Lets talk BLACKTAIL!

[Blcktaildreamer]

I agree with all of what's said. Hunt last 4 days of general season and do not stop hunting all day. Don't shoot a small one. And a little bit of luck never hurts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[deerhunter_98520]

Once again, , the last few days of general deer, all day long... the bucks in lewis and Thurston county's will be searching for does.... period

Mature bucks chase before immature bucks.... hint

[deerhunter_98520]

First one is easy




Second one the doe is laying down with her head laying on her side...that's her right ear sticking up and her hind qtr to the right...it was about 500yds away

[davk]

... mature bucks use use Clearcuts and openings, beyond popular belief.

  The largest blacktail I have seen so far came out of the timber walked a few hundred yards straight down a forest road, then into a clear cut.  From my experience hunting blacktails and whitetails, I have no hesitation in hunting open areas, old roads, etc.  Ive seeen it while Im out there and it a lot in sign.  They simply walk straight down the road.  Seen it a lot even when there is little resistance along side the road(open fields, thin brush, etc.)  ... they'll walk right down the road.  Im sure they hunker down in thick brush though too.  But I stick primarily to hunting edges.  Tend to find the most concentrated sign there. 

I personally try to hunt all day as well.  That is usually a mix of sitting and still hunting to get off my ass.  If I want to nap Ill just sleep on the ground for a bit and then keep going.  Building a tarp similar to the Kifaru Sheep Tarp so I can get out of the rain a bit on my all day hunts.  I think this is one of the bigger misses by a lot of people.  After I got my deer this year I started scouting a new area.  I had more deer, including nice bucks, on my camera between 10am-2pm than I had at night deep into December.  Probably 4 to 1.  Now I dont know if it exactly changed or since I moved my camera that I just picked up one of their night routes, but late December after I moved the camera it switch 1-4 day to night.

[fishnfur]

Outside the prime time days of last few days of pre -rut in late Oct. and the four post-rut days in late buck, you'll likely have your best chance of seeing a big buck by being in place in the woods, ready to hunt well before first light.  Similarly, the last few minutes of legal light are the second best time to hunt.  You shouldn't be just heading into the woods at first light nor walking to your rig the last few minutes of legal light.  You should be in that place where you expect to see that big buck heading back to bed after a night of feeding or just heading out to go feed for the evening.  Get a headlamp and take a  walk in the woods the dark in the early mornings.  Be prepared to walk out in the dark at night.

Big BT bucks are almost exclusively nocturnal and always secretive outside the rut. During this time, you have to be very good or very lucky to see a trophy buck in the middle of the day.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't hunt the middle of the day though.  They still stand up to pee and occasionally get a drink or eat a bit in the middle of the day.  They just (normally) won't be traveling during the day unless there are hot does around.  If you know where they live, you might just see one get up.

This is all a Boyd Iverson paraphrase.

[BLR 243]

Hunt the last of October, hunt late, I mean till dark, dont head to your rig because its getting dark. Use your eyes and ears, use your EYES. Hunt with a lever action rifle for fast follow up shots, Love the rain, embrace the rain.Ware wool.10-11 o'clock in the am is a good time for buck in less pressured areas.Hunt alone.Dont walk erect when hunting the timber,bend @ the waist and look under, met several mature Blackies that way.Hunt the terrian I learned that from an old retired game warden.

[JeffRaines]

Tagging along!

[257 Wby Mag]

Hunt the last of October, hunt late, I mean till dark, dont head to your rig because its getting dark. Use your eyes and ears, use your EYES. Hunt with a lever action rifle for fast follow up shots, Love the rain, embrace the rain.Ware wool.10-11 o'clock in the am is a good time for buck in less pressured areas.Hunt alone.Dont walk erect when hunting the timber,bend @ the waist and look under, met several mature Blackies that way.Hunt the terrian I learned that from an old retired game warden.

Solid advice from a man that has killed some giant bucks!! Thanks Jeff, and luck this season. Jud

[Tbob]

This thread is AWESOME! Thanks for all the input! I feel like I go out and make things way more difficult than they need to be. This helps !!

[Harbor_hunter]

Fun thread to read. I agree with everything said. I will also vouch for going slow! Glass, glass, glass..pick everything apart!

[kglacken]

Awesome advice everyone! That is one thing that I feel like I am doing right, glassing. if there is one skill I consider myself to be "advanced" at its my glassing skills. Looking for any little patch, flat back, ear twitch is noticed. Everyone wants to look for an animal, not a piece of an animal.

Sort of off subject, but I did a mule deer hunt in Arizona and our guides told us at the end of the hunt that they have hunted with a ton of guys in the hunting industry, celebrities, top "professional" hunters and people from all over the world and they have never met anyone who could glass and spot animals like us. They were shocked at some of the deer we picked out of the canyons from a long ways away and ones that were very hidden. I think thats from training the eyes to find blacktail! 

[Bigshooter]

For me there are about 3 days worth hunting, and you better be out there from daylight til dark. Use your binos. Hiking is not hunting... mature bucks use use Clearcuts and openings, beyond popular belief. "Boyd Iverson" RIP. Those 3 days aren't in late buck. HINT

 

I love it when the last 3 days of October start on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.  If it's raining those last 3 days it's even better.

[pope]

I'm sure it depends on where you hunt, how much hunting pressure exists, etc. But based on my rookie experience, I have to agree with Boyd. I spent too many years glassing open areas until I went cross-eyed. When I saw deer in open areas, it was usually a few does at first light nibbling their last few snacks in secluded bowls. Then I started concentrating on travel routes between areas where I had seen deer in the off season. I concentrated my efforts on trails that passed through the lowest elevation between large feeding areas, trails that follow drainage down from a saddle. Such trails may offer good tree stand terrain and you can expect deer to travel through when the wind blows parallel to the trail (deer will almost always travel with the wind blowing behind their direction of travel).

[DaveMonti]

Tag

[rasbo]

deep dark and nasty,I stay away from clear cuts,thats where I see everyone else..I love to rattle in the dark thick timber, where its dark in the daylight..