Suggestions for a Rookie?

[RAZORBILL]

So this is only my second year black tail hunting (east coast/midwest whitetail hunter) and am looking for some advice and/or reassurance.  I spotted a nice black tail last year on the opening day of Elk season and have concentrated my efforts on tracking him down.  I have scouted the area extensively since I spotted him.  I never saw him during the late season last year.  I have gotten a couple trail cam pics of him this Fall so I knew he was still around.

I had a quick look at him on opening day and again on Oct 30th but never had a clean shot at him.  I sometimes kick myself for not taking a shot at him on opening day but it was approaching 200 yards and all I could see of him was his head.  I'm pretty confident in my abilities and gun but I was hoping he'd give me a better shot but he just put his head down and got into the heavy timber.  I didn't pursue him hoping to not spook him out of the area.  He definitely saw me that day but he just walked away with the doe he was with.  Both times I spotted him I was still hunting, he's a darn ghost I swear.  I spent the next couple weeks hunting in and around the same cut that I spotted him opening day with no luck.  On Oct 30 I was still hunting a ridge above where I spotted him opening day that had a ton of fresh sign (rubs) and spotted him about 50 yards in front of me.  All I got that time was a poor look at his rear end, not running just walking off into the darn fog.  It was right at last light and that was that, I'm not even convinced he knew I was there.

So I guess my question is do you folks think this buck will still be around his rub line during the late season?  Right now my intention is to again hunt that ridge hard but he has also spent plenty of time down below the ridge in the heavier cover, just not recently I don't think.  I have made it a point to stay off that ridge since the early season in an effort to not spook him out of the area.  Unfortunately I don't have a trail cam on the ridge right now so I'll be going in blind on Thursday hoping he's still up high.  I checked a trail cam today that I had down in the lower country but he hasn't been down low since the middle of October near as I can tell.  There is no hunting pressure in the area I am and it's not easy to get to, so I'm confident he hasn't been taken or pressured since Halloween.  Any suggestions?  Ideas?  I realize you folks don't know the area I'm in but really it comes down to hunting a clear cut on the side of the hill, the ridge line with the rubs or the thick stuff below the clear cut.  I'll be through them all but with only 4 days to hunt I think I better try and concentrate my efforts?

Thanks in advance for your help.  I only recently joined this site but it has been a wealth of information and helped me not get too frustrated with trying to track this deer down.  Here's a trail cam pic of my obsession.  He's no monster or anything but it seems the deer are few and far between out here so I'd rather hunt a specific deer then just walk around glassing clear cuts for any deer.

[highside74]

He will be within a mile of where you see him the most. Big bucks don't use main trails very often so look 20-30 or so yards off if you are still hunting. Look for a mix of big timber and alders with reprod or clear cuts next to it, in this one mile area. Specially big timber that connects more than one clear cut. 

[Westside88]

He'll be in his favorite areas.  He thinks he's safe there. If you jump him resist the urge to chase him, a sometimes if you sit down after they jump they'll still be there a half hour later. My dad's gotten a couple real nice black tail by waiting them out

[RAZORBILL]

Thanks for the advice!  Hopefully he'll give me shot over the next few days.  Even with whitetail I never pursued them if I got busted, waste of time if they know you are trailing them imo.  These black tails are even worse, I've never seen an animal so good at vanishing.

[deltaops]

They are ghosts!

Usually when you think they just vanished, they may either have bedded down real fast where you cant see them and they can see you or they circled back on you!

its hard to track them in some parts of the forest due to the forest floor being so dang dense.

[RAZORBILL]

Well it wasn't the deer I wanted but on the last day of the season beggars can't be choosers I guess.  Went up high again,  had 2 does and a button buck walk by me Sat morning so I was happy to see some deer moving around up there and went ahead and returned to the same spot Sunday morning.  Along comes this nice little spike at 8:30 and I was in no mood to wait and see if anything else followed so I went ahead and fed him a couple rounds out of my trusty Marlin 30/30 lever gun and down he went.  Short and sweet and no tracking, 30 yrds from where I was sitting.  Dressed him out and drug him the 1/4 mile to the closest logging road.

Called the wife to tell (ask) if she'd come help.  She's a trooper and loaded up the kids (7 & 10) and a bike and hiked 4 miles up hill to meet me.  I did hike half way down since she wasn't exactly sure where I was.  We all got back up to the deer by 12:30, had a picnic, got rained on along with 30 mph winds.  Everybody's happy now!!  Got the deer on the bike and started the long hike out, I'm pretty sure I need new brake pads on the bike as I was on 'em nearly the whole way down.  The rain finally quit and once we lowered the elevation the wind gave us a break.  Turned out to be a lot of fun and a family adventure.

Best part is I know that bigger deer is still up there and I'll be back next Fall.  Assuming he survives and the resident cougar doesn't get him.  I need to figure out a way to tag the cat, I'm tired of getting trail cam pics of him.  The spike was relatively heavy, 102 lbs on the hook field dressed, skinned and the head off.  Dropped him at the butcher this morning and all is right with the world.  I guess I can notch my first black tail if nothing else!

As he lay:





Finally at the gate!!!


All done!


And just for fun, the cougar I keep "finding" on my trail cam.  This is the only daylight pic I have of him from last Fall.  He showed up 2 more times this Fall in the middle of the night.  Talked to the biologist that put the collar on him and he weighed in at 150 lbs 3 yrs ago when they collared him.