Blacktail Question

[huntingbg]

So my dad and I have been out hunting morning to night for blacktail the last two days, to no avail.  We had a close encounter in the thick woods yesterday, but as you all know sometimes the big boys don't stay around long.  We saw multiple sets of buck chasing doe tracks all around the drainage we hunt, suggesting maybe the big bucks are on lock down with a particular doe?  Does anybody know if they're susceptible to rattling when they're at this stage?  We haven't even seen a doe, just tracks.  I thought the deer would move around more in the day given the cold weather. 

Tomorrows the last day and we will be hitting  it hard...

Thanks for any advice.

[rb2506]

I have seen buck grunts work multiple times. Good luck

[huntingbg]

That would make sense, because if he thinks another buck is encroaching on his doe he's gonna wanna whoop somebody.

[Halo]

Rattling could work in my opinion but they will come in cautious, probably trying to circle downwind etc. so setup is key. It's been clear and fairly bright out at night so I think they are moving a lot at night, cant fix that though. I think I would be watching big hillsides of fairly grown up clear cuts that have enough cover they feel comfortable moving in mid day but still just enough open spots to catch them moving around.

[fishnfur]

You're living my nightmare.  I get some occasional movement when rattling, but no bucks coming out to play.  Lots of tracks but no visuals of does or bucks in the last few days - even at last light.  Doe bleats - same, same - nada. 

The deer in my back yard are coming in between 10 PM and 4 AM.  I assume the recent rifle elk season has spooked the wild deer into in total darkness too. 

Let us know if you get any results from a grunt tube.

[CoastalHunter]

I called in my buck last year on a grunt... Just stay in one place and use that grunt over and over for about 20 mins wait a few and reuse it for about another 20 mins. My buck came running out of the thick woods into a clearcut last year. Dropped him at 20 yds.