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Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
#5397953
11/04/14 12:11 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294
8pointdrop
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294 |
She came out after a few doe were already in the field. At first I thought it was a calf or hog, but after a few seconds I knew I was seeing something pretty rare. She wasn't coal black like some of the pics on the internet but as close to black as I've seen. The herd I hunt had a lot of king ranch blood in it when the restocking from the state took place so they tend to be generally a bit darker than other herds but she was noticeable next to others. Really black face and legs, lighter black sides with a solid black line on her back.
I won't lie the thought crossed my mind to take her, but thought it'd be nice to see a mature black buck from her in a few years.
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5397985
11/04/14 12:31 PM
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,451
Seadog
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 13,451 |
I support Cap and Trade - Cap our spending and Trade Obama
I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the Government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. - Thomas Jefferson
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5398196
11/04/14 02:35 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 118
AggieHunter2014
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 118 |
solid black line on her back sounds like it would be a sika doe, not a melanistic whitetail
Gig'em<---<<
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5398276
11/04/14 03:04 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
Some whitetails get a really dark hair streak down the middle of their back and neck. I have seen bucks with very dark hair in the middle of the back of their neck. The buck I killed last Friday was like that. He had a really dark face to go with it.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5398309
11/04/14 03:14 PM
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,782
txtrophy85
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 31,782 |
I have seen two menalistic deer and one piebald
Although not super common, there are in decent numbers in hays, Comal and Kendall as well as a few other counties
For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: txtrophy85]
#5398505
11/04/14 04:08 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 51
budiceale
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 51 |
i killed this one a couple of years ago. from what i've read, there is a 6 county area around here(new braunfels) that has more melanistic deer than the rest of the world combined. i dont know if thats true but black deer are seen pretty regularly
Last edited by budiceale; 11/04/14 04:10 PM.
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5398599
11/04/14 04:47 PM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862
rattler03
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 862 |
My parents have a melanstic 8 point coming in to their feeder behind the house. They live just west of San Marcos in Hays County. Growing up there I've seen multiple, close to 10 probably, melanstic deer over the years. Still rare but not that uncommon in that area.
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: 8pointdrop]
#5398667
11/04/14 05:12 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294
8pointdrop
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 5,294 |
I had heard that the hill country has a decent herd of them but I'm a long ways from the hill country. Watched her with other doe for 30 mins it wasn't a sika.
Stx the best I can describe it is the same pattern and maybe trait as your buck only more defined. She honestly looked black until I got my scope on her.
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Re: Saw my first melanistic deer last night.
[Re: txtrophy85]
#5398911
11/05/14 01:27 AM
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 6,170
Jimbo
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 6,170 |
I have seen two menalistic deer and one piebald
Although not super common, there are in decent numbers in hays, Comal and Kendall as well as a few other counties No they are not, but certain parts of the hill country have pockets with fair numbers. Most hunters I've known have passed on them to try to protect the few out there. They are an oddity and make for interesting conversation. Myself as well as others have passed on melanistic deer as well as one solid white doe we had on one ranch I hunted. That white deer was spooky. You'd be walking to your stand in moonlight and have that doe standing just a few yards ahead that would get you to jump way before the deer did. Also it would scare you when it ran out in front of the headlights as you drove down the pasture road.
Thursday at 12:45 PM #33 Once i learned that i didn't "NEED" to kill something, and that if i did kill something all the fun stopped and work began, i was a much better hunter.
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