WT vs BT vs Mulies - which is easier to hunt?

[JeffRaines]

Vail tree farm requires a Weyerhaeuser access permit. But there are a few sections of state land in 667 you can hunt, along with land that is owned by other timber companies. It will require a lot of researching and scouting to find those areas though.

I was asking if you had a Vail permit, since you mentioned you got a Weyerhauser permit

The way seasons are staggered, there really isn't any reason you couldn't hunt all of them, and decide for yourself which is hardest. I hunt blacktail, primarily because they just happen to be where I hunt elk. I don't so much intentionally hunt them, as I do take targets of opportunity. That said, if you stick to the west side, hiking into a logging area, where it is legal to hunt, you'd do well to check the shaded areas of spurs on north facing slopes that have been clear cut before about 9am. Once the shade leaves the spurs, so do the deer. I haven't had a problem finding deer yet.

Thanks for the advice!

[RightPlace-RightTime]

You should make tgis a poll.
Mule deel.

[huntnnw]

There is no answer to this.. You would be narrow minded to choose one. They all have vulnerabilities. Hell just hunting one particular Muley buck could be the toughest animal you ever chased while another guy goes out first day no idea what he's doing and shoots a 200" buck . Terrain can play a role for each, weather ,weapon choice,OTC versus limited entry .

[3nails]

There is no answer to this.. You would be narrow minded to choose one. They all have vulnerabilities. Hell just hunting one particular Muley buck could be the toughest animal you ever chased while another guy goes out first day no idea what he's doing and shoots a 200" buck . Terrain can play a role for each, weather ,weapon choice,OTC versus limited entry .

I agree with this. The only thing that may make a blacktail a little harder to hunt is that they don't quite lose their minds during the rut as much as the other two.

[pd]

Jeff, as much as the residents in Eastern WA hate to hear this, one tried-and-true strategy (BobCat mentioned this) is to hunt opening week on the dry side, and finish the longer season close to home.  Take 4 or 5 days (say, Saturday to Tuesday) and go after grain fed WT, and then hit the wet woods close to home around Halloween, during the BT peak rut.

I know tons of hunters who do this. 

[JeffRaines]

Jeff, as much as the residents in Eastern WA hate to hear this, one tried-and-true strategy (BobCat mentioned this) is to hunt opening week on the dry side, and finish the longer season close to home.  Take 4 or 5 days (say, Saturday to Tuesday) and go after grain fed WT, and then hit the wet woods close to home around Halloween, during the BT peak rut.

I know tons of hunters who do this.

That sounds like a good strategy... My question is, how Far East are we talking? My thing, as mentioned previously, is time off work and scouting. Is a lot of scouting typically necessary for this?

[wildweeds]

This same type of poll came up about 10 years ago down in the tuccannon at the Wooten range managers house,we had a blind taste test of all three deer,all steaks were prepared the same way by a single cook.Care to guess as to which deer subtype won the taste test 9 to 1? I'm going out on a limb and going to give y'all a bunch of credit,I'm betting it will be a hands down winner vote as well.

[3nails]

This same type of poll came up about 10 years ago down in the tuccannon at the Wooten range managers house,we had a blind taste test of all three deer,all steaks were prepared the same way by a single cook.Care to guess as to which deer subtype won the taste test 9 to 1? I'm going out on a limb and going to give y'all a bunch of credit,I'm betting it will be a hands down winner vote as well.

I would say whitetail.

[tgomez]

Every species of deer presents a diffrent challenge. It depends on the terrain they live in as well as hunting presure and genetics of the particular area you are hunting. I have never hunted blacktail deer as I live in Eastern Washington, so over here it's whitetail or mule deer. Let me say to get a "TROPHY BUCK" its gong to be tough either way on public land. There are obviously more whitetail than mule deer and blactail. The mule deer seasin is the shortest for modern(8 days) so I lean twoard a mule deer being the toughest for a "TROPHY BUCK." But from my 20 years of deer hunting experience I would say for ease of hunt for a legal deer it goes mule deer, whitetail, blacktail. Remember it can happen first day, or last 10 min of season. You honestly just never know! Good luck which ever you choose to hunt.

[huntnnw]

This same type of poll came up about 10 years ago down in the tuccannon at the Wooten range managers house,we had a blind taste test of all three deer,all steaks were prepared the same way by a single cook.Care to guess as to which deer subtype won the taste test 9 to 1? I'm going out on a limb and going to give y'all a bunch of credit,I'm betting it will be a hands down winner vote as well.

Prolly whitetail...but theres more to that than just the specie... time of year is a huge difference, what they eat,age and how was it taken care of and was it killed quickly.

I have eaten a couple of whitetail bucks that were harvested in early sept and they were right up there as some of the best wild game I have ever eaten in my life and one particular buck was unreal good. Not even close to a November/December deer

[Dhoey07]

I grew up hunting blacktails, and since I moved to the Spokane area 6 years ago I've hunted whitetails and muleys.

IMHO, most of the time blacktails will stare you down or run off a ways and look back.   Mulies aren't very skiddish and they don't really seem to care if you are around.  But if you bust a whitetail it won't stop till it hits the county line.

[OutHouse]

I hunt a unit that is mixed white tail and mule deer. I am not sure how it is during black powder or modern, but I can say with confidence that white tail are much easier to stalk during the archery season. I think mule deer are smarter or they have better senses (with the ears obviously they must hear better). Any mistake during a stalk of a mule generally leads to the animal hopping away as they do. With white tail, I think they are more complacent and comfortable in their environment, and thus tolerate more noise etc...

My   

[MountainWalk]

Hunted all three successfully.  IMHO mule deer gave me more shot opportunities and more Lee way in terms Of movement.

[SkookumHntr]

Blacktail by far the hardest to hunt! 

[JimmyHoffa]

They all have some technique that is usually pretty effective to use against them.
Ambushing a trail, waiting until they stop bounding, a multiperson drive in reprod, etc.