A long time blacktail hunter, Christian Watts of Tigard, Oregon, traveled to northern Idaho in 2007 to chase some wily whitetails."On Day 1, I saw a doe or two but not much else showed," Christian said. "On Day 2, it was much the same with a very tall spike sauntering through but I had vowed that it was a 'trophy' or bust on this trip. On Day 3, I was in my stand watching a small opening about 75 yards away. At 11 a.m., out walked a big bodied 4x4!
His tines were so symmetrical that I couldn't even see points as he walked straight toward me. All I could tell was that the rack made a perfect 'box' as wide as his ears and about that tall.
He quickly crossed the opening and paused to sniff a tree ‹ offering only an extreme quartering away shot. I quickly slid the safety off my Remington .270 Mountain Rifle and picked him up in the Leupold scope. I placed the cross hair right in front of his left hindquarter. Then I squeezed the trigger and he dropped in his tracks.
After a few moments to thank God and gather my composure, I lowered my gear and climbed down. I paced off 45 long steps to the deer and finally got a good look at him. Back at camp he weighed in a tad over 200 on the hoof and I figured he'd score in the low 130s. I finally felt that I had harvested a mountable trophy. I know that there are bigger bucks out there, and I hope to tag one some day, but for now this old blacktail hunter couldn't be happier!
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