Twice in a Lifetime - Another Melanistic White-tailed Deer Encounter..
On a cool, crisp October evening, I had the opportunity to hunt and harvest my second melanistic white-tailed deer on our family ranch in Texas. The first was a large seven-and-a-half-year-old, ten-point buck, taken on Veterans Day, in 2016. I wrote an article about that encounter, titled, "Black Beauty". The story also highlights the history of our ranch and the work we’ve been doing to improve the habitat over the years. If you search for the article title, along with my name, it should pop up.
I’ve had the good fortune of seeing many melanistic deer around the ranch over the years. Melanism is “an unusual darkening of body tissues caused by excessive production of melanin,” which affect the skin, feathers and hair. It can give animals a very dark, almost black appearance, at times. There are more melanistic deer in the surrounding 8 county region than the rest of North America, combined. A study by John Baccus and John Posey of Texas State University found that 21% of the white-tailed deer in this specific region are “abnormally” dark. There are also some interesting melanistic genetic variations that we've noticed. We’ve seen some white-tails that have a completely black head, with the rest of the body appearing “normal”. We've also seen a few does with a 4” wide black stripe from their nose to their tail. The rarest of all are the deer that appear almost all black, with only a handful of white hairs around the tail.
Melanism has been recorded in deer herds in 60% of the country. This region of Texas has the highest concentration. It is believed that 9% of the total population in this region carry the trait. An article released by the National Deer Association, goes on to explain:
I’ve had the good fortune of seeing many melanistic deer around the ranch over the years. Melanism is “an unusual darkening of body tissues caused by excessive production of melanin,” which affect the skin, feathers and hair. It can give animals a very dark, almost black appearance, at times. There are more melanistic deer in the surrounding 8 county region than the rest of North America, combined. A study by John Baccus and John Posey of Texas State University found that 21% of the white-tailed deer in this specific region are “abnormally” dark. There are also some interesting melanistic genetic variations that we've noticed. We’ve seen some white-tails that have a completely black head, with the rest of the body appearing “normal”. We've also seen a few does with a 4” wide black stripe from their nose to their tail. The rarest of all are the deer that appear almost all black, with only a handful of white hairs around the tail.
Melanism has been recorded in deer herds in 60% of the country. This region of Texas has the highest concentration. It is believed that 9% of the total population in this region carry the trait. An article released by the National Deer Association, goes on to explain:
“Melanism is a random genetic anomaly. Changes in the coat color of mammals are believed to be mutations in the melanicortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R). The mutated gene that causes melanism is believed to be recessive, like the gene responsible for some albinism and all piebaldism. Melanistic and normal whitetails do coexist in the same area. Hunters of free-ranging whitetails cannot change population genetics through harvest choices, so harvesting or passing a melanistic deer will have no measurable impact on the frequency of this anomaly.”
In January 2023, a few life-long friends - Allan Lewis, Mike Irwin and Dan Ricci - came down from the East Coast for a long weekend at the ranch. All three happen to be photographers, and given the opportunity to film some amazing Texas wildlife on camera, they all brought their gear.
A few hunts into the trip, Mike and I sat together in what we call the Colour Blind. The name, and spelling, came from the fact that the first hunt in that stand was with Marc Pendleton, who is color blind, and Allan, who is Canadian (they spell words with an extra “U” sometimes). This stand has four lanes in view: one to the immediate left and one to the immediate right, each stretching out around three hundred yards from the blind. There are two lanes in front of the blind that split off. One veers off to the left and one off to the right, making it form a “V” where the blind is the intersection point. They are referred to as the “middle left” and “middle right” lanes, and each runs out to about two hundred fifty yards.
Midway through our observation, we noticed a group of deer emerge from the woods, down the middle right lane. In the back of the group, we spotted the melanistic doe. I grabbed my Canon SX70 camera and immediately started taking some videos of the group. Meanwhile, Mike started taking photos through his long lens. It was interesting to see how the other deer interacted with the melanistic doe. It appeared that the “regular” looking doe were trying to push her away (I have seen this behavior a handful of times over the years). At one point, one of the does challenged the melanistic doe. They both stood up on their hind legs and started boxing with each other. We recorded some outstanding footage.
A few hunts into the trip, Mike and I sat together in what we call the Colour Blind. The name, and spelling, came from the fact that the first hunt in that stand was with Marc Pendleton, who is color blind, and Allan, who is Canadian (they spell words with an extra “U” sometimes). This stand has four lanes in view: one to the immediate left and one to the immediate right, each stretching out around three hundred yards from the blind. There are two lanes in front of the blind that split off. One veers off to the left and one off to the right, making it form a “V” where the blind is the intersection point. They are referred to as the “middle left” and “middle right” lanes, and each runs out to about two hundred fifty yards.
Midway through our observation, we noticed a group of deer emerge from the woods, down the middle right lane. In the back of the group, we spotted the melanistic doe. I grabbed my Canon SX70 camera and immediately started taking some videos of the group. Meanwhile, Mike started taking photos through his long lens. It was interesting to see how the other deer interacted with the melanistic doe. It appeared that the “regular” looking doe were trying to push her away (I have seen this behavior a handful of times over the years). At one point, one of the does challenged the melanistic doe. They both stood up on their hind legs and started boxing with each other. We recorded some outstanding footage.
Photo by Mike Irwin
After a few minutes, I swapped my camera for my rifle that has a NightForce ATACR scope, to better study the anomalistic creature. After a few silent minutes, Mike whispered, “are you going to shoot”? By then, I had enough time to determine that she was a touch young, probably 2.5 years old. Due to management decisions on our ranch, we prefer to wait until deer are 3.5 before harvesting. I explained my reasoning to Mike, and he agreed. We continued taking pictures and video of the group of does as the sun was setting. Eventually, the group disappeared back into the woods. I witnessed the same melanistic doe on our Moultrie Mobile trail camera a few more times that winter. Then, she vanished.
Our tracking and census process on the ranch is a meticulous one. We study every single Moultrie Mobile game trail image in August and September to get an accurate census count. We also conduct stand counts and record incidental observations during that time. Shortly after, we forward all the data to our county’s wildgame biologist with Texas Parks & Wildlife. Each year, we have at least one or two melanistic white-tailed deer in the group. In 2023, we had two melanistic does and one melanistic fawn. The two does were 2.5 and 3.5 years old, with the older one presumably being the one I had filmed in January with Mike. The one melanistic fawn from this year was a twin of a typical white-tailed fawn. Both had a typical looking mother. (see picture below). To this day, I have not seen a melanistic doe with a fawn – typical or melanistic...
Our tracking and census process on the ranch is a meticulous one. We study every single Moultrie Mobile game trail image in August and September to get an accurate census count. We also conduct stand counts and record incidental observations during that time. Shortly after, we forward all the data to our county’s wildgame biologist with Texas Parks & Wildlife. Each year, we have at least one or two melanistic white-tailed deer in the group. In 2023, we had two melanistic does and one melanistic fawn. The two does were 2.5 and 3.5 years old, with the older one presumably being the one I had filmed in January with Mike. The one melanistic fawn from this year was a twin of a typical white-tailed fawn. Both had a typical looking mother. (see picture below). To this day, I have not seen a melanistic doe with a fawn – typical or melanistic...
We submitted the data and within a week, we had our harvest recommendations back for the Managed Lands Deer Program (MLDP). Our ranch has participated in this Conservational program for over a decade. It allows us an extended season, beginning on the last day of September. If we agree with their harvest recommendations, program managers send tags to print out and use, specifically for the deer on our property. Along with 5 buck tags, we had 10 doe tags for the 2023-2024 hunting season. We had some work to do, and freezers to fill. I decided that if anyone saw the 3.5 year old melanistic doe, and she was without a fawn, she could be harvested.
We decided to get to the ranch in early October to begin working towards our doe harvest numbers. For the first hunt of the season, I had two of my close friends with me, Matthew Mitchell and Jon Herbster. They both put in a tremendous amount of work preparing for the hunting season. Of course, there are an endless number of tasks and projects to keep a ranch operational and fully functioning. Aside from the mowing of lanes, trimming trees and branches, the unending equipment maintenance, and our annual restoration of native grasses and forbs, we added a few more activities this year. Recently, we enrolled our property in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and developed a five-year plan with our local NRCS agent. Leading up to the first hunt of the season, we had specific projects to fulfill for year one of the CRP, and Matthew and Jon put in many hours, helping to fulfill our goals.
We arrived at the ranch on the afternoon of October 1st. We unpacked and planned to hit the range to make sure all our rifles were still shooting true. We set up everything and drove to the front gate to meet our friend, Eric Tessmer (guitarist/singer of the Eric Tessmer Band and founder of Bare Knuckle Binder). Eric arrived in legendary fashion, driving his 1952 International L-122, named “Claudette” (which is the only International 3/4 ton truck known to exist with a Coleman 4x4 conversion…saved from a now defunct Northern California junkyard and driven back to Texas). We parked his truck by the house and made our way over to the range. A handful of splattered marks in the center of the metal targets at 100, 200, and 300 yards confirmed we were all ready to hunt.
We decided to get to the ranch in early October to begin working towards our doe harvest numbers. For the first hunt of the season, I had two of my close friends with me, Matthew Mitchell and Jon Herbster. They both put in a tremendous amount of work preparing for the hunting season. Of course, there are an endless number of tasks and projects to keep a ranch operational and fully functioning. Aside from the mowing of lanes, trimming trees and branches, the unending equipment maintenance, and our annual restoration of native grasses and forbs, we added a few more activities this year. Recently, we enrolled our property in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and developed a five-year plan with our local NRCS agent. Leading up to the first hunt of the season, we had specific projects to fulfill for year one of the CRP, and Matthew and Jon put in many hours, helping to fulfill our goals.
We arrived at the ranch on the afternoon of October 1st. We unpacked and planned to hit the range to make sure all our rifles were still shooting true. We set up everything and drove to the front gate to meet our friend, Eric Tessmer (guitarist/singer of the Eric Tessmer Band and founder of Bare Knuckle Binder). Eric arrived in legendary fashion, driving his 1952 International L-122, named “Claudette” (which is the only International 3/4 ton truck known to exist with a Coleman 4x4 conversion…saved from a now defunct Northern California junkyard and driven back to Texas). We parked his truck by the house and made our way over to the range. A handful of splattered marks in the center of the metal targets at 100, 200, and 300 yards confirmed we were all ready to hunt.
Claudette
Matthew took Jon with him, and they sat in the Colour Blind, which seemed to have the most activity, based on the recent images from our Moultrie Mobile cellular game cameras. Jon had been alongside Matthew on a successful hog hunt during a work trip a couple months prior, but that was the extent of Jon’s experience in the stand. Jon had been working around the ranch for the entire year leading up to the hunt and had made significant contributions. He learned and appreciated what it took to keep the ranch running. The exchange resembled Doug Duren’s “Sharing The Land” initiative. Jon was now armed with his Hunter’s Education Certificate, his first Hunting License, and was excited for the opportunity to hunt a doe.
Eric and I dropped Matthew and Jon off, a short distance from their stand. Eric and I then made our way a little further into the property to sit at a stand that we called Beast, after spotting a mountain lion and her cubs in that area many years before. Eric and I were hoping to see some deer or hogs, but the action was a bit slow for us. Things were a little more exciting in the middle of the ranch, though.
Within twenty minutes of getting settled in the blind, Jon and Matthew had a nice doe step out at around 165 yards. Jon picked up his 30-06 rifle, set the stock on the wooden ledge, and put the crosshairs behind her shoulder. After a few minutes, he brought the rifle back inside. Matthew asked him what was going on. “I’m not sure – it feels early in the hunt. Let’s wait a little bit and see what else shows up.” Matthew encouraged Jon to practice getting his rifle up and ready to shoot. Jon went through the motions and got a good feel for the process. Eventually, the doe walked off. Other deer appeared, but they had fawns with them, making them off limits. They did get to witness one of the most beautiful bobcats that any of us had ever seen, though. Matthew got some amazing video of it, as it walked across the two lanes in front of them.
In the last few minutes of legal light, Matthew caught some movement at the end of the far-right lane. Four does were at the edge of the field, eating. While it was getting darker by the minute, he could tell one was the 3.5-year-old melanistic doe (Jon was going to take the first shot, unless it was a massive buck, or if the melanistic doe showed up). Matthew wasted no time shouldering the rifle and getting a steady rest. With light dwindling, and with the group packed together, Matthew was not able to make an ethical shot. He and Jon packed up their gear, and Eric and I picked them up minutes later.
We enjoyed a hearty dinner at the house and shared the stories and pictures/videos of our hunt. Eric had to make his way back home, so we drove out with him to the gate and said our goodbyes. The three of us returned to the porch, sharing our thoughts and plans for the next day, while looking at a map of the ranch that Colin Williams (Co-Owner of Map My Ranch) had made. We decided that Jon and Matthew would sit at the same stand, the next morning. I planned to hunt at a spot a few hundred yards north of them. I was hoping Jon would get his first doe, or that Matthew would get another chance at the melanistic doe.
After a few hours shy of a good night’s sleep, we all got up, downed some coffee, nibbled on some food, and assembled our gear. We were all in our stands well before daylight. Unfortunately, none of us witnessed any target deer or hogs. I did manage to get some footage of a fawn and two turkey hens interacting, which helped to pass the time nicely.
After fueling up with another wildgame meal, we started to make some plans for the last evening hunt. We decided to switch things up and have Jon come sit with me in Colour, once more. We dropped Matthew off near his stand, so he could creep up the rest of the way. Then, we drove to a spot about 400 yards away and made our way in. When we got to the stand, Jon sat to my left, which allowed him to take a shot down three of the four shooting lanes. If a good doe popped out to my right, I would have to move to let Jon get in better position down that lane. With roughly an hour left in the hunt, we saw 5 deer moving across the middle-left lane. Two of the older does had a fawn each with them and one doe did not. We identified that one solo doe as 4.5 years old and decided that was the one Jon was going to go after. Jon got his rifle up and I ranged the doe at around 175 yards. He was more than capable of making the shot at that distance. I was still a bit nervous, though. You never know how adrenaline, anxiety or nerves may come into play when that scenario arises. After waiting a while for the doe to separate from the group, Jon was ready to take his shot. I was filming the hunt and watching everything through my Sony camera. I heard him click the safety off, and then I whispered, “wait”. One of the fawns was about to walk in front of the doe Jon was lined up to shoot. After a couple minutes, the fawn sauntered off and I asked Jon if he was ready. “I’m gonna shoot.” He took a deep breath and fired. I could see the doe was hit before it took off into the woods and disappeared. Looking back into the field, deer were running in every direction. It seemed like every bird on the ranch was flying out of the brush, and two hogs even darted across the road. It was a bit wild, to say the least. I told Jon to reload, and we waited to see if his doe would cross into the next lane, or if a hog might slow down enough for a shot.
As Jon settled down a bit from the excitement, he asked if the shot looked good. I told him I thought it was, but that we should check the camera. When we looked at the small LCD screen on the back of my camera, I became a bit concerned. We scrolled frame by frame to see if we could tell where the bullet had made impact. It appeared to us that the shot might have been a bit further back than he aimed, but we were not sure. Since the shot may have been behind the main vitals, we decided to sit tight for forty-five minutes to an hour. Usually, I would wait thirty minutes before tracking an animal, but if it was hit off target, it might need more time. We texted Matthew and told him we were going to stay put until close to dark, and then we’d all look for Jon’s doe, together.
Eric and I dropped Matthew and Jon off, a short distance from their stand. Eric and I then made our way a little further into the property to sit at a stand that we called Beast, after spotting a mountain lion and her cubs in that area many years before. Eric and I were hoping to see some deer or hogs, but the action was a bit slow for us. Things were a little more exciting in the middle of the ranch, though.
Within twenty minutes of getting settled in the blind, Jon and Matthew had a nice doe step out at around 165 yards. Jon picked up his 30-06 rifle, set the stock on the wooden ledge, and put the crosshairs behind her shoulder. After a few minutes, he brought the rifle back inside. Matthew asked him what was going on. “I’m not sure – it feels early in the hunt. Let’s wait a little bit and see what else shows up.” Matthew encouraged Jon to practice getting his rifle up and ready to shoot. Jon went through the motions and got a good feel for the process. Eventually, the doe walked off. Other deer appeared, but they had fawns with them, making them off limits. They did get to witness one of the most beautiful bobcats that any of us had ever seen, though. Matthew got some amazing video of it, as it walked across the two lanes in front of them.
In the last few minutes of legal light, Matthew caught some movement at the end of the far-right lane. Four does were at the edge of the field, eating. While it was getting darker by the minute, he could tell one was the 3.5-year-old melanistic doe (Jon was going to take the first shot, unless it was a massive buck, or if the melanistic doe showed up). Matthew wasted no time shouldering the rifle and getting a steady rest. With light dwindling, and with the group packed together, Matthew was not able to make an ethical shot. He and Jon packed up their gear, and Eric and I picked them up minutes later.
We enjoyed a hearty dinner at the house and shared the stories and pictures/videos of our hunt. Eric had to make his way back home, so we drove out with him to the gate and said our goodbyes. The three of us returned to the porch, sharing our thoughts and plans for the next day, while looking at a map of the ranch that Colin Williams (Co-Owner of Map My Ranch) had made. We decided that Jon and Matthew would sit at the same stand, the next morning. I planned to hunt at a spot a few hundred yards north of them. I was hoping Jon would get his first doe, or that Matthew would get another chance at the melanistic doe.
After a few hours shy of a good night’s sleep, we all got up, downed some coffee, nibbled on some food, and assembled our gear. We were all in our stands well before daylight. Unfortunately, none of us witnessed any target deer or hogs. I did manage to get some footage of a fawn and two turkey hens interacting, which helped to pass the time nicely.
After fueling up with another wildgame meal, we started to make some plans for the last evening hunt. We decided to switch things up and have Jon come sit with me in Colour, once more. We dropped Matthew off near his stand, so he could creep up the rest of the way. Then, we drove to a spot about 400 yards away and made our way in. When we got to the stand, Jon sat to my left, which allowed him to take a shot down three of the four shooting lanes. If a good doe popped out to my right, I would have to move to let Jon get in better position down that lane. With roughly an hour left in the hunt, we saw 5 deer moving across the middle-left lane. Two of the older does had a fawn each with them and one doe did not. We identified that one solo doe as 4.5 years old and decided that was the one Jon was going to go after. Jon got his rifle up and I ranged the doe at around 175 yards. He was more than capable of making the shot at that distance. I was still a bit nervous, though. You never know how adrenaline, anxiety or nerves may come into play when that scenario arises. After waiting a while for the doe to separate from the group, Jon was ready to take his shot. I was filming the hunt and watching everything through my Sony camera. I heard him click the safety off, and then I whispered, “wait”. One of the fawns was about to walk in front of the doe Jon was lined up to shoot. After a couple minutes, the fawn sauntered off and I asked Jon if he was ready. “I’m gonna shoot.” He took a deep breath and fired. I could see the doe was hit before it took off into the woods and disappeared. Looking back into the field, deer were running in every direction. It seemed like every bird on the ranch was flying out of the brush, and two hogs even darted across the road. It was a bit wild, to say the least. I told Jon to reload, and we waited to see if his doe would cross into the next lane, or if a hog might slow down enough for a shot.
As Jon settled down a bit from the excitement, he asked if the shot looked good. I told him I thought it was, but that we should check the camera. When we looked at the small LCD screen on the back of my camera, I became a bit concerned. We scrolled frame by frame to see if we could tell where the bullet had made impact. It appeared to us that the shot might have been a bit further back than he aimed, but we were not sure. Since the shot may have been behind the main vitals, we decided to sit tight for forty-five minutes to an hour. Usually, I would wait thirty minutes before tracking an animal, but if it was hit off target, it might need more time. We texted Matthew and told him we were going to stay put until close to dark, and then we’d all look for Jon’s doe, together.
That meant that Jon and I both had more time to second guess our second guessing. We spent the next forty minutes reviewing the footage again and again, trying to see if the shot was true or not. We were whispering back and forth about it when I caught some movement down the middle right lane, in front of me. I saw three does coming out of the woods, and then a fourth emerged behind them. It was the melanistic doe we had been hoping to see. The deer came out where they had in January, when I was sitting there with Mike. The first two doe began to move towards us, while the other doe and the melanistic doe began moving right to left, along the edge of the woods. I grabbed my Leica rangefinding binoculars and calculated them at 218 yards. I then got my camera back in place and started recording. I left the video recording with the deer in the frame and picked up my .280AI that my friend Jason Garvey (Precision Rifle Hunters) had put together for me. It was loaded with my 162 grain Hornady ELDX handloads that work extremely well.
I got as comfortable as I could, with the camera still slightly in my way. I moved the safety off and right at that exact moment, we heard what sounded like an army of coyotes going off, nearby. Had they found Jon’s deer? Were they about to ruin this opportunity for me? Or were they only responding to the distant train whistle, as they had done so many times before? I had both doe in my field of view, in my scope, and they seemed very nervous. All the noise and the chorus of coyotes yelping and barking away made me think they were about to bolt. I got my shot lined up, placed the crosshairs behind the front shoulder and took a deep breath. As I exhaled, I slowly squeezed the trigger back until it fired, surprising me when the shot went off.
Once again, deer ran in every direction and the dust rose from their excitement. The melanistic doe took off to the left, before circling back towards the stand, and coming to her final rest, about 140 yards away from us. I reloaded in the event I need to take a second shot, but it was clear after a few minutes that the doe was down. With only about 10 minutes of light remaining, we grabbed the camera and made our way over to the melanistic doe. I set up the tripod and showed Jon how to work the camera. I told him to keep taking pictures as I moved around a bit with the melanistic doe. I hoped some might turn out, despite the low and fading light. After a few minutes, I remember taking a deep breath, looking around and then I finally took a moment to let it hit me. I had just taken my second “once in a lifetime” animal, on my family ranch. Once again, it was down a lane that we had recently cleared to plant native grasses and forbs. It was a mirror to the experience with "Black Beauty," from seven years before. I bowed my head, put my hands on the doe and said a prayer of thanks. I didn’t know it until later that night, but Jon saw that moment and decided to take one last picture. It turned out better than any grip and grin or serious looking photo I had ever tried to take. That image captured me in a state of pure emotion and gratitude, here, in this article. While I was still in a state of shock and feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion, I knew we had to focus. We still work to do; we had to go find Jon’s doe.
We picked up Matthew and we walked back to the spot where Jon had shot his doe. We put on our headlamps and started to look around the area. Unfortunately, after close to ten minutes, we still hadn’t found a single spec of blood - not a good sign. We looked back at the footage to make sure we were at the exact spot the doe was. We were right there, but we could only see where the deer had kicked up some dirt after it was shot. We started to make our way in the direction that his doe had taken, but after another fifteen minutes of searching, we still hadn’t found anything. We decided to expand our grid search out to one hundred yards, in a semi-circle. I dipped down into a dry creek bed about seventy yards from where we started looking. I turned and saw something white behind a tree. I walked over and saw it was a sun-faded shed antler. I picked it up and looked around to see if there was a matching set. I didn’t see another shed, but I did catch a glimpse of something else…Jon’s doe!
I called out to Jon and Matthew, “come over here, fellas”. We couldn’t see any evidence that it had been shot, and there was not one drop of any blood anywhere near the deer. When we rolled it over, it was very evident that Jon had made a perfect heart shot on his first ever animal. Why had we ever doubted him? We were all so thankful to find his first deer. We took some pictures to memorialize the special occasion.
We picked up Matthew and we walked back to the spot where Jon had shot his doe. We put on our headlamps and started to look around the area. Unfortunately, after close to ten minutes, we still hadn’t found a single spec of blood - not a good sign. We looked back at the footage to make sure we were at the exact spot the doe was. We were right there, but we could only see where the deer had kicked up some dirt after it was shot. We started to make our way in the direction that his doe had taken, but after another fifteen minutes of searching, we still hadn’t found anything. We decided to expand our grid search out to one hundred yards, in a semi-circle. I dipped down into a dry creek bed about seventy yards from where we started looking. I turned and saw something white behind a tree. I walked over and saw it was a sun-faded shed antler. I picked it up and looked around to see if there was a matching set. I didn’t see another shed, but I did catch a glimpse of something else…Jon’s doe!
I called out to Jon and Matthew, “come over here, fellas”. We couldn’t see any evidence that it had been shot, and there was not one drop of any blood anywhere near the deer. When we rolled it over, it was very evident that Jon had made a perfect heart shot on his first ever animal. Why had we ever doubted him? We were all so thankful to find his first deer. We took some pictures to memorialize the special occasion.
We got back to the house and gathered our gear before heading over to the skinning station. We cranked up some Tejano music with the talented Texas Tornadoes, opened a cold one and got to work. Matthew helped guide Jon on how to butcher the doe, while I began meticulously skinning mine. Using my sharpest knife from Montana Knife Company, I took my time removing the cape. I had plans to get a shoulder mount of the melanistic doe to put next to the shoulder mount of my melanistic buck. We eventually got everything in our coolers to bring home to our respective families. We brought the coolers on to the front porch and then went to the kitchen to celebrate with a well-deserved meal.
Later that evening, over cigars on the porch, we reviewed the incredible story of our hunt. Matthew and I were so excited to see Jon get his first deer. He had put in so much work, leading up to the hunt. A year before, he had never even shot a gun. Now, he was becoming a true marksman and had the upmost respect for the ranch and the wildlife. I was still a bit shocked at the fact that we both harvested such special deer, during the same hunt. What made it even more special was that I got to share these experiences with my family and friends, once again. I love connecting with my family land and it is very special to share these experiences with others. My uncle and grandfather taught me so many lessons on our family land. I learned what it means to take care of our ranches, how to be a responsible and ethical hunter, and to be a conscious conservationist. I’m at a stage in my life that it means the world to me to pass on the knowledge and skills sets I have acquired from so many important mentors and teachers. These stories that we have collected in the woods, the memories we make with family and friends and the delicious wildgame meals we put on the table to share with everyone is the real reward and “trophy”.
And I can’t wait to go collect some more…
“Keep your aim as true as your word.”
~George Bowe Blitch
Later that evening, over cigars on the porch, we reviewed the incredible story of our hunt. Matthew and I were so excited to see Jon get his first deer. He had put in so much work, leading up to the hunt. A year before, he had never even shot a gun. Now, he was becoming a true marksman and had the upmost respect for the ranch and the wildlife. I was still a bit shocked at the fact that we both harvested such special deer, during the same hunt. What made it even more special was that I got to share these experiences with my family and friends, once again. I love connecting with my family land and it is very special to share these experiences with others. My uncle and grandfather taught me so many lessons on our family land. I learned what it means to take care of our ranches, how to be a responsible and ethical hunter, and to be a conscious conservationist. I’m at a stage in my life that it means the world to me to pass on the knowledge and skills sets I have acquired from so many important mentors and teachers. These stories that we have collected in the woods, the memories we make with family and friends and the delicious wildgame meals we put on the table to share with everyone is the real reward and “trophy”.
And I can’t wait to go collect some more…
“Keep your aim as true as your word.”
~George Bowe Blitch
Permission to use any text or pictures from this page must be granted by contacting George Blitch at [email protected]