Blacktail in the Cheney Unit 130?

[robescc]

I have heard from quite a few people that there are Blacktail around here, West of Spokane. I didn't believe it till I started to see them. I have access to 2000 acres on the south side of Long Lake and most the deer there are "Blacktail" with some Whitetail. To me, they look like a Muley/Whitetail cross. I have hunted Blacktail on the West side all of my life and they don't look like a true Blacktail to me.
My question is, since there is no Blacktail Season for Unit 130, can they be harvested and under what antler restriction? I called the WDFW and all they would tell me is that there is no Blacktail Season in unit 130.
I do know people that hunt them. My friends father-in-law has a dandy mount of a buck he shot over there a few years ago.
What to do?

[Button Nubbs]

  pretty sure they are mulies or at the very least considered mulies.

[CedarPants]

I think per the WDFW regs that those would be considered mule deer and can be hunted as such 

[washingtonmuley]

I grew up there and have hunted my whole life and have never seen a blacktail over in that unit. Mulies!!!

[robescc]

These deer are definitely not Mule Deer. They have much smaller bodies, have a long tail like a whitetail but with a black tip and much bigger ears than a whitetail. This spring I saw one of these bucks with another whitetail buck. They were clearly different but were hanging out together. That leads me to believe they are a cross.

[Tman]

highly likely mulies, although I have heard stories and seen a few suspicous deer myself in the NE. 

 http://wdfw.wa.gov/help/questions/177/Is+it+illegal+to+harvest+mule+deer+or+black-tailed+deer+crosses+during+the+Westside+general+deer+season+for+black-tailed+deer%3F

this link answers your legal question in a roundabout way.. About as good an answer as youll get from wdfw.

[CedarPants]

I would say cross breeds. 

[washingtonmuley]

These deer are definitely not Mule Deer. They have much smaller bodies, have a long tail like a whitetail but with a black tip and much bigger ears than a whitetail. This spring I saw one of these bucks with another whitetail buck. They were clearly different but were hanging out together. That leads me to believe they are a cross.

You are right. They are all blacktail so I would not shoot any of them.

[KopperBuck]

MD - any oddness would probably be genetic, given the occurence you're speaking of. There's a lot of studies out there that talk about the rarity of it, fertility issues. Seen too many deer that share common characteristics in areas where there is predominantly (almost exclusively) one species, particularly with the mule deer.

[colockumelk]

Most likely a Mule Deer/Whitetail cross.  I have seen a couple of crosses out in Eastern WA where the two species mix.  While it is not a common occurance I have seen more than a few.  And the crosses that I have seen look alot like what you described.  Where they have a big tail like a whitetail deer but with some black in it.  Also their bodies are smaller than a Mule Deer, more along the lines of a whitetail sized deer.  But they have bigger ears like a mule deer.  Not AS big as a mule deers ears but definately bigger than a whitetail's ears.  Also typically their rear ends will be bigger and bulkier like you would expect to see with a mule deer.  I have not seen any muledeer/whitetail cross bucks only does so I can't speak of what the antlers would look like.  As far as the hide is concerned they seemed to always have the hide and fur that looks like a whitetail not a mule deer.  Hope this helps. 

[bobcat]

Definitely not blacktails that far east.

Can you get a picture and post it here?

[robescc]

Most likely a Mule Deer/Whitetail cross.  I have seen a couple of crosses out in Eastern WA where the two species mix.  While it is not a common occurance I have seen more than a few.  And the crosses that I have seen look alot like what you described.  Where they have a big tail like a whitetail deer but with some black in it.  Also their bodies are smaller than a Mule Deer, more along the lines of a whitetail sized deer.  But they have bigger ears like a mule deer.  Not AS big as a mule deers ears but definately bigger than a whitetail's ears.  Also typically their rear ends will be bigger and bulkier like you would expect to see with a mule deer.  I have not seen any muledeer/whitetail cross bucks only does so I can't speak of what the antlers would look like.  As far as the hide is concerned they seemed to always have the hide and fur that looks like a whitetail not a mule deer.  Hope this helps.

This is exactly how they look. The funny thing is is that 75% of the deer I see look like this. By the way, the Bucks are magnificent and the antlers are very nice  The smallest cross I have seen was a 16" 3x3.

[robescc]

This is a bad pick of the 2 bucks I saw in the spring.

[Bob33]

Legally speaking, it cannot be a blacktail. Specie is defined by location.

Black-tailed Deer: Any member of black-tailed/ mule deer (species Odocoileus hemionus) found west of a line drawn from the Canadian border south on the Pacific Crest Trail and along the Yakama Indian Reservation boundary in Yakima
County to the Klickitat River; south down Klickitat River to the Columbia River.

[bobcat]

I find it hard to believe that the majority of the deer in a particular area would be mule deer/whitetail deer crosses. That just doesn't happen, anywhere. I'd say they're just mule deer and genetically they may be different than mule deer in other areas, but they're still mule deer.