Properly locating blacktail deer

[JeffRaines]

Still hunting is an art that is hard to master.  It is even more difficult with a bow because of your limitations on shooting range.  Sitting still and mostly hidden in an area where deer are using a trail regularly probably gives you a much better chance at a shot on a deer, especially if you can find a spot where two major trails cross.  A moderate amount of brush in the area will make the deer feel safer to move about freely when they decide to get up and move while still allowing you a visual part of the time.  Too much brush, and they may walk right by you without you ever knowing they came and went.  Make sure above all else, that you've got the wind correct for your position.

Finding does should be relatively easy if you're in those areas you've seen them before.  A change in wind direction or a change in the weather may cause them to change the time and direction they enter and leave their feeding area.  That may be why you're no longer seeing them, or just as likely, they are tired of you keeping them scared all day as you hunt around their home and have moved to a safer area.  If there is more than one feeding area close by, which is very likely, they may switch to an entirely different area.

 If you can find an area that is getting browsed repeatedly and the browsed stems appear freshly cut rather than black with age, just back out to 30 - 40 yards or so, or just inside the timber if you're on a cut, and wait it out while moving as little as possible.  Chances are pretty good the deer will be back again that day sometime.  Don't forget, you must enter and stay downwind of the trail you're hunting.

Bigger bucks will be more sensitive to hunting pressure as the season progresses and will likely tighten up their core zones and become (or are already) entirely nocturnal at least until late October and possibly early November.  This warm weather makes the deer just lazy, they don't need to burn calories to stay warm.  They may stay bedded most of the day (and very hard to find), getting up just once to pee and grab a quick bite to eat.  All the does on my cams lately have been out at 0900 or so and then absent the rest of the day - I'm not quite sure where they are feeding at night, but it's not near my cams.  They may be doing the same where you hunt.

 Later in the season, cold weather will get all the deer feeding more often in order to raise their caloric intake, which means more time on their feet and a better opportunity to be seen.  This makes life a lot easier on you in finding and hopefully killing a deer. 

Go have fun!

Thank you!

[mendozer]

we'll be heading out tomorrow for a weekend hunt. Are they in the rut right now? I'm excited to try my rattlers and calls

[Natas5150]

we'll be heading out tomorrow for a weekend hunt. Are they in the rut right now? I'm excited to try my rattlers and calls

Unfortunately we are in the pre rut, meaning things are just starting for deer. That's not to say it is a bad time to hunt just because its the pre rut. Just means as the seasons wears on the better your chances may become. In the full rut bucks throw all caution out the window, which is why I think it is the best time to hunt. Remember some rut seasons are better than others. Just because the full rut is not here don't let it stop you from going out.

[IRONMIKE88]

I road hunted two years ago when I was recovering from knee surgery. One thing I learned was that when I was driving through the woods and saw a clearing, I'd pull over right away and get out of my Jeep as quietly as I could and walk (mostly limped my way in my knee brace) up to the edge of the clearing.

[Stein]

Go find the darkest, nastiest dog hair timber you can imagine.  Use that as a highway to get to the truly nightmarish stuff. When you are there, find a steep draw and head down.  Go past Squatchie and the troll and then you are just on the fringe of good blacktail habitat come hunting season.  If you can do that during the night, all the better.

I admire the guys who consistently take those things.  Last time I hunted them, I jumped one that was maybe 10 yards away and I never saw as much as a single hair.

[fishnfur]

This is more the "early season" vs. the "pre-rut".   The authors of all the great BT hunting books consider pre-rut to start in mid-October (I think).  That is when the bucks will start to get restless and start travelling around a bit looking to see where the groups of does are and what the competition looks like.  My own take on this is that the first doe or two that comes into estrous, which generally happens as early as the first couple weeks of October is enough to get the bucks thinking that they might just get lucky if they get up and look around a bit.  The vast majority of the does will not hit estrous for another 3 - 5 weeks at least, but these first few hot does are enough to get the boys moving.  Early fawning in the Spring is compelling evidence for the early dates that these does likely hit estrous and were subsequently bred.

As for now, you might still get a response from deer by gently tickling antlers as though you are a couple of bucks sparring for fun.  They may start to do this as soon as the velvet comes off - early mornings or dusk might be a good time to try rattling.  Certainly nothing aggressive with the horns though.  Bucks are not competing for or defending territory at this point. 

A fawn bleat used to imitate an injured or panicking fawn may get you a lot of action quickly if there are does in the area.  Occasionally, bucks will come in to a fawn bleat as well.  Be well hidden with a good view around you if you try either of these tactics.  Be prepared to take a shot immediately.  It might happen fast.

[JakeLand]

Here's my 2 cents on blacktails they are unpredictable compared to muleys and whitetail because food and water do not play a major role in what they do day to day so rule that out I'm a big fan of benches and away from roads whether they are gated off logging roads or ungated because roads mean people and people make them always on guard find benches in steep terrain and mark trails to and from clearcuts and benches don't have to big large at all the prime time for blacktails are around Halloween and when it's storming and raining like a son of a bitch out they get out of the timber and into clear cuts so they can use there eyes and nose because it's loud in the timber  hopefully this helps and remember the last minutes of light when everyone else is heading to there trucks is the BEST time to score THAT buck good luck     Jake

[Turner89]

Here's my 2 cents on blacktails they are unpredictable compared to muleys and whitetail because food and water do not play a major role in what they do day to day so rule that out I'm a big fan of benches and away from roads whether they are gated off logging roads or ungated because roads mean people and people make them always on guard find benches in steep terrain and mark trails to and from clearcuts and benches don't have to big large at all the prime time for blacktails are around Halloween and when it's storming and raining like a son of a bitch out they get out of the timber and into clear cuts so they can use there eyes and nose because it's loud in the timber  hopefully this helps and remember the last minutes of light when everyone else is heading to there trucks is the BEST time to score THAT buck good luck     Jake

what he said.

[bradslam]

Here's my 2 cents on blacktails they are unpredictable compared to muleys and whitetail because food and water do not play a major role in what they do day to day so rule that out I'm a big fan of benches and away from roads whether they are gated off logging roads or ungated because roads mean people and people make them always on guard find benches in steep terrain and mark trails to and from clearcuts and benches don't have to big large at all the prime time for blacktails are around Halloween and when it's storming and raining like a son of a bitch out they get out of the timber and into clear cuts so they can use there eyes and nose because it's loud in the timber  hopefully this helps and remember the last minutes of light when everyone else is heading to there trucks is the BEST time to score THAT buck good luck     Jake

what he said.

...but with punctuation. 

[fishnfur]

Exactly correct.  That method does require bad weather right before Halloween, which often happens, but is not a given.

I assumed that you had an archery tag at the onset of the thread.  Perhaps it is a multi-season, which will give you much better odds when the bucks are actually up and moving.  If it is indeed an archery only tag, your best bet for a buck will be RIGHT after the Late Buck hunt for Modern Rifle Season ends, sometime in mid-November.  There still should be some rutting activity going on, though it will be winding down quickly over the next 10 days or so.

One very good hunter on an Oregon hunting forum I used to follow always said that the 26th of October was the date that the big bucks finally get up and go do the rounds to find out where the does are.  His recommendation was to find intersecting trails in a likely area and sit on it all day, and the next if necessary.  I always thought this guy was full of crap, but he scored a nice buck every year doing just that.  I think the real point is that just being in the woods in late October on trails that are deer traveling trails vs. feeding trails (ie: along/below ridgelines, saddles etc.) gives you a real shot at seeing a good buck.

[JeffRaines]

Exactly correct.  That method does require bad weather right before Halloween, which often happens, but is not a given.

I assumed that you had an archery tag at the onset of the thread.  Perhaps it is a multi-season, which will give you much better odds when the bucks are actually up and moving.  If it is indeed an archery only tag, your best bet for a buck will be RIGHT after the Late Buck hunt for Modern Rifle Season ends, sometime in mid-November.  There still should be some rutting activity going on, though it will be winding down quickly over the next 10 days or so.

One very good hunter on an Oregon hunting forum I used to follow always said that the 26th of October was the date that the big bucks finally get up and go do the rounds to find out where the does are.  His recommendation was to find intersecting trails in a likely area and sit on it all day, and the next if necessary.  I always thought this guy was full of crap, but he scored a nice buck every year doing just that.  I think the real point is that just being in the woods in late October on trails that are deer traveling trails vs. feeding trails (ie: along/below ridgelines, saddles etc.) gives you a real shot at seeing a good buck.

I do have a plain archery tag. I tried to buy a multi-season, but I didn't put in for one this year so I couldn't unfortunately. I'm not sure why they don't go ahead and open it up to everyone seeing as there are leftovers, but thats for another thread...

If I end up making it to late season without a harvest this is advice I will heed. Thank you!

edit: Actually, I want to thank everyone who has participated in this thread so far. There has been a great wealth of information shared thus far, more than enough to get someone thinking and started. I do appreciate all of it. Thank you.

[fishnfur]

Just for grins, why don't you try and buy a multi-season tag.  I thought I saw a post where someone recently said there were still some available over the counter.  It'll cost you 160 bucks or so.....   I forget the amount.  You might be able to do it online at WDFW if there are still some available.

[JeffRaines]

No dice, at least online.

It was probably two weeks or so ago that I tried. The system showed it as available, but when she went to finalize the purchase it said that I couldn't buy the license due to rule violations. I was like woah, I've never even talked to a warden before much less had "rule violations"... She called wdfw and it they told her that I couldn't buy it without having applied for it previously.

[fishnfur]

Bummer.    Perhaps call them yourself tomorrow.

Anyway, good luck with your hunting.  Stay out there.  Move super slow.  Glass everywhere and everything.  Rain on Wednesday may get them up and moving a bit earlier in the evening if you don't have time to hunt during the day.

[huntingbaldguy]

Try to go in person for the multi-season tag.  You have to turn in your archery tag, and you can't do that online for obvious reasons, so that might be why they won't let you get it online.

I have a similar scenario i'm going through.  I have a big tract of land i'm hunting and i can't find their daytime spots.  I have them coming in to bait at night only and i mean literally starting at 830 to 9 pm they come in and are back every 2 hours.  It's maddening.  I've spent probably 3 total days in the stand already and seen only a doe with 2 fawns come in in shooting light.  There's very little terrain features on this piece of land and i'm wondering if they spend their time bedded in the thick nasty about a quarter mile away.  I'm planning to put cams up on a few travel lanes in different directions to see if i can catch them on the way to/from bait and then move my stand to those spots for a shot in last light/first light.  The 3 bucks i have on cam take turns sparring on cam, over the bait pile.  It's entertaining to say the least to look at pics, but it's driving me insane that they only come in at night.