Tales of Hunting: Deer, Elk, and Antelope in the Western States

By Col. John H. Roush Jr.

In these remarkable stories of an outdoorsman you will read of some nearly incredible adventures. For his writing he has received twenty awards. They include the George Washington Honor Medal of the Freedoms Foundation, the Benjamin Franklin Award of the Reserve Officers Association, and a large plaque from Senator Barry Goldwater, for distinguished journalism. He is a member of professional writers organizations, the Outdoor Writers Association of America and the California Association of Outdoor Writers. He has written ten published non-fiction books and many magazine articles on various topics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465352767

Col. John H. Roush Jr.

• This volume presents a dramatic collection of significant combat experiences of 79 men in WWII, as told from one combat veteran to another. In the 86 chapters are stories involving all the various branches of combat service and all of the various theaters of war. Within reminiscences, veterans of dangerous encounters are much more apt to open up with details in discussions with men who have also experienced combat. Many find it emotionally distressing to talk of the war with the general public or to recall the horrors of warfare. • This is not a history book nor any attempt to tell the big picture of grand campaigns. Instead it is a collection of personal involvements in one-at-a-time incidents of conflict. Many ask what was it like in WWII, for our conflicts in recent years have been vastly different. • Colonel Roush is particularly qualified to edit the accounts, for he himself was in combat in WWII and served in various branches of the Army. he also held assignments with close contact with the other branches of the Armed Services. He is a professional writer, author of a dozen volumes and many magazine articles. • Col. Roush is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Foreign Service institute of the U. S. Department of State.

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Copyright © 2011 by Col. John H. Roush Jr.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011914753

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-5275-0

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-5274-3

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-5276-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This copyright does not preclude persons named in this volume to have published elsewhere their adventures recounted in this volume, as may be written by them. This copyright as to text applies only as to what has been written by John Roush. Copyright on photos, sketches, reproductions, which are included herewith with the permission of the person creating them, remains with the artist/photographer who created that work.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Includes: Photographs

To purchase autographed copies of this book, contact:

Col. John H. Roush, Jr.

600 Deer Valley Road, Suite # 2E

San Rafael, CA 94903-5517

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Contents

Introduction

Part One-Blacktail Deer

1 Hidden Valley

2 One Can Profit with Blacktail Bucks

3 Excitement Arose Dramatically

4 Bucks Are Dangerous

5 Hollow Hunt

6 Not as Easy as You Think

7 Profile of an Outstanding Hunter

8 Hunting among Giant Rockets

Part Two-Mule Deer

9 Opening Day Washout

10 Light a Torch for a Buck

11 Oregon Rimrock Bucks

12 Idaho Pack Trip

13 Kaibab by the Sea

14 Where the Deer and Antelope Play

15 Big Buck

16 Sonora Mule Deer with Dan Caughey

17 Rosa Blanca Ranch, Sonora Desert

18 Dream Buck

Part Three-Whitetail Deer

19 Hunting the Sand Hills, Nebraska

20 Rattling the Sand Hills, Nebraska

21 Kansas Whitetails

22 North Dakota Deer

23 Texas Whitetail Bucks

24 Major and the Colonel

25 Elderly Deer Hunter

26 Lessons Learned

Part Four-Pronghorn Antelope

27 My First Pronghorn

28 Wyoming Antelope Hunt with Peter Dube

29 Rawlins Mixed Bag

30 Nevada Antelope

31 Pronghorns in the Wind

32 To Ranch Antelope Hunt

33 Forty Years to Draw an Antelope Tag!

34 Prairie Antelope, Vaughn, New Mexico

35 Eighteenth Antelope, Colfax County, New Mexico

36 Big Piney

37 Twentieth Pronghorn Antelope

Part Five-Elk

38 Elk in the Afternoon

39 Elk Hunt

40 Rocky Mountain Elk Hunting

41 Island Challenge—Roosevelt Elk

42 What’s Back of a Mountain?

43 Oosik Talisman

44 Absaroka Mountains Blizzards

45 Great Buglers of California

46 Other Hunting Books Written

47 Raptors

48 Closing

49 Alta Mira Bison

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those many fine men and women with whom these experiences have been shared. Included are fellow hunters and good sportsmen, guides, outfitters, as well as those who did not carry a rifle and whose help and encouragement have been of inestimable value. Many of my best friends, companions of numerous hunts, which included ventures far into the wilderness, have gone to the happy hunting grounds. May they rest in peace. They are missed a great deal, and I value highly the memories of adventures with them.

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Introduction

A memorable story requires adequate detail so that the reader can visualize the scene. We need to be able to recognize the characters and understand their emotions. Hence, these stories provide a more graphic and vivid description of the chase than is seen in most of the perfunctory articles in the periodicals. You cannot write adequately of the excitement of the hunt unless you have lived it and given adequate words to the narrative. The reader wants to visualize the excitement of the chase, the difficult approach, and the suspense of the seeking. Showing those difficulties makes the reading interesting. Perhaps the most poignant memories of hunting are the suspense of the stalk and the well-placed shots taken under challenging circumstances.

It has been pleasant to think back of those happy days spent in sporting adventures within the wilds of Western states. You will find a sense of adventure within these stories. Many of these tales were told over campfires. You will read of men of strength and endurance that I have tried to keep up with. I have great admiration for most of the men mentioned in this volume for their fidelity, pluck, and good companionship, since I have traveled with those kindred spirits thousands of miles and discussed with them our hunting experiences over many enjoyable hours. Their encouragement and help in the woods have been greatly appreciated.

Theodore Roosevelt said, All hunters should be nature lovers, and I believe nearly all of you are. You will certainly note from reading these chapters that I qualify. Thoreau said that hunters are more perceptive observers of nature than either the philosophers or the poets. Hunting is certainly not all about taking animals. Like most sportsmen, my friends and I have looked at such a great many more animals than those which became objects of our shooting.

Learning of nature and enjoying its varied beauty is an integral part of hunting. In the school of observation, there is never a graduation day. We continue to learn even as we experience new challenges. We need the tonic of practical wisdom gained from observations of wild places and of their inhabitants.

Roosevelt also wrote, The qualities that make a good soldier are, in large part, the qualities that make a good hunter. Having spent much of my life in both endeavors, I believe also, as Roosevelt states, that it is manly and rewarding to have been a good citizen-soldier interested in the outdoors.

Archibald Rutledge wrote wonderful stories of deer hunting. He said, With my deer hunting, it is a kind of religion, and I have worshipped at that shrine for the length of time it took an acorn to become a huge oak. That may represent more than seventy years, and I too qualify for inclusion in that group. I remember a sedentary man of seventy-five who said that he was too old to hunt. Well, I am more than a decade older than that and still enjoy hunting. I thoroughly enjoy writing about the sport during the closed seasons. Optimism and enthusiasm for new experiences fuel my planning and anticipation for the next trip afield.

Although I have spent far more time hunting the animals discussed in these chapters within the Western states, I have bagged more record-book trophies abroad (fifty) than I have from North America (thirty-six). The effort involved to bag a record-book specimen of North American game seems more difficult. Few men who gaze at trophies in private collections have the knowledge and imagination to realize the toil, the discomfort, the great exercise, and often the hardships undergone by the sportsman who secured them.

It seems to me well worthwhile to put on record some of my hunting experiences. I hope that you enjoy these stories and perhaps profit from some of the experiences. You may avoid some of the pitfalls that are recounted in some instances. May you all enjoy happy hunting in good sportsmanship and excellent companionship throughout your future endeavors.

In this second edition of the volume, with these stories, I have endeavored to add considerably greater depth and additional material and make the chapters more readable. Adding more description of the characters may enable one to better visualize the people involved. The first edition won second place in the annual competition of the Outdoor Writers Association of California, an association of professional writers, for the Best Book of the Year 2009 on outdoor subjects.

In exchanging copies with other winners in both the state and national competitions, I realized that my volume could have depicted more personal emotion of the participants and their reactions to that of others. More detail of the many adventures could be helpful. After more than a year away from the predecessor volume, in rereading it, I could see that the book could be improved; thus, I have made that considerable effort.

As Col. Townsend Whelen, a distinguished army officer and outdoor writer, said, To my mind hunting is but one of the lures that takes us into the outdoors. It is only one of the incentives. The call of the wilderness, and all that goes with it, is so deeply rooted into the souls of all who understand [why we hunt].

I include among the benefits of days afield, the sharing of opportunities to observe and photograph the many beauties of nature, while enjoying the fresh air and the good feeling of outdoor exercise. Like you readers, I love the odors of the forest, sagebrush, and other scents that suggest wild areas. There is a basic fundamental element within the sport of ethical hunting that satisfies some of the primordial instincts of man.

Whelen said that those who are competent to translate the experiences into words should endeavor to do so, to share those valued impressions and preserve the experiences for others to enjoy. He was one of the great outdoor writers of the first half of the last century. His suggestions were meaningful to me.

It has taken me many years to fully develop, edit, and reedit these stories. Writing these stories has given me a great deal of enjoyment in recalling memorable experiences. My life has been enriched by hunting adventures in all the Western states. In the writing of this new volume, I have added much material to the chapters of the previous volume as well as ten additional chapters and more illustrations, thus greatly improving the book. I hope that you have as much enjoyment in the reading of this collection of stories as I have had in the writing and the editing of them.

In conclusion, my respects are extended to the many writers of yesteryear who have given us so much enjoyment in the reading of their exciting adventures. I have an extensive library of those works.

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Responses of Readers

Wow, what a tremendous amount of work! The changes I have read are certainly an improvement over what was a great book. Congratulations for making a wonderful documentation of all those great hunts even better reading. I sure hope your readers appreciate how much time and effort you have devoted to this book.

—Kimberly Stuart, a California outdoor writer with broad experience in big game hunting

"Hunting Deer, Elk, and Antelope in the Western States is a good read for any hunter of any skill level. Colonel Roush has traveled and hunted in the Western states for many years. His in-depth knowledge of the quarry shows in these tales of his hunts and those of his friends. Do yourself a favor and curl up with this book, where you will soon find yourself alongside the author on a hunt that most of us can only dream about."

—Lance Stapleton, a leading authority on big game hunting in the Western states, author of Trophy Mule Deer: Finding and Evaluating Your Trophy and In Search of a Triple Double on Deer

Many American hunters have hunted, some or all, of the animals described in this book. John Roush has done it all many times over and has the unique talent to describe each hunt as an adventure in itself. The book is fast, enjoyable reading ready to inspire every hunter who can hardly wait for the fall hunting season to begin.

—Captain John A. Brandt, author of Asian Hunter, Hunters of Man, Horned Giants, Soul of the Hunter, winner of the Capstick Award for outstanding writing of big game hunting

"Hunting Deer, Elk, and Antelope in the Western States is a good read and a very interesting book about a man who obviously loves to hunt and has done a lot of it. If you enjoy hunting stories, then you will enjoy this volume."

—Boyd Iverson, author of Blacktail Tactics II, a genuine expert on blacktail hunting

As a skilled hunter, Col. John H. Roush Jr. has written many magazine stories on the subject of hunting big game. His latest book is a collection of expanded stories, exciting experiences in hunting the prominent game of the American West throughout fifteen states.

—Military Officer magazine

"Every year when we would reconnect at what was like a deer hunting family’s reunion in the hills south of San Francisco, I would relish the stories John Roush told of his previous year’s exploits hunting the many regions of the world and, of course, all the big game states in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Now everyone can enjoy and learn from his stories in his latest hunting volume, Tales of Hunting - Hunting Deer, Elk, and Antelope in the Western States. As a fellow California hunter, I especially delight in Roush’s descriptions of blacktail deer. Like him, I have forever read about the elite qualities of whitetail as ghosts of the forests and so many other descriptions making it appear as though whitetail deer were the greatest challenge and found everywhere. We do not see any in California. Some say there are a few in the very northeastern corner of California. Many writers contend that whitetail are the hardest deer to hunt by virtue of their wily nature. Yet when going after the real ‘ghosts,’ nothing really beats the much-harder-to-hunt blacktail deer that Roush so well describes. John has hunted both. Comparing the numbers of each that he has taken over the years, it is easy to see why he has the experience to consider the whitetail a much easier quarry than the whitetail. The style of writing is very much in the narrative style you would hear around a campfire. His informative stories span over seventy years of hunting experience."

—Cork Graham, Cork’s Outdoors TV and Internet columns

Thanks for the pleasure I have gotten from reading your hunting stories.

—Dave Hughes, author of six fine books on trout fishing, fly tying, and related matters

—There is boots on the ground reality in these stories. J.B. Smith

Part One

Blacktail Deer

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An outstanding blacktail from San Mateo County, California

1

Hidden Valley

When I was a young man in the late 1940s, fresh back from service in World War II and duty within the occupation, I was on leave up in Northern Mendocino County, along the Eel River, contemplating the opening day of the California blacktail deer season in August. Not being familiar with the area, I made some inquiries.

Meeting a local man older than my father with much woodsman knowledge of the area, I asked him many questions. His weathered face and rough clothes gave me the impression that he spent much of his time outdoors. He seemed straightforward and sympathetic to my interests, having done some deer hunting himself in earlier years. My impression was that he was a pragmatic man, conservative with a sensible side.

He told me, I can tell you where you can get a buck. But you may not want to try. It is a very difficult place to get into! The man looked at me quizzically as he alluded to his warning.

I replied, If you were able to do it, I can do it also.

Remember it was some years ago, when I was much younger, and then it was an extremely difficult task. You may find it more than you can handle, he cautioned.

With all respect, I think I can do it. I would like to try if you would kindly give me directions. I was eager to accept the test despite the man’s remonstrance.

He was a friendly, patient man and shared with me his recollections of how to reach the spot, after cautioning me again that it was a serious challenge to reach the upper area. He conveyed the impression that he certainly knew what he was talking about. He told me it was within a remote park-like valley that I would find deer.

He seemed to warm up in talking with me, talking about his old experience brought back more details. His eyes gleamed, and his voice grew with enthusiasm when he opened up with the tale of the fine buck he had taken in the remote valley. His well-told tale strengthened my desire to seek out the magic valley. I urgently persuaded him to give me directions, from which I made notes.

While I thanked him, those words did not sound adequate. His kind interest in me—a relative stranger, a young man, and soldier recently back from the war and occupantion—was touching.

My pleasure, he replied with a smile. Be careful if you are going alone.

Perhaps I could have faith in his assurance that I would bag a buck. I knew it would not be as easy as the hunting of little roebucks in Germany. In gentle landscapes there, we found a profusion of the small animals on the private estates that involved only easy hunting. Here in California, there would be a real challenge, my acquaintance advised; and I relished it with great enthusiasm.

Finding the narrow canyon that met the Eel River was not difficult, but getting up into the hidden valley proved to be a monumental task. After proceeding only a short distance, the canyon narrowed extremely between hard buttresses of rock. The steepness was readily apparent. I began an arduous climb, proceeding upward through the gorge with considerable difficulty. Even after the elapse of sixty years, I recall vividly the nearly perpendicular slope. While I was in rugged physical condition, scrambling up the rocky gorge was a severe test of my ability.

There was a trickling brook flowing from above, but it was inconsequential other than to make smooth rocks more slippery. It seemed amazing to consider how that rivulet had carved the great chasm, which caused me to wonder. I knew that at times, the Eel River drainage received enormous amounts of rainfall during a short period of time in the winter months. Perhaps I could visualize the sight of a stupendous torrent of water pouring through the chasm, rushing to meet the river in full flood.

Brief segments of a slight game trail leading upward soon resembled that of a mountain goat, though created by deer, was thoroughly challenging to a man used to strenuous exercise. In August, that area is hot in the afternoons, for the Eel River country is sufficiently inland that the sea breezes never cool the area. I was sweating profusely. While I was in excellent shape, it took me nearly two hours to reach the upper opening of the canyon because of slipping and sliding and desperate efforts to avoid falls. I had to overcome the treachery of slippery rocks stacked in steep piles.

Once I reached a broadening of the chasm, I was afforded a charming view of a more open valley, which was the haunt of the numerous deer about, which my informant had told me. The valley was nearly a thousand feet higher in elevation. I had been told that there were no roads that reached the valley, which seemed to be prime deer habitat, without dense woods, many oak trees, and lots of browse and much poison oak.

Arriving in late morning, I was surprised at how beautiful the pristine valley was. I dropped my pack, had lunch, and expected to see deer emerge later when the sun became obscured by overpowering ridges. And so it happened. But an unanticipated horde of mosquitoes arrived also, clouds of them; they were present in the thousands. The little lotion I had was ineffective. The attack was so oppressive that I concluded I had best take the first buck I could locate, and so I did.

The antlers were modest, only a forked-horn two-by-two, but that was adequate. While dressing out the buck, to compound my misery of constantly being stung, the yellow jackets arrived as soon as I opened the carcass. There must have been a ground nest nearby; for they arrived in great numbers with lust, wouldn’t be dissuaded, and proceeded to sting me repeatedly with vengeance. The smell of blood drove the carnivorous wasps into a frenzy of excitement in partaking of the feast. The last light faded from the day as I finished dressing out the buck, and the yellow jackets ceased pestering me. I placed the back straps (tenderloins) and two hindquarters in deer bags for the trip out; that was enough to carry.

Endeavoring to escape the mosquitoes, I finally had to retreat to my sleeping bag with a hood, plugging the opening with a little netting. During the night, I could hear many animals rustling about in the valley. As dawn approached, I made a hasty retreat from the hidden meadow and never had the urge to return. My pack was considerably heavier going out, for it contained boned-out venison and the antlers. However, my stride was lighter as I was buoyed up with the satisfaction of having escaped the hordes of bugs. I didn’t see any snakes, although I was alert to possible sightings of rattlers since my acquaintance had warned me to be careful, that there were many there.

Fortunately, I was able to get down while the canyon was still in shadows, for it would be decidedly uncomfortable traveling once the sun appeared above sheltering cliffs. I was able to get the venison into my cooler before the sun brought out the heat of the day. The night had been cool enough to save the meat.

The hidden valley was a great place for deer and probably still is. It was not until hunting caribou in the Arctic that I ever encountered such dense masses of mosquitoes. Don’t ask me for directions to the hidden valley; I quickly forgot them. I was lucky to get up there and back without calamity. It took me more than a week to recover from all the stings and the case of poison oak.

*     *     *

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1st Lieutenant John Roush on leave August 1946

2

One Can Profit with Blacktail Bucks

The reader can profit from the experiences of another outdoorsman with seventy-five years of hunting blacktail deer and even more by information provided by the interviews of many men who have consistently filled their tags. Those fortunate enough to have taken trophy bucks, which were entered in the record books, have given us valuable information.

My first four-pointer blacktail buck was shot in the 1930s in an area now occupied by a subdivision of homes. A lot has happened in California since then; and certainly the bucks have gotten smarter, more proficient in evasive tactics, and thus more difficult to bag. Each of us can learn more from the suggestions of highly skilled hunters who have taken the most outstanding trophies.

Excursions spent in hunting blacktail deer have given me more days afield spent in their pursuit than the hunting of all other species of big game. So that sport has a special prominence in my memories and in my calendar of outdoor sports. While the quarry does not normally have as great a horn size of that of other deer species, blacktail bucks create more than enough challenge to test one’s skills. Numerous, yet elusive, the blacktail deer of California and the environment in which they live offer difficult situations to fully test the resourcefulness of the outdoorsman. The intelligence of the beast and its ability to use the terrain and its habitat to outwit the hunter are unsurpassed.

The widespread deer habitat on the Pacific Coast, which includes so much public land, allows the pursuit of blacktail bucks on terrain available to every hunter regardless of financial ability. With the escalating costs of licenses, tags, travel, guide, and trophy fees for most big game species, it is encouraging to note that you can still hunt blacktail deer without incurring much expense. The sport can be as economical as the nominal costs of hunting rabbits.

There are exceptional areas offering better odds, of course. Thus, it does pay to learn of those localities if one is interested only in trophy bucks. Inland portions of the counties of the northwestern portion of the state, well away from roads, offer the best opportunities, particularly on private land. Elsewhere, opportunities exist where you have the option of spending substantial fees for the privilege of hunting on private lands with skilled guides. There you will have a much better chance of taking a fine buck.

While the success rate of deer hunters seeking blacktail bucks in California is much lower than that of deer hunting in other Western states, some hunters become sufficiently skilled to take two bucks per year. Less than 1 percent of those buying California deer tags are that proficient. The figures showing success in California are appalling, with no more than twenty-five thousand deer taken annually by hunters in California (only 14,346 in 2010) as compared with half a million taken annually in Michigan. More than half of those taken in California are blacktail deer, while the others are mule deer or crossbreeds of the two races.

Blacktail bucks large enough for the record books comprise far less than 1 percent of the annual harvest. The great majority of deer taken are only a year and a half old. Forked-horns comprise the greater number of the commonly seen bucks and 76 percent of bucks taken in most areas. Older and wiser bucks carrying better antlers are far more cautious and thus are rarely seen.

In the United States, perhaps only a dozen out of every hundred thousand bucks taken may have antlers substantial enough to score within the Boone and Crockett (B&C) record-book minimum criteria. Yet in the pursuit of blacktail, the chances are greater to qualify than when seeking whitetail or mule deer. There are enough blacktail bucks in some areas that carry antlers of sufficient mass and length to score fairly high to make the quest interesting.

I have had many discussions of hunting with highly experienced sportsmen who have taken record-book blacktail bucks. All told me that they had seen at least several more of high quality that were not taken. Each man was highly complementary in speaking of how some bucks had cleverly eluded hunters on many occasions.

Upon reaching trophy size, the blacktail buck normally has lived four and a half to seven and a half years. During that time, it usually has experienced many encounters with man. Most bucks are harvested before they reach two and a half years of age. Those that survive several seasons have learned evasive techniques. They polish their skills in avoiding exposure during each confrontation with humans or mountain lions. Each succeeding year, they become smarter and more masterful in avoiding detection. The deer have little difficulty in becoming aware of an intruder. One can understand that and hold the game from taking a quick departure by using a deer call. Bucks sometimes will wait a bit to see if a fawn in distress is seeking to join their party or merely out of curiosity. I have often been able to get close enough for a shot through the use of the deer call by moving very slowly through quite thick cover.

Where hunted heavily, bucks become secretive and older ones tend to become nocturnal. Many hunters tell of particular stags that have become so clever that no one ever gets a shot at them; they die of old age. Typically, we have found their skulls in creek beds the following spring.

Heavy brush and dense cover prevail throughout most of the blacktail ranges of California, which makes the hunting extremely difficult. Thick stands of poison oak and the prevailing hot weather during the six-week season of August and September are further deterrents. Frustrated hunters complain that it is impossible to stalk the deer quietly in hills that are carpeted with dry leaves that crinkle and crunch with every step. Most hunters prefer to hunt the Sierra Madre Mountains for California mule deer, where the visibility is somewhat better; thus, animals can be sighted at longer ranges.

Trying to jump deer in most of the coastal mountains of California becomes a frustrating game. When you are hunting blacktail bucks, you are dealing with a crafty, cagey, and cautious combination of talents. Their proficiency in woodsmanship is unexcelled, compounded by superior senses of sight, smell, and alertness. They are animals that can vanish with the blink of an eye, masters of the use of camouflage and ease of disappearance.

What counties of California offer the best opportunity of bagging a trophy blacktail? That species is found within forty counties of the state, primarily in the northwest but extending down the coastal range to Central California, overlapping to some extent with the ranges of several races of mule deer. Mendocino, Trinity, and Siskiyou counties are generally considered to have blacktail deer that are larger on average, yet impressive specimens are taken regularly from Tehama, Del Norte, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito counties.

More important than selecting a county is the choice of a particular specific area to hunt in which large blacktail bucks have been taken in the past. The mineral content of the soil in some local areas seems to have an effect toward producing heavy-antlered bucks as does the prevailing genes of the local herd. Expertise of the hunter and lower hunting pressure are important factors bearing upon the probabilities of bagging a fine buck. Without the opportunity to reach an older age, a buck will not carry the best antlers. In some areas, the mountain lion and coyote predation severely restricts the populations of deer. Lions prefer to stalk bucks rather than does that live within larger groups.

To have a better chance in seeking a splendid trophy, one should endeavor to get into an area that has not been hunted extensively. Two possibilities come to mind: private property where little access has been allowed or terrain far back from roads. Few hunters will go through the effort to hike back more than a half mile from vehicle access. Successful trophy hunters invariably report having seen many more fine-antlered bucks within remote areas. The universal belief of experienced hunters is that trophy bucks seek out distant places. The most successful trophy hunters go to a greater effort than average nimrods. Scouting areas for big bucks in the off season gives those men a better idea of where to utilize their energy. The hunter’s familiarity with terrain also contributes to success.

Not many hunting guides are available for hunting blacktail deer in California. However, a list can be obtained from the Department of Fish and Game. Most of the distinguished hunters listed in the record books as having bagged an outstanding Blacktail deer have hunted on their own without a guide. Those are people who have invested much time and effort to become skilled in woodsmanship, aware of deer habits, and familiar with the habitat.

While those men report that the most productive period has been during the morning hours, it is of interest to note that many of the best blacktail bucks have been shot in midmorning. Usually the best bucks are the last out of the brush in late evenings; however, some can be located fairly well into the morning.

Trying to get close enough to jump deer in most of the coastal mountains of California is a frustrating enterprise. With the extensive litter of crumbly leaves underfoot, it is almost impossible for a man to proceed quietly. With their huge ears swiveling like radar screens, the deer efficiently use their far-superior sense of hearing. Bucks have little difficulty in becoming aware of an intruder.

When you are hunting blacktail deer bucks, you are dealing with a crafty, cagey, cautious creature. The animal has a combination of talents that would be expected in a skilled woodsman, magnified by superior senses of smell, sight, and alertness. He is an animal that can vanish within the blink of an eye, a master of the use of camouflage and disappearance. Remember that when the buck’s keen sense of smell indicates your presence, that buck will rapidly leave. All writers counsel that wind direction is of utmost importance in planning your stalk.

The last week of the season often affords the best opportunity to locate a buck because it is near the period of the rut. Preoccupation with the opposite sex can make a buck temporarily abandon some of its normal high caution.

Hunters who have had broad experience hunting throughout the world will tell you that blacktail deer offer as great a challenge and are as difficult to bag as just about any species of big game. After having hunted blacktail for most of my life as well as seventy other species of big game, I will venture a similar opinion. We wish you good luck in your search!

*     *     *

This buck was taken in San Mateo County, California. It won a place on the perpetual trophy of the San Francisco chapter of the Safari Club, designated as the best big game trophy of the year 2002 taken by a member of the chapter. The scene shown, atop the ridge which was more suitable for photography, is several hundred yards from where the buck was shot.

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My best trophy blacktail buck

3

Excitement Arose Dramatically

Where are all the deer? I saw lots of bucks in the velvet last month. Hayden exclaimed.

Yeah, we have also, but now is different. They seem mighty scarce, Dan replied.

Excitement among my friends developed dramatically during the midday when the three men looked forward. Several hundred yards uphill, they saw bucks magically appear from unexpected hiding places. A trio of bucks ambled from cover with leisurely speed, moving a hundred yards to another shadier spot. The deer were in a graceful trot, unalarmed. They had taken no notice of the hunters far below on the hillside. The typical warm August day was within the first week of the California blacktail deer season. Emerging from a brush patch bathed in sunlight, the deer walked across a stage-lit opening to a shady area of taller cover. Rounded clumps of scarlet red poison oak shaded by tall trees gave them a new position of shelter.

Do tell! Hayden exclaimed in his astonishment at the apparition. That must be a gift!

The appearance of those bucks was an answer to the unsaid fervent desires of those hunters, for the men had not seen any antlers previously during the several days they had hunted. While two of the deer carried only modest forked-horn head-gear, the third carried taller and wider antlers, a three-by-three, with additional short brow tines sometimes called eye guards. In the West, we would call it a three-point, while Easterners would call it an eight-pointer.

Most hunters do not realize that deer frequently get up and move positions at midday. Various factors may affect that urge. It may be that they have a preferred position to be used in the afternoon. The sun’s position can affect their resting position, or perhaps they feel a need to stretch or replace their food processing system. In quite a few times, continued stalking has been rewarded in midday with the appearance of fine bucks.

The three men were sitting under some shade and had taken their pause for refreshments after a frustrating morning of hunting in San Mateo County, not far south of San Francisco. Much hiking across the steep hillsides had been involved in their earlier efforts, during which no opportunities for shooting had been presented.

Hey, let’s work out a plan on those bucks, Dan had exclaimed, getting the attention of the other two men. Dan has a lifetime of experience and has developed an unsurpassed skill in tracking blacktail deer.

A huddle followed. Hunters whispered tactics even though the bucks were bedded far away. An agreement was quickly reached that a tactical envelopment would be the next order of business. Dan Caughey, an accomplished deerstalker thoroughly familiar with the area, was exuberant. He visualized moving around the flank of the sun-burnt Mindego Mountain, climbing to a sufficient height and then turning and coming down toward the bucks’ resting place.

All three of us will get a buck! Dan felt certain, for the hunters would have the advantage. He continued, The bucks will not get our scent since the air currents are upward with the warming day.

The three friends were well separated yet within sight of each other as a line of skirmishers, working down the steep hillside lightly covered with clumps of brush and scattered trees. As they approached the scarlet bushes, two blacktail bucks suddenly burst out of cover. They were promptly downed by Dan and Hayden Coggins, a nearby ranch owner and longtime deer hunter who was highly familiar with the land, while Dan’s father waited for the largest to emerge. However, the wide three-point didn’t appear.

Where did the big one go? Dan’s father asked after waiting fifteen minutes.

Image8174.JPG

Typical forked-horn blacktail buck seen in the

coastal Central California hills

Dan replied, He must have sneaked out, but I can’t figure out how he could have gotten by us.

A discussion followed;