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Where: Sonoma, California When: 8/17/2011 Who: Conan Eagan, outfitter With: My 2 youngest sons Species: California Blacktail Seen: Lots of hogs, turkey, quail, wood ducks We wanted to do a men's trip before school started. California has an early season (hot!) deer hunt. We hunted with Conan for spring turkey in what is one of California's prettiest areas, Sonoma Wine country. He offered us a blacktail hunt was just a week before the boys started school, so off we went. Our trip started with a flight to Medford, Oregon for 2 days steelhead fishing on the Rogue River. My Oldest Son Christopher caught his first ever steelhead, on a fly rod no less. We then drove down to Cloverdale, Ca where Conan bases his hunts. We were to be hunting on the coolest 2500 acre ranch in Sonoma County. The evening of day one, my older son Christopher was on the rifle. Conan had some good bucks on video taken that morning. We went to several likely spots, but all we saw were young bucks. The next morning, we continued where we left off. We did not see a deer until 9:30, but oh man, what a deer. I will take a minute to say Conan has about the best eyesight of any hunter I have had the pleasure of sharing camp with. He has an uncanny ability to see deer with his naked eyes that I could barely make out with the Binos. We were working our way up a knob, Conan turns around and tells Christo get ready. The buck moved a bit down the knob and into a small draw 70 yards away. Then just disappeared. We wanted to wait him out, but after what seemed like an eternity, the buck did not show himself. Chris was perched with his rifle on a rock, Conan went left and I went right to see if we could spot the buck's escape route. After a short, slow hike, I saw the buck feeding up the side hill. He was in bow range from me, but the tree no doubt screened him from my young rifleman. Well, the shattering sound of the .243 told me Chris had a bead on his buck. 20-30 yards later, we came across this fine 3x4. The cool part is, he has split brow times on his left.  He is 22" wide, very heavy buck  We will be back next year to get one for Christopher  "You only gotta do one thing well to make it in this world" - J Joplin | ||
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Very nice blacktail. Good job.  Tony Mandile - Author "How To Hunt Coues Deer" | |||
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Wow, that's a terrific buck. Congratulations to all. | |||
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Outstanding buck. | |||
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Wow nice Blacktail! Congrats to the hunter. | |||
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Very well done...congrats to hunter and Dad! Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Congratulations, I have been looking for one like that for years, running out of time  Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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That's a freakin' MONSTER! Nice job! Zinfandel and venison are GOOD! | |||
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Now that is how it is done! Excellent job!!! Graybird "Make no mistake, it's not revenge he's after ... it's the reckoning." | |||
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Right in my backyard! Man, I hate you Jack D Bold! Congrats to the young hunter on one heck of a buck and to the three of you for sharing such a great trip. Man, I really wonder if you guys realize what a monster that buck is.... Jason "You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________ Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure. -Jason Brown | |||
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Congratulations on your successful blacktail hunt. He is a beauty. Your son should be on top of the world. Glad you and Conan hooked up. Wade | |||
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Congratulations! That is a great buck! You must be very proud!  "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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Nice Buck! Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
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Congratulations to your son and to you on prioritizing time with your boys!!! You're a great dad to give them these opportunities and that's a buck anybody could be proud of. Red My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them. -Winston Churchill | |||
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