Hunting Clearcuts?

[RadSav]

RadSav - I have trouble leaving the alder areas completely when I hunt because there is so much sign in it.  Rubs, dung, browsed vegetation, etc.  My take is that they are nocturnal use only for the bucks though.  Someday, I'd love to hear about your hunting methods around alder.  In the mean time - is there a chance that those scrapes in OR were made by Columbian Whitetails that have re-established themselves pretty well in that area - (Douglas County anyway)?  Perhaps a BT-WT hybrid subspecies that has established itself well enough to display that trait (making scrapes) in West Central OR?  I'm going to research the issue 'cause your tale has me really curious.

This past Friday we were into bucks quite a bit.  All but one were in the alder flat just below big timber and within a few 1,000 yards of a three year old cut.  Six bucks five different areas.  All with the same features, except one in the Christmas trees.

Those coastal blacktail are about as pure a blacktail as you will ever find.  However, both the bucks and does in that area seem to act a lot like whitetails.  We've stand hunted trails that looked like cattle trails coming into clearcuts.  Same deer same trails day after day, month after month.  I sure don't see that much up here.

[fishnfur]

More good stuff RS.  I just need to find similar terrain so that I can miss another shot on a buck!   

I searched the web and ifish.net forum for blacktail scrapes and got nada in 11 pages of results.   I'll take your word on that one and run with it - it kind of mimics what I've heard before, Blacktails generally don't make scrapes, but some very good hunters swear they've seen them.

[RadSav]

The oddest thing I witnessed in this area on the Oregon coast was young bucks making scrapes in summer months.  I'm talking actually witnessing spikes and small two points making scrapes in July and August.  I always figured it must be some sort of territorial marker for blacktails.  But I've never been able to find any research to back that up.

[fishnfur]

 I have no first-hand knowledge of Whitetails, and I've only read a bit and watched a few thousand hunting shows on TV, but if I remember correctly, and as I'm sure you're aware, scrape making by Whitetails isn't just a pre-rut or rut time behavior. Apparently they do it all year long.   Where's the whitetail guys to confirm or call BS on this???

I'm curious if you noticed them using a licking branch in conjunction with the scrape making.  That would amaze me to no end!  (well, maybe not to "no end", but you get my drift).

[RadSav]

I'm curious if you noticed them using a licking branch in conjunction with the scrape making.  That would amaze me to no end!  (well, maybe not to "no end", but you get my drift).

Always!  Never seen a buck no matter what time of year, whitetail or blacktail, scrape without some sort of scent stick deposit.  One scrape in Oregon they used a salal bush.  Saw the same 2X2 use it four days in a row 100 yards from our camp during 90 degree weather in August.  Crazy part of that was he used it on his way from feeding headed for the bedding area between 10 and 11 A.M..  Thinking those bucks there are just confused

[fishnfur]

 

Confused, or they know something the others have yet to learn.

[SteelheadTed]

awesome stuff guys.  My only complaint is that I didn't read this two weeks ago!

[RadSav]

We saw a buck Saturday run out of the timber into a clear cut, jump at a doe, jab her in the chest and run her back into the timber.  She tried to come out into the cut again and he did the same thing.  What a rude SOB.  I would have shot him for being such an A hole, but the wind was blowing too hard and the rain was too heavy to get a good range.  Of course the hurricane stopped about the time he finished pushing her up and over the hill.  Was sort of fun to watch!

[fishnfur]

Really interesting reports you've posted about the bucks herding or pushing the does.  I've never seen or heard of that before in 7 or 8 books on blacktails.  Usually, it is reported that the buck will follow a hot doe around and basically stand by waiting until she lets him mount her.

[Turner89]

We saw a buck Saturday run out of the timber into a clear cut, jump at a doe, jab her in the chest and run her back into the timber.  She tried to come out into the cut again and he did the same thing.  What a rude SOB.  I would have shot him for being such an A hole, but the wind was blowing too hard and the rain was too heavy to get a good range.  Of course the hurricane stopped about the time he finished pushing her up and over the hill.  Was sort of fun to watch!

I watched a rude SOB do the same thing. He jabbed her in the butt. I was lucky enough to punish him for it though

[RadSav]

Really interesting reports you've posted about the bucks herding or pushing the does.  I've never seen or heard of that before in 7 or 8 books on blacktails.  Usually, it is reported that the buck will follow a hot doe around and basically stand by waiting until she lets him mount her.

Have seen that too.  Especially as we get later and later in the rut.  I think the bucks start to get tired after weeks of pushing, fighting, seldom resting and choosing sex over food.  But as the pre-rut transfers into full-rut, especially in areas with good buck numbers, I think they are more aggressive.  I'm no biologist so I don't know their true mentality.  Just seems I witness as much aggressive behavior as I do passive behavior.  I'm also usually hunting steep country and big timber bucks...maybe that makes a difference

I know when I told Larry D. Jones and Neil Summers where I had been hunting blacktails they both called me crazy    Maybe I need to find some flat spots in the valley 

[RadSav]

We saw a buck Saturday run out of the timber into a clear cut, jump at a doe, jab her in the chest and run her back into the timber.  She tried to come out into the cut again and he did the same thing.  What a rude SOB.  I would have shot him for being such an A hole, but the wind was blowing too hard and the rain was too heavy to get a good range.  Of course the hurricane stopped about the time he finished pushing her up and over the hill.  Was sort of fun to watch!

I watched a rude SOB do the same thing. He jabbed her in the butt. I was lucky enough to punish him for it though

Those rude bass turds.  Let 'em have it!  Good work

[fishnfur]

I don't think the biologists understand it completely either. 

I'm wondering if the situation goes something like this:   storms come up that cause the does to get nervous and come out of the big timber for safety, leaving the buck that has been courting her for the last few hours or day (thinking he's going to get lucky), who then suddenly finds himself in a situation where he's lost control of the doe and where a potential second buck might intrude into his love affair, so the buck gets aggressive and works to get her back to where he feels he can control the situation. (or something like that)

[kodiak06]

I have no first-hand knowledge of Whitetails, and I've only read a bit and watched a few thousand hunting shows on TV, but if I remember correctly, and as I'm sure you're aware, scrape making by Whitetails isn't just a pre-rut or rut time behavior. Apparently they do it all year long.   Where's the whitetail guys to confirm or call BS on this???

I'm curious if you noticed them using a licking branch in conjunction with the scrape making.  That would amaze me to no end!  (well, maybe not to "no end", but you get my drift).

WT have "community" scrapes that are active all year and visited by any deer. The bucks tend to make a lot of scrapes during the pre-rut time and often never visit them again. Once the times right, they will make scrapes that does visit and they wind check them typically for the right doe.

[Big6bull]

I think we overthink our “strategy “ sometimes and we catch ourselves looking for perfect circumstances like ages of cuts or big open timber or feeding area vs bedding.
 Hunt the sign you are seeing in person. If you are not seeing buck tracks/rubs move on. There should be a reason you spend more time in an area like Big buck tracks, fresh tubs, groups of does, no boot tracks etc.