Here is a short I created from my rifle antelope hunt this year. I spent several weeks scouting, but had the misfortune of a few thunderstorms coming into the area forcing me to head back to work. I was sure to make the most of the circumstances. Enjoy!
– Set
Eastern Oregon has a special place in my heart. I have grown up bowhunting there, and always look forward to hunting with my friends in family in familiar territory. Over the last five years, we have seen the population of whitetails blow up; areas where it was a shock to see one or two in years prior, it’s more of a surprise to see a mule deer.
My fascination with whitetails started in seeing them in every hunting publication, and on every TV show, when I was a kid. Seeing whitetail popping up everywhere, there was realization that I might actually be able to fulfill a childhood dream of taking a basket racked, flag tail.
I usually spend the first week to nine days chasing deer, before I dedicate all my time to elk. During 2008 and 2009 it took me eight days each time, to punch my deer tag; in that two weeks combined time, I saw over a dozen bucks, and had zero shot opportunities at a whitetail buck. It quickly became apparent to me that I simply wasn’t going to happen upon one on the ground and arrow one.
In 2010, I filled my deer tag on the first weekend with a small mule deer; the day after, I was headed out to hunt for elk, and standing 40 yards off the road, at 3pm and on public ground was a beautiful heavy racked four by four whitetail. From that point on, I knew I had to find a way to arrow an Oregon whitetail.
If I was going to harvest a whitetail, I knew my ways of trying to spot them and stalk them like mule deer, given the terrain, wasn’t going to be an option. Based on everything I have seen, read and heard, whitetail are pattern-able; find an area where the feed, find their bedding area, and figure out the best place to intercept them. However, this is much easier to do when you have small sections of timber, or small food plots where you can concentrate your efforts. The Oregon terrain reminds me of what I have seen of the Black Hills of the Dakotas; ponderosa pines atop the ridges, and lush river bottoms choked with willows. The river bottoms stretch for miles, and contradictory to footage and articles from the Milk River, these Oregon whiteys aren’t exactly pounding down a single trail, their behavior is erratic to say the least.
Given that I would be catching them still using their summer patterns, I figured I would need to decipher an area with the most deer and bet that a tactic of patterning a shotgun spread of deer would be easier than just a couple bucks. As with any animal, the deer were using two areas more so than the others, a natural bridge crossing, and getting there via paralleling a barbwire fence; the two funnels make for the best “POA” (Point of Ambush), I could come up with.
After chasing a big mule deer for the first few days of the season unsuccessfully, it was time to put my plan of attack into action.
It’s much easier said than done, waiting for hours; I do have a ton of respect for whitetail hunters who strictly hunt out of tree stands, you have much patience! After sitting for a few hours, I hiked up the ridge, and did some glassing in an old burn, for mule deer.
The sun started setting, and after not turning up any more mule deer, I decided to sneak my way back down towards the river bottom.
I popped out into a clearing, and saw a group of eight deer walking right past the fence crossing heading down to the river, I missed them! As soon as the last doe disappeared over the burm, I sprinted 200 yards to where they had headed, and went past another 30 yards. I began sneaking, and nocked an arrow; just then, peeked over the tall grass, and could see the deer filing up the fence on the way to the river. I stood up just enough to get a range, 64 yards; I crouched back down, took a deep breath, drew my bow and stood up. The biggest buck was the one in from and he was perfectly broadside; I split my 60 and 70 yard pins right behind his shoulder and eased my thumb release into the shot. The arrow arced and disappeared in the low light, but the tell-tale hollow thwack indicated my arrow found its mark.
All the deer turned and raced into the reeds and across the river. I ran up the ridge for a vantage point, and saw seven deer run across the open river bottom…I knew what that meant. I made my way down to my arrow, and tracked the deer 30 yards; a well-placed arrow does wonders.
I’ll never forget lifting his basket rack up, and counting eight points; he is not my biggest deer, nor the oldest, however, putting in the time, learning their behaviors and making it happen in crunch time makes him one of my best trophies to date.
Western whitetails are different, given the terrain, and the tactics that come into play. Long shots and precise stalks are two things that I can almost guarantee will come into play, if you plan to chase them on the ground; or pack a couple extra servings of patience, if you aren’t accustomed to sitting for long periods of time. That said, the feeling of laying down a whitetail, in elk country, is something special.
Lots of satisfied clients….congrats on all the awesome animals!
punchin’ tags in 2012
Here we go, 2012 is off and running. This is my first hunt of the year, and the first piece of my attempts at producing a truly quality, solo hunt film.
So, here is the trailer for my short, “Believe”
Song: “Paradise” by Coldplay
No copyright infringement intended, all acknowledgements to Coldplay
Steph Charette here, coming at ya from beautiful John Day Oregon! I’m a fisheries biologist working on restoration projects that focus on salmon and steelhead in the John Day basin. My career has taken me across the Bering Sea collecting fisheries data on commercial fishing boats, and throughout the South Pacific scuba diving and counting fish in some very remote islands and atolls.
I grew up in Quebec, Canada and moved to the States in 2000 after finishing College. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and just being outside have always been a part of my life. My earliest and fondest memories growing up usually involved a fishing rod or shotgun and hanging with my dad in some camp off the beaten road.
When my wife and I moved from Hawaii to John Day five years ago, my biggest motivating factor was to live in a small town with great access to hunting and fishing and be able to raise our future children in that kind of environment. We now have a 10-month-old girl and hopefully she will share her parent’s love for the outdoors.
I love to hunt elk and mule deer with a bow. I’m not a trophy hunter, but I do pass on smaller animals, that is until I’m faced with the prospect of going 11 months with no wild game in the freezer! I love big horns on the wall, but my family loves elk burgers and venison steaks a whole lot more. I pride myself on being a successful hunter, but I take even more pride in providing meat for my family. If that means I need to kill a spike bull, then so be it! I have no shame in that!
I also have two GSP’s and since moving to Oregon, upland game bird hunting has become a passion of mine after bow hunting is over. I love the sight of seeing my 2 best furry friends on point with a covey of chukar exploding from my feet. The great basin is some amazing country and the views are tough to beat!
Well, I’ve rambled on enough. I’m not the most prolific picture taker, but I’m always good for an honest gear review or talking trash over a campfire. I guess that’s why Joe and Seth hunt with me…..not to mention I’m a way better camp cook then either of them!
On top of the 1000 likes on the Facebook page, I’d like to introduce the newest member of Team M3 one of our hired gun hands, Stephan Charette. Steph is a great hunter, an awesome guy and every once and a while he even picks up the camera to help us out! Look for a blog here on www.mountainmademedia.wordpress.com from Steph to tell more about himself, soon!
Edited this picture for Lee Blankenship out of Idaho…talk about a GIANT mule deer! Congrats Lee, they dont make too many like this!
Alrighty, in the spirit of the holidays, how about an inaugural Mountain Made Media (M3) give away?! We’re going to give away some Vortex Optics swag; all you gotta do is share this post, and “LIKE” M3 on Facebook if you haven’t! We’ll pick a winner randomly, once we hit 50 shares.
Thanks so much for all the support!
– M3
-Mountain Made Media- 