Like most years, I always try to fit in at least one wilderness backpack hunt for California blacktails. I don’t plan the dates in advance, but wait for a cold snap or some weather. I had just arrived home from an archery elk hunt in Wyoming in late September. I checked the weather, and cold weather was predicted for the next five days and the moon was in a dark phase. I had to plan fast and get up in the high country. I wanted to go to a spot I refer to as “Hell Hole.” It’s a spot located 14 miles into a wilderness, and the last three miles, there are no trails. Downed trees and brush cover the trails. You must pack shears to get in there. It’s too dangerous of a pack to go solo, so I needed to find someone to go with me.
I phoned my long-time hunting buddy, Ryan James. He’s hunted with me at “Hell Hole” several times, and he was up for the challenge. He came to my house the next day, and we loaded up our packs with enough supplies for a week. With some extras, our packs came in at 55 lbs. The hike is 95% uphill, making it grueling. The pack out is 95% downhill, but packs could be much heavier if things go right. Ryan and I both hold out for trophy blacktails, four-pointers in the 120"+ class. Only once in 15 years have we both harvested 4-point blacktails on the same trip. Normally, we were packing one boned out deer between us.
We arrived at the trailhead at first light. Ten hours later, we were at our camp spot. At 52 years old, the hike seems more brutal each year. The big bucks live here because there is very little hunting pressure. Horses and llamas cannot access this country.
The first morning was cold at 20 degrees. I normally leave camp at least an hour before dark and sometimes two hours, depending upon the hunting spot. This morning, I woke up early enough, but there was some unexpected snow falling and visibility was questionable. I waited it out until daylight. The snow had stopped and clouds were high and scattered, so I took off. I reached my glassing spot at 9 a.m. It was still really cold, but I didn’t like missing the first hours of daylight. So many times in the past I had seen and sometimes harvested big bucks at first light already heading to their bedding areas. I spent a few minutes positioning my rifle and gear for long-range shooting situations. I then started glassing. This was big, steep canyon country. My average shot in this country was about 500 yards at the bottom of the canyon.
I started glassing the entire country but didn’t see anything for the first five minutes. This wasn’t country that holds a lot of deer, but from past hunts, I knew it to hold a few big bucks. I glassed a thick manzanita area about 1,000 yards away located on the other side of the canyon. I could see a buck standing in the only small opening in the manzanita. The buck looked around as if he was trying to figure out which way to go. I knew he was going to bed any second. I could make out with my eight power binoculars that he a was a solid four-pointer with chocolate-colored horns. It was a 120"+ blacktail for sure and possibly bigger. I ranged the buck at 983 yards. There was no measurable amount of wind. I practice beyond this range. I had never shot at a deer this far, but I felt confident in making the shot based upon conditions. I made the elevation adjustment for the shot and quickly went in a prone position. I zoomed my scope into 20 power. I quick bubble level checked and I squeezed off a round. I held just behind the buck’s shoulder as he stood broadside. I saw the deer run downhill into the manzanita thicket. At about 40 yards into the thicket, I saw his rear legs kick up into the air and it appeared he was taking a nosedive. I never heard the bullet impact, but I felt I had made a good shot.
I texted my buddy, Ryan, and let him know I possibly had a deer down and the location. The hike to where the deer was at was going to take about an hour. This canyon is rocky, steep, and covered in downed trees and loose shale. It’s walking stick worthy for sure. I eventually made my way down the canyon and to the other side. I located the only open spot in the manzanita thicket but didn’t see any blood. I worked my way through the thicket to the last place I had seen the buck, and there he lay. I had made almost a perfect shot. It was about two inches high from where I held. At 983 yards, I will take it.
The buck was a 5x4, as good as I thought he was. I took a bunch of photos and then boned the deer out for the grueling pack out of this canyon. Five hours later, I was back at camp. Ryan had seen several bucks that day, and he said the best buck was a wide 3x2. He said he was heavy horned and might go 24" wide. He passed on shooting this buck. He was looking for a mature four-pointer. He said the 3x2 looked to be old and on the decline for horn growth. He felt he had seen this same buck several years now in the exact same canyon. He felt the buck was as good as he was going to get.
I had a second deer tag, so I continued to hunt different canyons for five days but never saw another deer. Ryan had found a canyon that held several bucks, and he was seeing different bucks daily. The weather turned warmer, and from past experiences, we knew the hunting would become tougher with the bigger bucks being on their beds before daylight. We decided to hunt one more day, although, I decided to give my legs a break and hunt close to camp. Ryan decided he was going to leave an hour earlier than he had been in hopes of possibly catching a big buck before he bedded. He had decided that he would shoot the old 3x2 if he was to see him again. Ryan had seen him every morning on this hunt, so I figured he would be punching his tag.
The next morning, not too long after first shooting light, I received a text from Ryan that he had a buck down. I phoned him. He said he had located a 4x4 at 625 yards. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of rack the buck had, but he said it for sure had four points to a side. He didn’t think it was that wide or heavy. I asked him if it had chocolate- colored horns. He said the horns were dark chocolate. I told him, “I bet the buck is bigger than you think and a 4-point blacktail that is a once-in-a-lifetime for most.”
Ryan later phoned me and said he was super happy with his buck. He sent me photos right away. I later saw him back at camp after his grueling pack out of an extremely steep canyon. It was great that we were both successful with 4-point blacktails.
The next day, we packed out with heavy loads on our backs. It was such a great feeling to get back to the truck.
After this hunt, I purchased a home in Idaho where I will be living next fall hunting elk and mule deer. I really appreciate all the years of hunting wilderness blacktails with Ryan. I’m hoping to drag him into an Idaho wilderness hunting mulies. I’m not saying I’m done with blacktail hunting, though, because I’ve just had too much fun and success doing it.
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