...When I told them I was punching steel at 800 yards few months ago. 

So, when we got together over the weekend at the ranch, they said "prove it". No pressure there!  

Let me rewind a bit...about 3 years ago, I really started thinking about getting into long range shooting. I started to spend some time setting up targets at 150, 200, 250 and 300 yards, whereas before I had simple stuck around the 100 yard mark. Two seasons ago, I got a great management buck at 212 yards...my longest shot at a whitetail. I really wanted to get comfortable at 300 yards and under, and hopefully move beyond that someday.

As some might have read in a previous post, I decided to go big and get a custom rifle for my 40th bday back in April. After many discussions with some awesome members on the Texas Hunting Forum, I contacted Jason Garvey (http://www.precisionriflehunters.com) and we discussed plans to develop a .280AI rifle and ammo specific to what I wanted. He put together the perfect rifle and ammo for my needs and when I went and took the class and picked up the rifle, he had already doped out the rifle for me. I slapped on a new MIL scope (had always been an MOA man before this) and went to town on the targets. 

Fast forward to last Thursday, when I checked my "0" at the ranch with my buddies. 100 yards was center bullseye. I set up my new metal targets from member "jbd76266" at 200 and 300 yards. I had to make a couple minor adjustments at 200 and 300 yards for holdovers, as I was .3 mils low at 200, from my previous doped 200. After my adjustments, I took a rip at 300 and was less than an inch left of the center....and I felt good with that. Wasn't going to go for a deer past 300 this trip, so I didn't set up targets beyond 300 that day. Well, after I took those 4 shots in total, I put the rifle up for the day.  

The next day, my friends and I found a good chance to set up a long range target. From the field in front of the ranch house to a blind we could see (without any interference), we could set up for a 756 yard max shot. They set up a metal target with a paper target in the center, while I drove out to the blind. I got a sack of corn that was about 1/4 full and used that as a rest on the thin, dingy window pane and set up for the shot.Called to make sure it was clear down range and got the green light. 

My previous (DOPE) hold over was 5 MILs at 800 yards at Jason's range. But, now I was in South Texas and I knew I had to make some slight adjustments. I knew I was .3 low at 200 and 300. After doing some estimating, I decided to go with a 5 MIL adjustment at 756 and see how that did. 

Here's the result:

Had a huge buck show up on our place. We are under MLD, so season opened at the tail end up September. Was seeing this guy on camera a lot. 6.5 years old, as we had him pegged at 5.5 last year. only hunter to see him in person was my cousin, Stephen. Well, as luck would have it, he showed up again, and in front of Stephen. He took a shot and it dropped right there. Congrats on a great buck, Stephen! 

I had a good friend, Scott, pulled me aside the other day to show me a Bino Harness from County 6 Predator. I hadn't heard of the company beforehand, but I was immediately taken by the harness, itself. I had been looking to purchase a bino harness pack just last week, and still had a few open pages on my phone from my searches. Well, I can close those pages now, cause I found my next bino harness!

In the past two season, I have been cramming all sorts of items in my hunting backpack and it became cumbersome. This upcoming season, I decided it was time to lighten the load! I was looking for something to hold my 10x42 binocs, my cell phone, rangefinder, small flashlight, knife, water, tags, and a few other smaller items. Well, the timing couldn't have been any better, because the C6P "Traegger Optics Harness" was exactly what I was looking for.

Scott told me to take it home and check it out and see if it is something I might be interested in borrowing for some upcoming hunts. I already knew the answer...a very excited YES! This pack seems to have everything I was looking for, and more! It comes with coil tethers to secure the binoculars to the pack, and all the pouches are magnetic! What is very cool about this set up, is that it is very versatile. There is a removable hard warmer/zippered pouch that is such a brilliant idea! So, in those cold months, you have a place to keep your hands extra warm, and you can store some more gear in the zippered pouch as well. Very cool design! In the warmer months, just remove the hand warmers and you still have a tons of stealth storage areas and it is EASY TO REACH! No more taking off you backpack to get to your gear and no more pain in the necks from carrying your binoculars around your neck! This is one intuitive product!

When I got home, I checked out their website: www.county6predatorcalls.com and found that C6P also handmakes some amazing calls, which will fit perfectly in the bino harness. I strongly suggest visiting their page and learning more about their products.

And Scott, thank you for turning me on to this bino harness and C6P and their product line! I can't wait to hit the field with the harness and give everyone an update!

~George Bowe Blitch



To learn more about this awesome harness, check out the following:

Traegger Optics Harness
https://county6predatorcalls.com/toh

"The Traegger Optics Harness is C6P's new Patent Pending all in one Bino Harness + Removable Hand Warmer.  It is designed with the intent to keep all your essential gear in one place. Our bino harness system allows you to carry your binoculars, range finder, GPS, cell phone & much more all in one convenient location.  The removable hand warmer is for those late fall to frigid winter months & for the outdoorsman that do not like wearing bulky gloves while in the field."

Some of you may have previously read the story of the Melanistic whitetail I took a few years ago...but I am excited to share it got picked up in the latest LAND magazine! They also featured our Cooler Top Maps with Map My Ranch. Very exciting for me, personally, and for the company. Please feel free to share this with family and friends! ~George Bowe Blitch

Here's the scanned article in case you don't get the magazine. Enjoy!

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/whitetailwednesday-the-epic-story-of-the-hunt-for-a-melanistic-buck-named-black-beauty/?fbclid=IwAR38qron3sciKRtQ8Byae8VA_QoqjxCZviIIDg1cQdDr9LXjLM1qg8HUdo4

Posted by Travis Smola
November 7, 2018

This melanistic buck was a ghost for years for one Texas hunter.A couple months ago we did a story about the rarest deer color phase of all, melanistic. The story proved to be quite a hit, as many people don't seem to know about this ultra rare genetic trait.
Melanistic deer are the exact opposite of white deer that have albinism or are piebald. They have too much pigment in their hair, giving them a dark or even black appearance.
Right after the story was shared I got an unexpected phone call from Texas. I was not expecting the amazing deer story the man on the other end was about to tell me. For today's #WhitetailWednesday, we're bringing you the story of an awesome melanistic Texas 10-pointer.
"Did I just see what I think I saw?"
George Blitch was calling me from Central Texas, which coincidentally has a higher instance of melanistic deer than anywhere else in the world (based on a Texas Tech University study). The main  counties are Guadalupe, Comal, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson.

No one is really certain why there are more melanistic deer in these counties than other parts of the country, but the odds are still against deer hunters ever seeing a black deer. All told, the condition has only been documented in 29 states. To give you an idea of the odds, it is said only 1 in 10,000 animals is an albino deer. Seeing a black one is probably akin to hitting the Powerball lottery.
In 2012, Blitch had heard rumors there was a melanistic buck in the area. Considering the odds, it is little wonder he never expected to see one himself. But when he took over management of the wildlife on a cattle ranch previously run by his grandfather, lo and behold, he had an encounter.
Instead of continuing the cattle business, Blitch wanted to turn the property into a whitetail paradise. The family started holding off for bucks that were five and a half years old or better. They also began working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to get ideas on how to improve the ranch's habitat and food sources.
It was while he was driving around the ranch mapping out preferred browsing plants recommended by the TPWD that he had his first encounter with a buck that came to be known as "Black Beauty." The moment only lasted a few seconds, but it made an impression.
"It was unmistakably a very dark deer," Blitch said. "I thought, 'Did I just see what I think I saw?'"
Blitch's doubt only grew, because almost two years went by and there were no further sightings of the animal despite numerous game cameras on the property. "There must have been a million game cam photos and there was never a single one (of the black deer)," Blitch told me.
Then in 2014, there came confirmation the animal was still around. George and his wife Meg were driving around the property when they had another encounter that only lasted a few seconds. The encounter happened so briefly, they wondered if what they saw wasn't a deer at all, but maybe a donkey or other animal.
But they concluded the animal moved too much like a deer, and it could only be the mysterious melanistic deer that was like a ghost on the property.
The buck finally showsFast forward another year to December of 2015, and Blitch said he finally got the trail camera confirmation he had been waiting for. He got three photos of the buck. They weren't great quality, and the best one was a blurry shot that showed the buck running away. But it was unmistakably a black deer. "It was like a Bigfoot photo," Blitch joked.

The photos were confirmation of the two fleeting sightings of years earlier, but Blitch and family decided to hold off on taking the buck until they could confirm it hit their preferred age restrictions. It turned out to be easy. The buck never showed again on camera or in person again in 2015.
After a while, Blitch began to wonder, like many hunters would in this circumstance, was the black whitetail already dead?
The Dark Ghost reappears
Blitch continued to work with the TPWD on improving the ranch's habitat for whitetails, and eventually began working to create new food plots on the ranch. He continued to hope Black Beauty would reappear on camera, but weeks and weeks went by with no sightings as the 2016 deer seasons started to kick in.
Again, Blitch, his family, and friends were utterly convinced the buck had either moved on from the area or was already dead. Then on November 9, everything changed.
Blitch's buddy, Jacob Spradling, excitedly called him to announce he had spotted the black whitetail and the buck was nicer than anyone thought. Jacob had spotted the buck at last light on one of their new food plots. He felt like he was at least a 10-pointer. The next day Spradling returned to the same spot and saw the buck again. This time he took some photos of it, but didn't shoot it because he felt it was "George's buck."
When Spadling sent Blitch the photos, George could hardly contain his excitement. "I was jumping around like a kid on Christmas," Blitch said.
He immediately decided to hunt the stand where Spradling had sighted the animal the following afternoon. It was November 11, Veterans Day, which was only appropriate. Blitch's grandfather was a World War II Air Force pilot, and this was his ranch the buck was hanging out on. Blitch took the day off and headed out to the stand hours earlier than normal.
Almost immediately he spotted three dark shapes. But this wasn't Black Beauty; it was three cows who had become regular unwanted trespassers on the property for the last year. Worried the buck wouldn't make an appearance with them in the field, Blitch decided to take action.
So he ran out into the field waiving his hands to scare the bovine intruders away. But once he got back to his blind, he realized he may have made a huge mistake in leaving his scent all over the food plot. Nonetheless, Blitch was determined to see this evening's hunt through to the end. As he waited and as it got darker, his eyes began playing tricks on him. "Every shadow turned into a melanistic deer," Blitch said.

Finally, one of those shadows turned into the real deal. The buck that had eluded Blitch for so long finally stepped out. Blitch had anticipated the buck showing up at 100 or more yards out, so he had the scope's magnification dialed up. When the buck stepped out at just 33 yards, it was a problem. "All I could see was black," Blitch said. Very carefully, he dialed the magnification down and took the shot.
The buck only ran about 25 yards and piled up. Blitch had his deer of a lifetime. The black buck sported a 10-point rack of around 120 inches.
Blitch has done some digging and says he's unaware of another melanistic buck with antlers larger than this one.

Perhaps even more astounding than the buck's beautiful dark coat was its age. Blitch and his family found the buck's teeth were quite worn and indicated the animal was at least 7.5 years old. Blitch said he didn't think the buck would have survived another season. One of the interesting things about this kind of genetic mutation is it is believed to be one of the few that is said to give a survival advantage. That definitely seemed to be the case here.
The aftermath
Blitch elected to have a head and shoulder mount done. He said he wasn't even thinking about a full body mount at the time. He still saved the buck's hide, and says he has no regrets.
Quite often the shooting of an albino or piebald buck brings a lot of attention, both positive and negative. Blitch is one of the fortunate ones. "There wasn't a whole lot of flack," he said. Instead, the taking of this buck has been something of a springboard for educating others about these rare whitetails.
He has spent some time working with the Quality Deer Management Association and other groups since his harvest to raise awareness about melanism in whitetails among the public. He hopes it will help scientists to understand more about these rare whitetails.

Interestingly enough, after harvesting the buck, Blitch checked his trail cameras. He learned he finally captured some clear photos of the deer taken about a month before his harvest. This buck was a ghost of the forest no longer.
We want to thank George Blitch for taking the time to share his amazing deer story with us. Congratulations again on an awesome animal, and kudos for using it to help and inform others.

I was looking for a trusty mechanic in my area of Houston and everyone told me to go see the owner, Gus, at Tully Auto Care. He turned out to be the kind of guy you want to work with - honest, caring, and extremely professional. We became friends and one day we got to talking about hunting, and I told him about Map My Ranch. We ended up developing a large wall map for him, which he and his family loved. I showed him some examples of our WeatherProof maps soon after, and he ordered a handful for his family and friends. Thanks again, Gus....for keeping my truck running tip top, and for being a happy and loyal customer!

Map My Ranch co-owner, Colin Williams, harvested a massive south Texas whitetail during the second weekend of deer season this year! Congrats on a great buck and a very succesful hunt, Colin!

A lot of people don't understand the benefit of snakes in their habitat. I understand removing venomous snakes from areas where our habitats overlap. Some prefer to use a long stick to remove them, others a long gun barrel...I understand both sides in that decision.

Coachwhips and rat snakes are very appreciated near our house at the ranch. We let one rat snake live in our outdoor tool shed/laundry area. Before he moved in the mice would get in and chew the electric wire components out of everything in there. Once the rat snake moved in, we had zero problems. He wasn't aggressive, so we just gave each other some space and all was well.

There are many videos of coachwhips taking out venomous snakes. They can also help you control your habitat in that way. We have a couple near the house and - maybe by chance, but probably not - we don't see any rattlesnakes as close to the house as we did before.

When I was a kid, I used to think every snake should be shot at the ranch. When I started to realize their benefits, that idea changed. I will say that if I see a rattlesnake or other venomous snake near the house, or in an area we are frequently around, I don't take chances. I relocate them to the freezer. I save the skin and eat the meat. I understand why others do the same, and I understand those that let them go on their way without harm.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share some benefits. It wasn't until I leaned that I evolved in how I thought. I encourage people to learn about the benefits and balances of all animals and plants in the habitats we hunt around. There's more to learn that just hitting your target!