Blacktail success?

[wooltie]

Anyone hunted blacktails on the sides of mountains at say 2000'-4000', in the timber but open enough to see 50-75 yards?  Supposing you find draws, benches, creeks and plenty of foilage, etc., but no no flat areas otherwise?

Just wondering if blacktails would habitate areas such as the side of mountains primarily characterized by inclines.

[highside74]

I would spend time looking for old rubs 18-48 inches off the ground on the benchs in the 2-3k elevation. That will be your first clue as to wether or not bucks are using that area. Bucks will leave the higher elevations looking for love so what might be there in the summer/early fall will most likely be gone in the late fall/winter. I would also look for trails leading down to lower elevations that they might use during migration. Unless you are a bow hunter you might want to be looking for large amounts of does in the 2k range and lower.. That's where the bucks will be late October/November. I'm sure more guys on here know more than me.  Try to listen to everyone and use what you can.  Good luck.

[raydog]

In the Olympics I have seen lots of buck rubs at that elevation. Where I was is hard to hunt because it all up or down and mainly reprod. Makes it hard to spot the critters. 

[elksnout]

I don't think I've ever killed a blacktail buck on flat ground. Mostly heavy timber with understory such as vine maple, tall ferns, mountain alder, etc. Draws, side hills, game trails on side hills, just below crests of timbered ridges, etc. Mostly between 2500 and 3000 ft. Best time? Last week of October and of course, late buck. But if I had to choose, I'd pick the last week of October.   

[wooltie]

I was hiking in wilderness areas on the peninsula over the weekend and saw some good country--timbered forests, but the trees were thin until about 100 ft in the air.  Ground was covered, but reprod was thin and open enough to spot deer moving through.  The caveat was most of the terrain is, like you said, up or down with a few benches here and there, lots of draws usually involving creeks.