Calling in Blacktails

[Slamadoo]

I'm getting excited for this weekend!

[dawn2dusk]

the ruts on here in mason county. on my permit hunt and watched a doe get pushed by my stand by a little spike today. no big boy in tow but did see him Saturday morning all rutted up. closest was 52 yards but no good shot two days left until its on to the late season. glad im seeing fresh rubs behind the house though, just in time! 

[akirkland]

Im pretty friggin jacked myself!

[AKBowman]

This year is weird!  The bucks around my place came in a couple of weeks earlier than those just a few miles down the road.  We had 3 bucks fighting hard the last weekend of regular rifle season but have no interest in does right now.  We had a 3 point in the yard eating acorns the other day and didn't want anything to do with the does feeding down in the pasture.  In fact, it was almost like we was trying to avoid them.  This is the same buck that was trying his hardest (no pun intended) to mount the same doe that he is avoiding from a couple of weeks ago.  At the same time the bucks that my buddy was seeing in Vail and those that my Dad was watching in Shelton had zero interest in rutting at the same time that our locals were going crazy.  I have heard many times this year how spotty the rut was and how much it varied from place to place. 

I always find this to be the case around the Snoqualmie area. I will hunt/scout an area and not see anything no new rubs, no evidence of chasing etc than move across the road a half mile away to another area and the rut is on. Always seems to be very localized.

[Wose]

Regarding the rut, I was hiding behind a log elk hunting in 572 yesterday, and I thought I was going to have to shoot a big stocky forked horn in self defense to keep him from violating me, so the rut is still going on up there...

When I lived in Oregon, I grunted in a blacktail buck in the Tillamook State forest.  I was so surprised it worked I got excited and moved around too quick and spooked him.

[duckmen1]

Saturday I saw a two point in a pasture chasing the heck out of a doe around he field over and over. Then today I saw a monster with his head to the ground running a fence line in town.

[Pete112288]

I like using real antler to rattle. The natural sound seems to work a little better for me, its not as loud but I get better results. Well, from the does at least, they always come to check it out, but only one buck that I have seen come in to mine, the first year I tried rattling. Was late rifle buck a couple years ago, the rut was heavy here at that time. But he wasnt looking for the fight, the doe he was chasing came in head up ears perked and came right to me. Pretty much everything I learned about rattling blacktails came from Scott Haugen's book Trophy Blacktails. That book is chock full of great info, you may have to adapt it to your local animals once you know them better but it gave me a great start. I mix it up, heavy ratting at one set up, and just light stuff at the next or so. Find a club and hit the ground a few times during it, like deer stomping their foot. Had a few does and one spike come into that without any other rattling or calling. The best thing to do in my experience is to experiement and just keep plugging away at it.

[Slamadoo]

I just wanted to thank everyone on here for their help and advice. I went out yesterday and tagged my first Blacktail. It was awesome. Story and pictures to follow.

[rsrobins]

I called this one in yesterday with a few grunts some rattling and a doe estrus call. He came in within 5 minutes of my setup. This was my third setup of the morning. This is the first one I have ever got to come in so I was pretty excited to have finally been able to make it work.

[Slamadoo]

So, here is the story.

After reading the replies on here and doing quite a bit of internet scouting I finally came up with a plan about mid-week. Thursday after work I stopped by the local sporting goods store and purchased a grunt tube, bleat can, and some doe urine.

Friday morning I happened to come down with a nasty fever. Buck Fever.

I helped the wife pack up the son and head off for work and day care respectively, packed a lunch, threw my gear in the truck, and headed out.I got a little bit of a late start but was okay with that because, 1) I was deer hunting, and 2) I wasn't at work on a Friday. As I was nearing my chosen location it was snowing lightly. I knew that a storm was supposedly coming but figured I could get some hunting in and get out before any major snow hit the ground.

Eventually I found a good spot to park and stretch my legs. I worked my way down into an old clear cut. I started seeing deer tracks right away but couldn't tell how fresh they were because they had been covered in snow. They obviously weren't from that morning but I decided it was a good sign nonetheless. As I weaved my way through the reprod I began pouring doe urine on tree branches every so often. I sprinkled in a few bleats and grunts. After an hour or so the snow was picking up and I headed towards some old growth. Destiny awaited.

[SemperFidelis97]

I just had a big 3x3 cross Meridian out here in Graham, and he was still in the RUT!!

I seen a huge 3x3 a year ago standing right in the middle of graham hill all rutted up, and stupid. 

[Slamadoo]

At the edge of the old growth I began moving from tree to tree. About five trees in I pulled out the bleat can and let out a squeal. It wasn't 30 seconds before I saw him. About 50 yards above me he stepped out from behind a tree and looked right down at me. I froze. I couldn't believe it. It was almost as if he had been conjured out of thin air. Immediately I knew he was big. Wide and tall. "He's a f@&$ing Monster" I thought to myself. I slowly moved my rifle from my left hand into my right and into shooting position. He didn't move. I pulled up and brought my crosshairs on him but I was trembling. Still, he stood, staring downhill. I took a deep breath, re-adjusted, and squeezed one off. BANG! He jumped up and took off like a freight train downhill. I took two more shots at him as he flew through the trees. He vanished. Doubt crept into my mind.

[rsrobins]

At the edge of the old growth I began moving from tree to tree. About five trees in I pulled out the bleat can and let out a squeal. It wasn't 30 seconds before I saw him. About 50 yards above me he stepped out from behind a tree and looked right down at me. I froze. I couldn't believe it. It was almost as if he had been conjured out of thin air. Immediately I knew he was big. Wide and tall. "He's a f@&$ing Monster" I thought to myself. I slowly moved my rifle from my left hand into my right and into shooting position. He didn't move. I pulled up and brought my crosshairs on him but I was trembling. Still, he stood, staring downhill. I took a deep breath, re-adjusted, and squeezed one off. BANG! He jumped up and took off like a freight train downhill. I took two more shots at him as he flew through the trees. He vanished. Doubt crept into my mind.

Was that the end of the story? Did you miss?

[Sideswipe]

Hey Slamadoo.....I'm going nuts! How about "The Rest Of The Story"

[deltaops]

The suspense!