Need input from you pros!

[180-GRAIN]

Want some opinions from you guys out there with experience. A couple weeks ago I went out scouting for an area to put up trail cams to scout for bear. I went to an area that I have seen bear and deer both the last few years, 5 year old clearcut. Me and the old man were walking the top and found a ton of deer beds and sign all over it. I ended up going back and putting up my camera and some grain and a molasses corn block and after a week I had no sign of bear and a ton of deer on the camera, four of them were bucks and 2 are dandy's. Needless to say I'm hooked and went and bought my multiseason tag so I can hunt these things all year. I plan on hunting it with a climber treestand Sept 1st, my question to you guys that hunt early archery out of stands is do you think these deer will continue hitting this area and do you think its worth the time and effort sitting on this spot. I know deer move often so wondering what peoples experiences have been with deer movement in this time frame? This area is a mile or so behind a gate and has 4-5 5 year old clearcuts around, not much hunting pressure at all so I would think the deer would hang out if the bear don't move in and screw things up.

[h20hunter]

Tagging along.

[vandeman17]

blacktails? If so I can't say because I don't have much experience but from what I know about mulies and whitetails, their routines and habits seem to change mid to late august. Doesn't mean they don't still show up here and there but I have had bucks daily on my cams disappear completely come end of August.

[180-GRAIN]

blacktails? If so I can't say because I don't have much experience but from what I know about mulies and whitetails, their routines and habits seem to change mid to late august. Doesn't mean they don't still show up here and there but I have had bucks daily on my cams disappear completely come end of August.

Thats what im afraid of. They are blacktails and i am thinking the bigger 2 may dissapear but im also thinking if I keep the area baited with the grain they are wiping out that maybe theres a shot they keep coming in for the free meal

[luvmystang67]

This is just my opinion from chasing these things since I was 8... thats only 20 years of experience, and I have only been able to read for 5 of those years, so take this with a grain of salt.

It seems like early archery season, deer are still in Summer mode.  Its not really fall yet, hunting pressure on blacktails is low, water conditions are similar, food sources are similar and things that they're doing mid august will be very similar to what they're doing early september.  That isn't necessarily to say that they'll be doing the exact same thing as they are right now, but if you notice the pattern continuing, I'd say you have a pretty good shot at similar behavior for the first week or two of archery.

As we get towards the middle and end of september it seems like things change a little, fall comes knocking a little harder, and its a little bit pre rut.  Nights are colder, I think things start to change here.  I honestly think some of the bigger bucks know that rifle season is coming, because they seem to start only coming out at night.  Of course the rut hits mid october and all bets are off, they could be anywhere and probably will be.

I would say your best shot at the deer you're looking at is early in the archery season or very late in the season (late nov/dec) if there's a late season muzzy or archery in your area.  I feel like early and late they're in their "normal" homes doing the normal stuff.  You're more likely to catch them in places they shouldn't be during the rut, but if you have them patterned well already this will hurt your chances, not help you.

For the average idiot like me, the rut is unbeatable for a stupid monster blackie walking out across a wide open field at 1pm...  The one you worked so hard to pattern does something stupid right in front of me.

[vandeman17]

blacktails? If so I can't say because I don't have much experience but from what I know about mulies and whitetails, their routines and habits seem to change mid to late august. Doesn't mean they don't still show up here and there but I have had bucks daily on my cams disappear completely come end of August.

Thats what im afraid of. They are blacktails and i am thinking the bigger 2 may dissapear but im also thinking if I keep the area baited with the grain they are wiping out that maybe theres a shot they keep coming in for the free meal

I have thought the same and they still disappeared. They pretty much give up on salt early summer so I turned to other feed that kept them interested until august but then POOF, gone. Still wouldn't hurt to give it a shot because I am talking about mulies in central wa. Not sure about the rain forest ghosts .

[Buckmark]

Your cameras will show you what you need to know and what to do, you will be able to pattern those deer. Entry routes, average time they come to your bait/area etc etc. Then you can plan your hunt accordingly and be on stand at the times when they should be showing and not wasting time when they are not.
I would have more than one camera in the area and be prepared to change things up, stand location if need be. Have a plan in place for such things...
Blacktails accustomed to a baited area can be patterned as compared to just a random trial...

[DoubleJ]

Agree with all of the above.  What blacktail are doing now, they'll be doing until about mid september.

[180-GRAIN]

Well if they will be doing the same I should be able to tag one if I shoot strait . Going to check my cameras again tomorrow hopefully they continue the pattern. Took them 2 days after i set the cam up to find the grain and block, They worked hard to polish off most of the grain and chewed on the block pretty good. I had one day of inactivity after most of the grain was gone. I reset the cam and dumped 50 more pounds of grain last saturday so hopefully they are showing off for the cam again. This is pretty dam addicting I do have to say!!!

[vandeman17]

Well if they will be doing the same I should be able to tag one if I shoot strait . Going to check my cameras again tomorrow hopefully they continue the pattern. Took them 2 days after i set the cam up to find the grain and block, They worked hard to polish off most of the grain and chewed on the block pretty good. I had one day of inactivity after most of the grain was gone. I reset the cam and dumped 50 more pounds of grain last saturday so hopefully they are showing off for the cam again. This is pretty dam addicting I do have to say!!!

If you are planning to hunt it, I would try to stay out of the area as much as possible. Keep it as "safe" feeling as you can. The more you go in there and make noise, leave smells the more wary they might get. I would give the cameras at least a few weeks in between checking them. I know its hard to wait but if you want to hunt the area, that is what I would recommend. 

[RadSav]

For me blacktails are all over the map.  Southern Oregon and Oregon coast you can hunt them as you would whitetails.  Very routine oriented.  Washington bucks seem less predictable and sensitive to woods activity.  We pattern bucks well during August and then after all the Labor Day snipers hit the woods the bucks in our area go nocturnal until rut brings them out.  Northern California we would hunt them much the same as you would muledeer.  Rut seems the only time they all seem to act similarly in my experience.

Not knowing what your little micro region will produce in regards to September behavior I'd plan on trying to spend the beginning of the season as you have planned this first year.  Being sure that I have back up plans in case their behavior changes between now and then.  And then be prepared to change tactics before sitting in a void stand area the whole season.  I wasted my first blacktail season here in Washington expecting these deer to behave the same as those I was so familiar with down south.  I was lucky that we had good late archery rut behavior back then and was able to still tag out in the late season.

One of the things that has helped my blacktail success is keeping good detailed log books on behavior and travel routines in each area I like to hunt.  Stott Mountain Oregon is different than the Willamette valley, Clark County Washington bucks seem to differ from north Toutle and both differ from King County bucks.  Well at least until those does start acting frisky!  Then stupidity seems to be universal

I know others have had success apple baiting in late season.  For me I have never had a buck hit bait after August 20th.

[MLBowhunting]

My observations have been once they shed that velvet they start to get into a nocturnal pattern.  Get them early or they will disappear.   

[180-GRAIN]

For me blacktails are all over the map.  Southern Oregon and Oregon coast you can hunt them as you would whitetails.  Very routine oriented.  Washington bucks seem less predictable and sensitive to woods activity.  We pattern bucks well during August and then after all the Labor Day snipers hit the woods the bucks in our area go nocturnal until rut brings them out.  Northern California we would hunt them much the same as you would muledeer.  Rut seems the only time they all seem to act similarly in my experience.

Not knowing what your little micro region will produce in regards to September behavior I'd plan on trying to spend the beginning of the season as you have planned this first year.  Being sure that I have back up plans in case their behavior changes between now and then.  And then be prepared to change tactics before sitting in a void stand area the whole season.  I wasted my first blacktail season here in Washington expecting these deer to behave the same as those I was so familiar with down south.  I was lucky that we had good late archery rut behavior back then and was able to still tag out in the late season.

One of the things that has helped my blacktail success is keeping good detailed log books on behavior and travel routines in each area I like to hunt.  Stott Mountain Oregon is different than the Willamette valley, Clark County Washington bucks seem to differ from north Toutle and both differ from King County bucks.  Well at least until those does start acting frisky!  Then stupidity seems to be universal

I know others have had success apple baiting in late season.  For me I have never had a buck hit bait after August 20th.

Great info thanks! I had a backup spot that I was working on. I set a camera up pretty high on a timbered ridge about 300 yards from a old clearcut and had 3 bucks coming to it until the bears showed up and ransacked the place. Ate all my bait and took a crap on my mineral block. The deer never came back after the bears started hitting it. I cleaned the area up and left the mineral block but did not leave new bait hoping the deer would return and the bear would not. We will see tomorrow.

[kentrek]

Id be most worried about people....if theres a bunch of augest elk hunts in your area then the pressure could take them out of summer routine...but even then they are gona go somewhere...they dont just disappear....get a sat map of your area an start drawing there routines with times..also look for where you would go of someone was gona kill you...prolly wont be too far away and is prolly gona have old scrapes in it...might be worth puting a stand in there

Just my  the guys posted above made some pretty good comments

[deerhunter_98520]

All great info so far....one thing you need to have when hunting big blacktail is patience patience patience....when season opens up sneak in there  and spend every day possible in there...be quiet and stay hidden...you never know when that big buck will show up...you can try and pattern them but good luck....the best I have done to pattern them is watch from a distance and see what area they enter and exit from....they may have 20 different trails in and out of the cut but there will be a "main" trail that they use...there is usually a corner that they will frequently come in and out of and the only way to know is scout from a distance....also I probably wouldn't spend much time in their bedding area...try to intercept them in between their bedding and feeding area...they feel comfortable in their beds you don't want to ruin that with your scent in there constantly

[luvmystang67]

All great info so far....one thing you need to have when hunting big blacktail is patience patience patience....when season opens up sneak in there  and spend every day possible in there...be quiet and stay hidden...you never know when that big buck will show up...you can try and pattern them but good luck....the best I have done to pattern them is watch from a distance and see what area they enter and exit from....they may have 20 different trails in and out of the cut but there will be a "main" trail that they use...there is usually a corner that they will frequently come in and out of and the only way to know is scout from a distance....also I probably wouldn't spend much time in their bedding area...try to intercept them in between their bedding and feeding area...they feel comfortable in their beds you don't want to ruin that with your scent in there constantly

Plus, their beds are usually places humans should not go (unless you love thick nasty crap and devils club).

[raydog]

Well if they will be doing the same I should be able to tag one if I shoot strait . Going to check my cameras again tomorrow hopefully they continue the pattern. Took them 2 days after i set the cam up to find the grain and block, They worked hard to polish off most of the grain and chewed on the block pretty good. I had one day of inactivity after most of the grain was gone. I reset the cam and dumped 50 more pounds of grain last saturday so hopefully they are showing off for the cam again. This is pretty dam addicting I do have to say!!!

If you are planning to hunt it, I would try to stay out of the area as much as possible. Keep it as "safe" feeling as you can. The more you go in there and make noise, leave smells the more wary they might get. I would give the cameras at least a few weeks in between checking them. I know its hard to wait but if you want to hunt the area, that is what I would recommend. 

I have made this mistake too many times already