Opening day for blacktails

Here in OR today was opening day for blacktails and I seriously considered not going. The weather called for up to 8" of rain and winds to 60mph here at the coast which usually means trees falling down and quite the mess. It's also been up in the air whether I'd be hunting with a handgun or not because of my hand tremors but two days ago I went out and checked the zero on my personal 454. The doc has had me on some meds that have calmed the tremors quite a bit but I won't be taking any long shots anymore. Anyways I decided to give it a try this morning but decided early on this was a road hunting day, I'm an avid hunter but not a dumb one. We finally spotted a deer in range of my 454, it was a doe but with my disabled permit I can shoot either sex so I parked the truck and walked up the road about 30yds to where I could see the deer. She was hidden in the mess we call woods out here but more closely resembles a rain forest which I guess technically it is. I could see the head and bits and pieces of the body so I put the dot on what I thought was the shoulder and touched her off. The deer immediately hunched and ran directly towards me and veering at the last moment coming down on to the road about 10yds from me but it immediately turned running directly away from me up the road. At about 25yds it finally started to turn to go off the side of the hill giving me just enough to take the dot off her butt and slide it in hind the shoulder and I touched it off a second time causing and immediate face plant. The first shot had missed it's mark a little too far back but the second sealed the deal. I am shooting 240gr XTP Mags over a full case of H110.

The story takes another turn though when this evening I took my wife out to look for a buck and sure enough after getting on top of the mountain she spotted a nice coastal forkie and dumped him. Deer season is over for us so now it is time to wait for Nov and elk season.

Congrats Rod! Pics?

Rod, great to hear you were able to have a successful hunt. Keep at it and enjoy every minute.

Congratulations Rod!

Great Rod, Congratulations. Gods sharing his bounty with a man that's had a tough past couple of years, and well deserved.

Thanks guys, here is a not so good pic of the doe. She was a little 1 1/2 year old but the meat should be great.

this is the wifes forkie, she shot it with her Ruger 77 in 270 shooting a mild load with a 140gr Partition running around 2750. The only shot she had was a neck shot and she put it right where it needed to be, a cns shot and it was all over. You can see the entrance wound a few inches back from the ear up high.

Cool. Good to hear that you still have it. And a big Congatulations to both of you.

Congrats to the both of you on the successful hunts.

That's awesome Wapitirod...........congrats on you and your wife's success

Way to go Rod. Glad you were able to make it out.

Oustanding!!! Yes, you have had a long haul for a bit, you deserve a little sunshine in your life. It's been a very long time since I hunted blackies in the Pacific North Wet, but the experiences were memorable, all of them and usually weather related. That and how smart those Black Tail can be, playing hide and seek.

Craig

Glad to see you made it out. Being successful is just a bonus.

Good Job Rod.

Nice job for you and your wife!

just got the totals on the storm we killed the two deer in, 13.42" of rain and the high gust was 81 mph.

Great job! I'm kind of jealous, though. Tennessee's gun season opener is still two months away.

Big congrats to both of you. I know you have had it rough. maybe this will make you feel a bit better. reflex264

Thanks guys, this hunt was a much need break and taking an animal was a definite stress reliever. I've got them all butchered and in the freezer and now I can go back to taking care of stuff around the house until the middle of Nov when my elk season starts. I'm thinking the 454 will get the nod again, so far I've only hunted two deer seasons with it but it scored both times.

Good Job Buddy! Congrates to you and your wife! You must be feeling better after getting out there and getting it done.
I bow hunted again this year for Mule deer but again saw alot of critters but nothing with in my range. Now it's on to Elk season with my Striker and a hair tag.
Rupe

That didn't take long. Nice job!

Good luck with the Elk.

Congrats Rod. Hope you score as quickly on elk. Looking forward to those pictures as well.

Congratulations Rod to you and your wife.
Glad you had two successful hunts.

Congrats!

Glad for you, buddy.

Grew up hunting blacktail, but live in Eastern Oregon now. Love to hear stories oyt of blacktail country.