What do you do in this situation? Wetside blacktail in the thick stuff.

[Pete112288]

You are hunting blacktails in thicker stuff. Something like big timber filled with uneven ground, vine maples, and half down snags, or 15-25 foot firs, dark thicker stuff, short visibility, lots of uneven ground, the stuff you can just barely stand up and walk around in. You are creeping your way along a trail or maybe even off trail through the brush. Then you hear the tell-tale "thump, thump, thump" then silence, of a deer hopping away. You know blacktails rarely just bolt in this situation unless they really for sure busted you. Lets say in this situation, you spooked it, but it did not for sure identify you... yet. The last thump you heard seemed to only be 30-40 yard away tops. It is a temperate day, no heavy rain, no heavy wind, no high heat, and the moisture level of the underbrush is that of the average late October.
What do you do?
Sit still right where you are? Try to follow it? Make your best guess at where it was headed or stopped at and circle? Write it off saying your already busted? Or??.....

[billythekidrock]

Every situation is different and everyone has tons of variables.
But for the most part, if it is as thick as you say, it would be awful hard to circle ahead.
I might sit tight if I decided to call or rattle.

Here is an example of one hunt I had where I jumped a buck and he went into some thick stuff that I couldn’t follow. I had about an hour before sunset and instead of hunting elsewhere I chose to sit and see if he would try to circle back.

I jumped a deer (green) on a flat in semi-open timber. I tracked (blue) and still-hunted hoping to spot it, but only managed to jump it again without getting a good look at it. From the large body and tracks I assumed it was a buck, but I never saw antlers.

It headed through the timber and into a nasty patch of reprod and vine maple that I could not penetrate. It was mid October, dry and noisy and I was out of options.

I decided to see if I could trick him into leaving the thick patch by throwing rocks (red). I threw a large rock a short distance then threw a medium rock a little farther and finally a smaller rock as far as I could. My hope was to make the deer think that I was still pursuing it. I never did hear the deer again.

I backed out and headed down hill to the cut where I could see for a about 150 yards and waited.

About thirty minutes later the buck came out of the thicket at the edge of the timber and was making his way down hill when I dropped him. He was a short, stocky 4x4 plus eyeguards that field dressed at 200lbs.

[Westside88]

Find a place to sit and wait. When I was younger my answer would've been to try and sneak on them. I never connected on any of those. My Dad's connected on some great bucks by just sitting down and waiting. A heavy 4point that he couldn't put eyes on for half an hour until it tried to walk away and a big 3 that he out waited for 45 minutes. Both of them he said it felt like forever. If I had about 10 do overs I know what I'd do.

[h2ofowlr]

We used to go in these areas with 5-6 guys you knew wouldn't shoot you and place guys around the area and do pushes through the thick stuff.  We could limit out the camp by taking turns and hitting the several thick patches that year after year produced bucks that probably were very nocturnal.  It was fun but hard hunting.  I would bring the shotgun with buck shot in the thick patches and have the rifle in the rig for the long ones.

[deerhunter_98520]

Sit and wait....great chances he will circle back around if he sdidnt see or smell you and was bumped out of his bed by your sound

[BOWHUNTER45]

I do most of my hunting by easing threw the timber in areas I know they hang ..I hunt clear cuts too but a lot of opportunity is lost if you do not get after it ..I can only sit and watch so long then my mind goes to thinking where are they ...you have to be relentless when it comes to blacktail ..Seems to me everytime I hunt my tail off and just relax and hunt in usually happens ..Answer to your other question ..is when I am stalking threw the timber and I jump one and he runs off I just stop for a few minutes . Do not head off chasing it ..let it think you gave up .Then slowly ease that direction ..I have killed numerous bucks that way ...or if you know the lay of the land and know which way he is headed then try to cut if off....Love seeing Blacktail in the timber ...they are so graceful looking it just gets in your blood ..A lot of hunters stick with clear cut hunting but they are seriously missing out ..You have to make things happen when everything else fails ....

[irishevox]

sit and wait.  Blacktail are curious and might circle around to see you... if u can see it and make a shot take it... sometimes you may walk right by a BT and never know it they will lay down and let you pass then crawl off when they feel its safe

[BOWHUNTER45]

sit and wait.  Blacktail are curious and might circle around to see you... if u can see it and make a shot take it... sometimes you may walk right by a BT and never know it they will lay down and let you pass then crawl off when they feel its safe

This tactic may work on the islands where the deer seem to pattern more but most likely this will not happen where there are big tracks of timber and thousands of acres on land ..been there done that enough times ... Blacktail are hardly seen in the same place twice ...at least from my experiences ...

[irishevox]

sit and wait.  Blacktail are curious and might circle around to see you... if u can see it and make a shot take it... sometimes you may walk right by a BT and never know it they will lay down and let you pass then crawl off when they feel its safe

This tactic may work on the islands where the deer seem to pattern more but most likely this will not happen where there are big tracks of timber and thousands of acres on land ..been there done that enough times ... Blacktail are hardly seen in the same place twice ...at least from my experiences ...

Yeah those island blackies are crafty