Where to concentrate my time?

[Tbob]

Hey gang, I'm a wet-side bow hiker and really trying to be more of a hunter! I'm still trying to figure out these dang Blacktails. I know I'm in areas where there are deer (as I see there tracks, pooh and occasional rubs). So my question is, on the wet side where should I spend my time hunting? In a clear cut, re-prod, or in the timber? I always hunt the early and late season. I always think I may have a better late season because of the "rut", but nope! Tag soup and salad every stinkin year!!  I'm not trying to kill a big buck or anything. Just something for the freezer.. I'm happy to take a tasty doe with my bow. It's just been to many years of not even a sighting of a deer during legal shooting times, let a lone even seeing a buck during hunting season.. Thanks for any opinions, advise and insight...

[bentley30-06]

There is a reason why you never see Washington Blacktail Hunts or programs on the Outdoor Channel.  They are phantoms of the timberlands.  There is a lot of good literature out there that I have read which sheds light on a lot of mistakes hunters make when hunting blacktail.  'Trophy Blacktails - The Science of the Hunt' I believe... but it gives a lot of insight into deer pattern and behavior around this region and how to "find" these elusive creatures.  IMO to successfully hunt BT you have to go around and if it looks like the nastiest crap that no one in their right mind would hunt......start there.

[dreamunelk]

Slow down.  If you are not seeing anything you are moving to fast.  Start looking at the small things.  Read Boyd Iverson's "Blacktail Trophy Tactics 1 or 2". 

[JLS]

Slow down.  If you are not seeing anything you are moving to fast.  Start looking at the small things.  Read Boyd Iverson's "Blacktail Trophy Tactics 1 or 2".

 

Hunt more and move less.  Even if you can only see 40 or 50 yards, you should still be glassing.

[Hangfire]

I lived on the west side for 25 years. After hunting white tail and mule deer in the north east corner I didn't see any thing difficult about finding small to medium sized black tail, infact I thought those were easier than the other two. Finding really big black tail a different story. My first exposure to black tail was in the Shelton area. No one I worked with would give a clue as where to hunt so, my family and I would drive back roads watching for deer trails and deer. We found some spots and both got deer the first  year. The guys I worked with got skunked.  I found to hunt where there are deer ( of course) Watch wind and noise and hunt very slow, stopping and watching a lot. The best blacktail hunter I know watch's rub lines.  He sits as long as he can then moves a little and sits again. My son-in-law and gradson are very successfull working real slow, being very quite and hunting hard. They really love hunting in the rain.

[couesbitten]

Tbob, I have Boyd Iverson's Blacktail Trophy Tactics and would be happy to loan it to you.  I just ask that you treat the book as well as I have and get it back to me within a reasonable amount of time (2 or 3 months?). PM me your mailing address, and I'll send it to you on my dime.  It's a great read, entertaining and educational.

[Tbob]

Thanks for all the great advise guys! Much much appreciated! So I usually end up walking in on some gated road, look for sign and then sit as long as I can in some hidden location out of sight. It's usually on the edge of a clear-cut where I'm seeing tracks. Obviously that's not the way to go as I've said before I end up not seeing squat! And thanks so much for the offer of the book as well!! That's mighty awesome of you, but I just used my amazon gift card and just bought Boyd's book and Haugen's book as well.. Can't wait for them to get here... Oh I also just bought a climber tree stand and think I'm going to give that a try as well. I just figure if nothing else I can sit longer in a tree stand than curled up next to a stump in the blackberry bushes. I look in everybody's deer/elk pix and it doesn't look like many are out in the clear-cuts so I think I'm hanging out in the wrong areas. I do always get out of my rig and hike into a gated areas, I hunt ALL day and still, squat. Don't get me wrong I do see the occasional critter, but it's rare.. It just makes it tough to get exited to get up in the pissing down rain to hunt the day when 95%of the time I'm not seeing anything to even try to shoot... Anyways, thanks again for all the great feedback and I'm not giving up, just more studying. Luckily I have plenty of time until sept!! THIS IS MY YEAR!!!!!!!

[kirkthoma]

I've had the best luck by locating thick alder benches and hunting them the last week of general season. It can be crunchy and loud, but it's loud for the deer too. Take 1 or two well placed steps and glass everything you see. Repeat. A step every minute or two is plenty fast. I think of it as a moving "stand" rather than a hike.  Look for alder patches during the off season with rubs from the prior rut. If there's rubs, there's bucks during the rut. Read all you can find. I've only shot 2 small bucks, but missed out on a few bigger ones doing this. 

[.257mag]

All of these are excellent tips that I have found work well too.  Just remember that finding a deer is half the battle and with a bow you need to be exrta prepared for all of those variables that come into place.  Practice as much as you can so when that opertunity comes you'll be ready.  Good luck!

[loggerjim]

Have you tried getting into the high meadows on some of trails around your area in the early season? I went on a high hunt up there with some friends and seen one of the biggest bucks I've ever seen. Just an idea.

[Watimberghost]

Sundance posted some GREAT info. Theres no sure fire way to harvest a blacktail every year, but that's some good advice to start with. The more time you spend in areas you plan on hunting the more you will get to know how to implement some of these strategies. Good luck to you!

[BOWHUNTER45]

persistence  and more persistence ...All areas mentioned are good places to look for blacktail ...I personally prefer timber hunting ...why ? Mainly because once the deer leave the clear cuts that's where they go ...and usually not to far inside the timber line ...

[Dhoey07]

Get a trail cam and try and pattern them. Not only will it give you an idea of what deer are in the area but it will give you an extra boost of confidence, knowing that deer are right there, to be able to sit for longer.

[Tbob]

Wow! Thanks everybody for the feedback!! Exactly what I was looking for! Sundance that is an amazing lesson right there! Thanks for everybody's time and insight! Now it looks like I've got some scouting to do!!

[Tbob]

Sundance, seriously thanks for taking the time to do all this and post it up on here! That's the most info on scouting I've ever gotten from anybody! I will take all the advise and pix and apply them to my scouting/hunting! Just awesome!! Thanks again for the valuable and detailed information! It's one thing to hear about the places you mentioned/described, but the pix bring it all together! Thanks again!!

[bentley30-06]

Sundace, that is primo BT habitat.  It is exactly what I picture to see them in and where I like to focus my time.  Great post.

[Tbob]

That's a great blog! Thanks for the post!!

[aorams]

Sundance, seriously thanks for taking the time to do all this and post it up on here! That's the most info on scouting I've ever gotten from anybody! I will take all the advise and pix and apply them to my scouting/hunting! Just awesome!! Thanks again for the valuable and detailed information! It's one thing to hear about the places you mentioned/described, but the pix bring it all together! Thanks again!!

I second TBOB's sentiment sundance.  Please keep writing!

[Tbob]

Been out scouting the last few weekends and it's amazing how different I look for spots to hunt now thanks to the great info on this thread alone!! Amazing!! Thanks ever so much and keep it coming! I like a sponge soaking all this up! I know this year will be different! Hopefully more steaks and less tag soup!

[bur04024]

Just to throw in my  on the issue. (I agree with everything that has been said) I have spent most of my time hunting timber company land and focusing on the clearcuts and reprod. I found the reprod really hard to glass if the trees were much taller than a man, but it all depends on your angle/point of view. One afternoon as I sat on a logging road overlooking a fairly flat area of reprod 300 feet below, I watched a hunter drive his big bronco in and park on the road down below. He walked down a short spur road and dove right into some patchy reprod and as he drew close to a tiny stand (6-8) mature pine trees all of the sudden a nice buck stood up, and I heard his gun go off! That buck leaped out of there and made it about 30-40yds and then fell down to never get up again. This must have taken place around 11am-noon. I turned to my Grandpa and said I can't believe that dude walked in there "blindly" from the way it looked, and in 5 minutes had himself a buck. I had been "glassing" that place for like 20-30 min and didnt see a thing, I thought I had heard some antlers knocking together faintly,  a ways off in the thick thick reprod, but the breeze made it hard to tell, but I knew there had to be something in there. We drove down after a few minutes and I picked the guys brain as he was loading his nice buck up. I realized that these BT will hide in "plain" sight and stay still until the last second, because many times if they have been around hikers or hunters they tend walk right past them as they lay still. With that new found knowledge I moved to a clearcut about half a mile down the road. I had seen a doe on the edge of the clearcut that same evening but no bucks to be found. I told my Grandpa we should be back to that same clearcut at first light. It had some small patches of brush maple and a small stand (6-10) of old trees. I went and sat on the end of a spur road overlooking the stand of trees just before legal shooting light. I saw some movement and watched as a doe almost crawled on her belly to make her way up the small hill into some patchy brush that stretched toward the timber. I kept glassing her hoping to see any sign of antlers but nothing. After I few minutes some other hunters pulled up across this draw I was glassing(no matter that I was already sitting there, looking like a neon orange pumpkin) they got out proceeded to glass from their little spur road and kick around the little landing for about 2 minutes. Then they hoped back in and drove away. I said to myself, "well after that nothing in this clearcut after that much noise and activity. Mind you the doe had taken a path right past the landing they were just on. So I decided I would follow her trail and see if it would take me to more deer. I managed to make my way through the clearcut breaking every stick and twig in the process and as I climbed the small slope away from the seasonal creek bottom I slipped making even more noise! As I walked another 10yds I saw this 2x2 buck staring at me. All I could see was from his brisket up. I didnt care about how big he was I just knew he had enough antler for me to put my tag on him! I snuck over to a small stump, steadied myself and let one fly. He collapsed right where he stood. I was about 50 yds from him, and when I came upon him I noticed that the grass was matted down like a dogs bed. He was sleeping out in the open and a little hillside............not 15yds below the logging landing those "hunters" had been on 15 minutes before! They glassed right over his back, he laid there quiet as a church mouse knowing that they would miss him. My Grandpa drove over to the spur and I wanted to test out if I could see the buck glassing from the same spot. Had I not known he was laying right there I probably would have never seen him, the only thing that sort of stood out was his antlers! Lessons:1. Glass hard, and look for BT parts, not whole animals. 2.Never leave a clearcut without kickin some brush!!! Its like leaving a stone unturned. They are there!!! 3.Never be afraid to try a crazy idea or technique, it just might work.

[Tbob]

Hey Bur,
     Cool read man!! Thanks for chiming in on this thread! Great advise !! I hunt mostly timber country and a lot of the things you said and were feeling during your hunts wrang very true to some of my experiences.. Thanks again, always makes me feel a little better when I'm not the "only" one having these frustrations! I see everybody's pictures of all these deer and elk and think I must be the only one in Washington going home with tag purée every year.. HA!