! The Zack-Attack scores again. Hard work pays off. Great job. Nothing yet in A-20 (X-12). Passed up a few forked horn. Heading back this next weekend. Let you know…
-
Donald C Martin Says:
September 28th, 2010 at 4:53 pmCongrat’s Zack!