2019 CA X4 Blacktail

[Moserkr]

We saw a couple dozen deer, very few bucks. Should have hunted somewhere better so my friend could get his first deer. Morning after after he had to leave I shot that buck. Yes, an absolute ton of quail!! Could have shot 20 a day. I may come back for that and that bear. Was rough for deer. Seems like most guys hunt the other end of the unit for the big mule deer. Thanks!

 

[roliveri]

We saw a couple dozen deer, very few bucks. Should have hunted somewhere better so my friend could get his first deer. Morning after after he had to leave I shot that buck. Yes, an absolute ton of quail!! Could have shot 20 a day. I may come back for that and that bear. Was rough for deer. Seems like most guys hunt the other end of the unit for the big mule deer. Thanks!

Did you find the water guzzler up there?

 

[Moserkr]

Did you find the water guzzler up there?

No, never did see a water guzzler. There was quite a bit of water around though. Would have been nice to find!

 

[roosiebull]

beautiful buck!!

those cali blacktail are a unique critter, both in appearance and the habitat they live in, and that's a nice one.

I love chasing blacktail, and one of my hunting goals is to kill all of the different blacktail (high country cali bt, sitka bt, and british Columbia blacktail)

i'm surprised the cali bt aren't their own sub species like sitka blacktail, they seem as unique as sitka bt

congrats on a dandy buck!

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks Roosie. I love chasing blacktail and muleys, but find blacktail to be the hardest of all deer to hunt. I wish they would study them better, especially here in CA where we have 6 subspecies. The buck I shot 50 miles east of the 5 freeway was a “blacktail” but nowhere near the size of the true coastal blacktail. I got 90 lbs of meat off him easy, and a coastal blacktail may only weigh 140 lbs total! I usually hunt CA Mule Deer which are half Rocky Mtn Mule Deer and half Blacktail. It saddens me to see how poorly managed our state’s wildlife is due to the ignorant liberal population. We could be an example of conversation and wildlife biology but piss it all away on idiocracy. Anyway, if you seriously want to hunt “every” species of blacktail and mule deer, just remember there are subspecies in CA that are overlooked and ignored. It would make an extremely unique and representative collection in a trophy room to have all the different subspecies together. Gets even more interesting to learn about the evolution of the different deer species and how it all relates...

 

[Moserkr]

Oh and Roosie, CA blacktail are considered Columbia Blacktail, not Sitka. So they definitely are a different subspecies, as well as the others in CA. Rocky Mtn Mule Deer, CA Mule Deer, Inyo Mule Deer, So. Cal. Mule Deer, Burro Deer, and Columbia Blacktail. See attached map for distribution. I hunt where the Inyo, Rocky, CA, and inland blacktail all meet. Ive seen herds made up of Rocky and CA mule deer (distinct rear end differences). They all inhabit different terrain for the most part but all overlap so the record books made it simple and only recognize the 2 most common deer in CA, from specific regions.

 

[roosiebull]

Thanks Roosie. I love chasing blacktail and muleys, but find blacktail to be the hardest of all deer to hunt. I wish they would study them better, especially here in CA where we have 6 subspecies. The buck I shot 50 miles east of the 5 freeway was a “blacktail” but nowhere near the size of the true coastal blacktail. I got 90 lbs of meat off him easy, and a coastal blacktail may only weigh 140 lbs total! I usually hunt CA Mule Deer which are half Rocky Mtn Mule Deer and half Blacktail. It saddens me to see how poorly managed our state’s wildlife is due to the ignorant liberal population. We could be an example of conversation and wildlife biology but piss it all away on idiocracy. Anyway, if you seriously want to hunt “every” species of blacktail and mule deer, just remember there are subspecies in CA that are overlooked and ignored. It would make an extremely unique and representative collection in a trophy room to have all the different subspecies together. Gets even more interesting to learn about the evolution of the different deer species and how it all relates...

I agree, and thanks for the info,. again, dandy buck!

 

[Pwb199]

Nice buck!!

 

[NickStew]

Oh and Roosie, CA blacktail are considered Columbia Blacktail, not Sitka. So they definitely are a different subspecies, as well as the others in CA. Rocky Mtn Mule Deer, CA Mule Deer, Inyo Mule Deer, So. Cal. Mule Deer, Burro Deer, and Columbia Blacktail. See attached map for distribution. I hunt where the Inyo, Rocky, CA, and inland blacktail all meet. Ive seen herds made up of Rocky and CA mule deer (distinct rear end differences). They all inhabit different terrain for the most part but all overlap so the record books made it simple and only recognize the 2 most common deer in CA, from specific regions.

Thanks for sharing that map. Super helpful in breaking down the distinct deer we have here in California. You’re exactly correct about how these herds will mix together and makes it hard to actually know what they are. How accurate is that tail identifier image?

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks for sharing that map. Super helpful in breaking down the distinct deer we have here in California. You’re exactly correct about how these herds will mix together and makes it hard to actually know what they are. How accurate is that tail identifier image?

Take the distribution chart and tail identifier with a grain of salt of course, but its the best we have that Ive seen. Considering each different subspecies were given their own scientific names leads me to believe there are noticeable genetic differences and dna tests to back up those classifications. It gets really interesting to look back to the whitetail though, and how it evolved, eventually leading to blacktails and muleys. In CA, i believe anything that not a coastal blacktail or a true Rocky Mtn Muley is a crossbreed of some sorts. But those crossbreed populations have become stable and distant enough over time to warrant new subspecies, THEN we add in current crossbreeding.... complicated state!! Deserves a lot more attention considering the diversity and evolutionary history of the mule deer, which may very well have originated here in CA.

 

[tgillespie]

Dandy buck. Did you see any other big bucks? Just curios

 

[Moserkr]

Dandy buck. Did you see any other big bucks? Just curios

Thanks. Had the one I shot and a larger one on cam early in the season. Im sure the larger one is still out there. Seen a monster bear twice too, almost got a shot on him.

 

[TGLBRH]

Thinking of putting my dads application in for X4 this year. He was holding out for X2 but hes getting to the point where he may not be hunting in the next few years. 2019 stats looked better than some of the other low point X zones.

Anyone have any other suggestions for an X zone to look at with his 4 points? I'm holding out for X2 with 7 points currently.

 

[CL&RR]

very nice California buck.

 

[tallfrank]

Nice Buck!

 

[michaelmoore10]

We saw a couple dozen deer, very few bucks. Should have hunted somewhere better so my friend could get his first deer. Morning after after he had to leave I shot that buck. Yes, an absolute ton of quail!! Could have shot 20 a day. I may come back for that and that bear. Was rough for deer. Seems like most guys hunt the other end of the unit for the big mule deer. Thanks!

drew X4 this year and having similar results in scouting that you've described. handful of deer, very few bucks. I have spots in lower and higher elevations. Do you mind sharing where you shot your buck with me?

 

[ACM1365]

Nice buck! Hoping to connect with a similar one this year.

 

[Valumpessa]

Very nice buck man! Trophy in my book. What kind of mushrooms?

 

[Moserkr]

Very nice buck man! Trophy in my book. What kind of mushrooms?

Mine too, thanks. The mushrooms were some kind of bolete. You can tell by the spongey cap where it has no gills. Never pick something and eat it if you are not 100% sure of what you are doing!! I could have picked hundreds of pounds of those mushrooms while I was hunting. My day pack ran out of room actually lol

 

[Gkohl]

My 2019 X4 Blacktail and a bear I saw on the first day of that hunt. Overall disappointed with the quality of X4 as I expected to see more deer. Had a successful vegan hunt too . Nice heavy 3x4 with 3” eye guards. Very happy with him and he is delicious!

Any pointers on areas to check out? My brother has a tag and I am headed up with him again next week. We have been scouting/hunting west side of the zone and have seen a couple small bucks, but not much. Hoping the college weather next week will get the moving