Tag Archives: deer

November Blacktail Hunt

Back to the Diamond C Ranch for my late season November blacktail deer hunt. I had hoped to take a better buck with my bow this time but issues with my bow had me revert to the rifle yet again. I had my Sako 85M in 30.06 which has been my go to deer rifle while the ADL is being customized. It was still a great time, especially to sit and watch so many bucks this time of year. We saw some from last year like Moose, Splay, and assorted management bucks. I ended up taking a very old 3×3 management buck that Dylan wanted taken. The highlight of this hunt was seeing a buck called Slider up close at 100 yards chasing some does around. He’s a huge straight 4×4, maybe bigger than my B&C buck right now. We hope he breeds does all across the ranch. I’ll be dreaming of him for the rest of the year. Hopefully to take him with my bow early August.

Slider’s sheds are below, the set from last year and on the right one from two years ago already a 4×4.

August Bow Hunt

I had originally planned to head up to the Diamond C Ranch in October for my first hunt this year however Dylan contacted me to see if I’d like to try for a buck we call ‘Club’ Dylan had been seeing regularly on a trail camera. He thought I could get a good chance at him with my bow hunting hunting from a ground blind. I was definitely up for it. I first saw club with twin towers and the 4×5 I took in 2009. That year his left antler was a single knob gaining him his nickname. Last year he was a 3×4 but this year he is a 4×5 and looking huge. Probably at his best given his age so we want to take him this season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I drove up Sunday morning on August 12th. Dylan and I both sat in the blind that first night. Unfortunately it had really heated up and we didn’t see a single deer the first night. The next day wasn’t much better. I sat in the blind alone before dawn and then back in it again at 6:30, again not a single deer. Luckily the blind was in the shade and a light breeze would blow in the opening now and then. After we would pull the trail cam card and review the pics we’d see club right there again with a bunch of other bucks and a big black pig but a half hour after shooting hours.

 

 

Tuesday Morning I’m in the blind well before dark and just before dawn I see the flash fire from the trail cam illuminating a tall buck in the distance across the fence line. I can see him in my binoculars, he’s a tall tined 2×3. It’s way too dark to make him out otherwise or even try for a shot. At dawn he is long gone and I don’t see any more deer that morning. The evening it’s now a lot cooler and at 8pm I see a tall velvet spike crest the hill and approach from the left. He jumps the fence and stops in front of the blind. I draw my bow on him to practice from within the blind. Shooting from a chair is not easy. I took Dylan’s advice and gave it some practice before coming up. It’s a 27 yard shot and feels good. I let down and hope more deer are on the way. At 8:30 I hear rustling in the trees on the hill to my right and a large pig emerges and starts to make his way down. It’s too dark to even read the lcd numbers on my range finder. When he passes in front of the blind I estimate 15 yards and can barely make out his outline through the tall grass. I try to hold my 20 pin on him and at the shot he speeds off and I hear my arrow clang against a metal fence rod in the distance. Miss! Now it’s too dark to shoot and a velvet forky appears on my left along with the tall tined buck off to my right. Dylan picks me up and we head back encouraged by getting a shot off and at least seeing some deer.

The next morning back in the blind. It’s much cooler actually rains a little. No deer sighted in the early hours. Dylan texts me to see what I want to do. With the cooler weather and light rain I want to look around and see if it’s got the deer moving. He picks me up and we head down to the willows and walk the ridge but don’t see any bucks below. We move off to another area that he’s seen a couple management bucks. As soon as we turn the corner there are two deer on a hill top in the distance under a big oak. It’s a doe and one of the management bucks. We slip out to try for him. We’re able to get very close before the doe busts us. He moves back to 23 yards and remains broadside while I draw and shoot. The shot is perfect and after 20 minutes we find him piled up over the crest of the hill. He’s a great management buck, nice bases, eye guards, and still in velvet with his summer coat and nice and fat. I am thrilled to have taken another buck with my bow four years after my first. I’ll be back in November chasing Club again, looking forward to seeing him hard horned and hopefully take him with my bow but am not above pulling out the rifle.

Big Fork Buck

Hunting with Dylan Carr for a late rut hunt  at the Diamond C in Humboldt County, California. We were looking for several big bucks, one in particular called ‘The Teacher’ but the weather wasn’t cooperating. Much of the ranch was socked in with thick fog. The first day we spotted this very big fork horn which captured my imagination. Late the second day we spotted him again from far away. Confirmed it was him through a spotting scope and then decided to try for him. We made a quick drive to the lower part of the ranch, hiked a ways, crossed a rocky creek bank, and eased up to a large rock formation. Dylan eased up and saw his doe in some trees. He put his pack down and had me come forward to set up saying the buck’s coming out any minute. I spun the power setting on my scope up a little and settled right in. Just as I did the buck emerged and then stopped broadside. Had him lined up perfectly and took the shot. They both ran over the ridge and we were pretty certain he was hit hard. We headed up to where he was at the shot but couldn’t find any blood. We walked just beyond the ridge and there he was down, shot perfectly behind the shoulder.

Couldn’t be more pleased with this old ‘management’ buck. You don’t see too many big fork horns since they are usually shot as management bucks. I have always wanted to take a big fork horn. He’s a great trophy in my book. We set up to take some pictures and the sun even came out for us. All the pics here.

Hightower

Hunting up at the Diamond C this week. The plan was to try and take a buck with my bow, however, I’m always willing to pull out the rifle when there is a buck that we simply want to take ‘by any means necessary’ right now! On Dylan’s ranch that’s not an unusual circumstance and pretty much what happened.

Wednesday I had a couple close bow opportunities. First with a bedded 3×3 that by the time I decided to get serious wisely evacuated the area. Later that night we came on a band of pigs and got to 50 yards. There were two black sows with a bunch of little ones. I found a lane in between the low branches of the oak we were under and put my 50 pin on one of the sows. My arrow sailed just over her back and they milled for a few seconds and then scrambled off. The next morning I shot three arrows at 50 on Dylan’s range and they grouped six inches high! Adjusted the pin and was good to go.

Thursday morning it was foggy up top. We weren’t seeing many deer out below and headed up there just as it was breaking up. Dylan had been guiding a very accomplished bow hunter before I arrived that tried for a big buck up here they named ‘Hightower’. He was pretty smart and they could not get within 100 yards of him.

It turns out he was the same buck standing next to my 5×7 last year when I shot him. After the 5×7 dropped he just stood there for the longest time and without the 5×7 next to him Dylan and I realized what a great buck he was too. In fact I was just about to shoot him when he moved off. We agreed if we had a chance at him we’d just pull out the rifle.

Well Thursday morning when we were checking out the ranch up top we came on a buck and a doe in the middle of a big clearing with no cover at all. We got up to a big oak tree. When he picked his head up I could see he was the tallest buck I’d ever seen. Dylan confirmed it was Hightower. The wind was wrong and the doe next to him had already busted us so we didn’t have a lot of time. Dylan handed me my Sako 30.06 and I jacked a round. He was about 120 yards and fell dead at the shot.

Was using the new Hornady Superformance ammo with a 150gr SST. I recovered the bullet from just under the hide on the offside. These shoot great through the Sako and it’s great to see they perform so well in the field too. The expanded bullet is actually wider than the .410″ three shot group from my ‘zero check‘ preparing for the hunt.

Thursday night we headed back out to hunt the pigs. We found that same band not far from a pond in a grassy clearing. We were able to sneak through the woods and get to about 30 yards as they fed towards us. I was able to shoot two of the smaller ones pretty quickly. They didn’t really spook and one of the larger black sows came right back into the middle of the field by us at 40 yards and I made a good shot on her as well. Having Dylan next to me with his Leica range finding binoculars made it seem easy. I really like my Hoyt Carbon Element bow. I will try again for my second bow buck when I return in November.

First Scouting Pics

It’s that time of year again, Dylan Carr from Diamond C Outfitters starts sending me the scouting pictures. I’m heading up to the ranch August 3rd looking for a big buck to take with my bow. These are representative of the quality of deer we’ll see. Hoping to get one of something extraordinary that we’ll focus on for the hunt.

 

 

I had seen the top buck last year and passed on him as his fronts were a little shallow. He’s a great buck though and might not hesitate to take him with my bow. Here is a picture of him last year from my November hunt.

New kids on the block

First bucks showing up on the trail cam for 2011 along with some new fawns. Lots of pics with a doe with a single fawn and this doe with two fawns.

And lots of video of this young buck sporting a single spike in velvet.

And our first full fledged buck of the year, this buck was barely a forky last year so we’ll see how he does by fall.

It’s Official!

Received confirmations from the Boone & Crockett Club that my big typical and non-typical Blacktail bucks from last year have been officially accepted. The Typical making the all time record book at 137 2/8 and the non-typical qualifying for the awards book 2010-2012 with his 127 2/8 net typical score.

They will both be listed in the Boone & Crockett Club’s 28th Big Game Awards book and my big 5×4 will be added to Records of North American Big Game, 14th edition and all subsequent editions.

Thanks to Dylan & Holly Carr and for my incredible 2010 season at the Diamond C.

Book Buck!

I was finally able to get my November 5×4 officially scored for Boone & Crockett and he makes the all time record book with a net score of 137 2/8″

So happy to hear that he makes the all time record book even with his fifth point that is deducted from the net score!

I brought both last years racks to Steve and we scored them in his garage which is an incredible display of world class trophies. My large non-typical falls short of the record book threshold netting 149″ but he still even makes awards on his typical frame alone even after deductions at 127″.

One interesting highlight was a corner of the garage with a mound of abalone shells and some incredible large ones hanging above. He has a framed picture commemorating a day he took three 10″ and one 9.5 back when you could pull four in a day. He also has a great recreation of abalone in their environment.

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