New Black tail Hunter

[MrSmallington]

Hey there folks.
last year was my first year hunting. went east for mulies and saw 37 elk... no mules. a lot of does... so this year i have a new job and cant take off much time. im stuck doing fri-sun  hunts at the cap forest.  ive scouted out a nice camp site and found some tracks and poop. now. i know its heavily hunted.  but im no road hunter.  i plan to set up shop and wait somewhere between my tracks and the little creek. any advice?  better off from up top looking down clear cuts to the woods or camp in the woods waiting? im pumped on just the fact ill be hunting smarter game this year. im not looking for a trophy just a freezer of meat.  any advice on the elusive ghosts? next weekend cant come soon enough! also elk? anyone ever see elk there? i heard one call but jeez its so thick i doubt there many

[Wolfdog2314]

Love hunting the elusive blacktail.

Hunt when the weather is the worst.
Hunt your hardest the last few days of October.
Hunt all times of the day.
Watching a long stretch of closed road where I can see 3-400 yards has been successful. That or a good looking clearcut.
Look for sign. Blacktail love to do good little rub lines.

Don't get discouraged hunting these ghosts. You may go all season and not see anything, then come around the corner and a great buck will be standing there staring at you.

Good luck!

[optic2]

Love hunting the elusive blacktail.

Hunt when the weather is the worst.
Hunt your hardest the last few days of October.
Hunt all times of the day.
Watching a long stretch of closed road where I can see 3-400 yards has been successful. That or a good looking clearcut.
Look for sign. Blacktail love to do good little rub lines.

Don't get discouraged hunting these ghosts. You may go all season and not see anything, then come around the corner and a great buck will be standing there staring at you.

Good luck!

The law says you can't shoot from or along a road. Does this include closed/gated roads or would they be exempt from that law?

[Blacktail Sniper]

The law says you can't shoot from or along a road. Does this include closed/gated roads or would they be exempt from that law?
[/quote]


Not exactly correct, unless on Forest Service roads.

What it says is it is unlawful to shoot negligently from or along a public road, private property is excluded as long as the person is there legally, regardless of whether it is gated or not.

Link to WDFW FAQ:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/help/questions/70/What+are+the+rules+about+shooting+from+a+road%3F

[Blacktail Sniper]

Note: Talking about firearms here, as bows are for some reason, not legal in the same situtation (public roads).

[MrSmallington]

Love hunting the elusive blacktail.

Hunt when the weather is the worst.
Hunt your hardest the last few days of October.
Hunt all times of the day.
Watching a long stretch of closed road where I can see 3-400 yards has been successful. That or a good looking clearcut.
Look for sign. Blacktail love to do good little rub lines.

Don't get discouraged hunting these ghosts. You may go all season and not see anything, then come around the corner and a great buck will be standing there staring at you.

Good luck!

thanks man. last year i hunted with a guy who only wanted to hunt a couple hours in the morning. this year i am going solo and plan on up at 3. hanging by the tracks i saw to noon ish. then hiking to the top of the ridge and watching the clear cut. i found a nice spot. spent 9 hours scouting the cap forest and this place was the only place i saw tracks and poop... im pumped.  ill be out every weekend and then 4 days in the last part of the season in November.

[MrSmallington]

The law says you can't shoot from or along a road. Does this include closed/gated roads or would they be exempt from that law?

Not exactly correct, unless on Forest Service roads.

What it says is it is unlawful to shoot negligently from or along a public road, private property is excluded as long as the person is there legally, regardless of whether it is gated or not.

Link to WDFW FAQ:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/help/questions/70/What+are+the+rules+about+shooting+from+a+road%3F
[/quote]


just did the hunters ed class... it is legal but is it smart? and ethical?  thats  what i was told

[WSU]

Lots of people burn out. You can spend a lot of time hunting blacktails and seeing nothing.  If you start to burn out, keep in mind that the later you get into the season, the more active the bucks are and the more likely you are to be successful.  Lately I have focused my energy on the last few days of he season (I also have kids and a job that limits me at times).

[Blacktail Sniper]

 


Blacktails are challenging, frustrating at times and especially the older bucks, seem to just drop off the face of the Earth till after season.

But, that last week of October can be some of the best times to be chasing them.

If you can wait to hunt during those last days (espically during the week) when alot of hunters have used their time off for the start of the season and are limited to the weekend or are gearing-up for elk, it can be surprising how much more successful you can be. 

[MrSmallington]

unfortunately with the new job i am stuck to only weekends... i am trying for a four day weekend last week of the season in November and see aall the weekend hunts prior as scouting during the season. so this all sounds promising. i try not to get my hopes up seeing as this is my second year hunting. i see this as a camping trip where i get lost and try to sync with the forest and my game. fingers crossed i have pics to post by late November.  i also got an elk tag. anyone know of a good elk area withing 2 hours of tacoma?

[pianoman9701]

Note: Talking about firearms here, as bows are for some reason, not legal in the same situtation (public roads).

After reading the RCWs on this last week, I came to the same conclusion; that it's completely illegal to shoot a bow from on or across the maintained portion of a public road, but with a firearm, you can't "negligently" shoot from on or across... Negligently, as it's applied here could be widely interpreted by the shooter and/or LE.

[fishnfur]

  i also got an elk tag. anyone know of a good elk area withing 2 hours of tacoma?

Check out the hunting regs.  The hills surrounding any of the specially designated elk areas all hold a lot of elk.  There's lots of elk E. SE., SW, and W. of you.  Read up for more information/or ask over on the elk board and look at the 2016  hunter success reports for elk on WDFW.  You can quickly ascertain which units are best.

[fishnfur]

I forgot - BT advice. 

-Hunt all day for each of the last 4 days of Oct.
-Find a rub line and sit on it.
-try rattling (while hidden) 40 - 100 yds inside the timbered edge of a cut showing fresh sign.  If possible, have the wind blowing your scent out into the cut towards an area where the deer can't come in from downwind and be hidden. 
-glass a cut from across a draw or ravine, or from above.  Glass till your eyes bleed. 
- find a bedding area on a south slope. Get above it and wait for bucks passing through (below you) as they scent check it for does.

[BigGoonTuna]

if you're in capitol forest, you'd be wise to try to get as far away from the road as you can.  better yet if you can find somewhere gated off to walk in(there are a few areas like that in there, but not many).  it gets hit hard because it's just because it's public and close to a ton of people, but most of those guys never get off the roads.

[fishnfur]

Agree.  Capitol Forest was a zoo when I stopped there last year.  Lots of traffic.

Look at a satellite photo and try to guess which areas are less likely to get walk-ins off the road.  The nastiest, steepest, hardest to hunt areas often cause hunters who actually hunt in the woods to look elsewhere for someplace easier.  These are the spots where the bucks hide in the early season.  Late in the month though, those bucks will often be out cruising more, so presumably, they won't be home quite as much. 

Alternatively, sometimes that first unit that you encounter, way low down as you first enter public land gets ignored by hunters as they go to greener pastures higher up.  The deer notice that humans drive right by that area, so they take up residence in the relative quiet there.  Those spots are always worth a look.  Always park at well away from where you're hunting though.  Stop a quarter mile or more before you get to the spot, or if its on a major road, drive right by the spot and park then quietly work your way back on foot.