Getting Discouraged

[Alpine Mojo]

I'm in my late 20s and have been hunting most of my life.

Youth is always wasted on the young.

[Stein]

One of the most frustrating things for me is trying to learn a new spot.  So, if you jump to a new spot every year, you will have endless frustration.  I would rather know a marginal spot well than go to a better spot with no knowledge.  Having experience in a marginal spot makes it a good spot as 10% of the guys always kill 90% of the animals.

Honestly, pick a spot with decent access and decent harvest statistics and keep at it.  I learned a bunch from this forum as well as talking with guys in hotels, at the pool after hunting, desk clerk at the hotel, dudes at the next table at dinner, at the gas station or wherever you can strike up a conversation.  I'm an introverted guy at heart, but after getting some really great info more than once, I figured out how to strike up conversations.  There are a surprising number of people out there that will give you a piece of the puzzle, particularly if you are humble and not picky about what you shoot.

If you really want to just break the ice and kill a deer, PM me and I'll give you a guy that will put you on a private land doe for a reasonable cost.

If you aren't set on deer, plan to hunt antelope in WY next year.  For what you would pay for all the WA licenses and draws, you can get 1-3 tags in a 0-1 point draw unit and see animals every day.

A final option is to go to a state with more public land deer and more "any deer" units.  There are numerous places in MT you can get on a doe or spike on either public or BMA feel free to hunt land.  Almost every hunter will pass on a herd of does with a spike or two in it and they'll just be there for the taking.  I'm sure it is true in other states as well.

[Cervid]

I'm in my late 20s and have been hunting most of my life.

Youth is always wasted on the young.

How so?

[Naches Sportsman]

Keep at it. I haven't had success as in killing a lot of deer, but have had fun learning how to hunt them. Hunting is not always about the kill. Figuring out and learning more how to murder a deer is fun though.

A lot of hunters have had dad's and grandpa's that have hunted and showed them the ropes. I'm one of those that lost his grandpa at a young age and didn't get a chance to meet the other one as he died before I was born. My dad didn't hunt big game. This is my 8th season with a deer tag, but I'm getting better at learning mule deer every year. Takes patience. Document your hunting in a journal. It's one thing I've done for bird hunting and have started writing about all o the daily big game hunts. You can look in the journal and figure out what area you've seen the most deer in and go from there.

[Turner89]

Were the signs new that you saw in the clearcuts?

Yes they were.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't give up, you're in the right place. Go to your spot early morning when it's dark, glass the clearcuts till around 11am or so, if nothing, just slowly walk the trails and roads. Sometimes you'll find them in thick timber while still hunting in midday. Later in the day, a couple hours before it gets dark, go back to your clearcuts and keep glassing. Rut season is very close, stick to your spot and they'll eventually show up. No need to buy any permits or anything, we're lucky to have a lotta public land to hunt.

Tiger's right.
I was out both days last weekend, and only saw 3 does on Saturday, a nothing Sunday. Nothing to worry about early. If I were you I'd stick to that area 4 miles back, and hunt it like tiger said. Closer to the end of the month we get the better it gets.
 Defiantly wouldn't waste your money on a permit

[fishnfur]

HA!  I had some great laughs reading this thread.  Hopefully, you begin to realize that hunting BT is way hard, especially so in the early season.  You ask if it is really that difficult.  For most people, the answer is yes, it really is that difficult.  A very few people have a God given ability to hunt well with minimal learning.  It is almost intuitive for them.  My gut tells me it's a genetic trait, which makes a lot of sense if you put a few minutes of thought into it.  For people like me, who had that genetic trait bred out of their family lineage over the last few thousand years, hunting is a skill that needs to be learned. 

So when you accept the fact that you want to learn a new skill, the next question is:  How do you choose to go about it.  The tried and true method involves a family member showing you the ropes, or a friend who is already skilled taking the time to take you out and acting as a substitute family member.  There are endless books and videos.  There's the old "time in the woods" adage that is thrown about so frequently.  All are valid ways to learn.  Remember though, there will likely never come a day when you do not learn something new as you hunt, or understand that what you thought was right, might only be right on certain occasions.  Never stop learning.

So you have to accept the fact that you've chosen one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, big game animal in North America to hunt.  From the outset, you have to accept the fact that the odds are against you.  BT bucks, by nature, choose to live in the darkest nastiest most inaccessible areas in their daily lives.  From late August/early September until mid - late October (in other words, most of the hunting season), they stay bedded all day long, rising only to pee and stretch out a bit.  They are masters at hiding and bed so that the winds and surrounding vegetation or terrain will alert them to danger.  Once the velvet is off their antlers, they will almost never be seen in daylight.  They leave their beds just before dark and go back to bed in the morning just as it starts to get light. 

There is only the relatively short period of time in late-October to December when the does are receptive, that the bucks' sex drive overwhelm their desire to stay safe.  In order to find the does, the bucks are going to have to do a bit of travelling, most of it is at night, but come late October, they'll be risking some daytime travel as well.  They still stick to their normal hidden trails and stay close to cover at all times, but the fact that they are moving during the day makes them vulnerable to hunters.  If you're lucky person, you might find yourself in a situation where you're glassing an area and find a buck that is tight to a hot doe.  He will follow her anywhere and everywhere.  He'll go stand out in broad daylight right next to her as she feeds.  If you look closely at that doe, you'll notice her tail sticks straight out when she is in heat.   If you see a doe with her tail sticking straight out, don't you dare take your eyes off her.  Mr. buck is probably very close by, or will come along shortly.

Otherwise, you should be asking yourself, where do I expect those bucks to travel in search of does?  Do some research on deer funnels, find a topo map and/or satellite photo of the area you hunt and try to figure out where the pinch points are.  Scout them out as you hunt, look for sign, follow trails, etc, etc,... These are the areas you might consider hunting on the last few days of the month. 

If the weather is really really bad and windy, the forest noise overwhelms their senses.  They cant hear or smell normally, so they are reliant on sight.  The deer will often go to into reprod or go stand up in holes in the forest where they feel safer, and can watch for predators.  These are the best BT hunting days.  If you know what time a storm is going to hit, you can pre-position yourself to catch the deer as they exit the timber and head into reprod.  You can also hunt the leeward side of a ridgeline, where the deer will seek shelter from the winds.  Trial and error.  It's a great way to learn.

If all else fails, find a good patch of 5 - 8 y/o reprod where you can get a good view in between large areas of trees.  Glass till your eyes bleed.  There's almost always deer in them.  You just have to find them. 
 
As for me, I hunted Mason and Kitsap in the last two days.  I can't believe the amount of fresh sign I see on the ground, at least in comparison to 506 and 530.  I feel like there should be a deer sitting everywhere I look.  No new rubs, and I saw no deer at all in the two days I hunted.  I saw three does and bumped one unknown on Friday while ML elking down south.  That is it for the past six days/two weeks of hunting.   Still very slow.  I had a great time though!  Heading south tomorrow - I'm missing the kids.

[dscubame]

Blacktail in October are tough deer to hunt. Save your strength and sanity for the last weekend and it can be awesome.

Best advice here.  Early season for scouting and conditioning with late season for harvesting.  Blacktail are so nocturnal the rut of the late season is key.

[Rustang662k]

Thanks all for your help!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m154/rustang662k/unnamed_zpsmbyfmxmb.jpg

[h20hunter]

You are welcome....now let's here the story or you know what's coming!!!!!

[Whitenuckles]

Way to get it done

[elkboy]

I can't see the Photobucket image... Can anybody out there? 

But I can read your story when it is written... so start tapping away!  Congratulations!  (I am assuming the picture is of a harvested blacktail!)

[JDHasty]

I can't see the Photobucket image... Can anybody out there? 

But I can read your story when it is written... so start tapping away!  Congratulations!  (I am assuming the picture is of a harvested blacktail!)

I don't even bother trying to look at Photobucket hosted images on here any longer.  I have never been able to figure out how to access the settings it references. 

[h20hunter]

Boom

[JDHasty]

Congratulations! That is the photo I have been looking forward to since this thread started.  First one is the toughest... until you get the disease and are focussed on big BT bucks.

[zkhowes]

HA!  I had some great laughs reading this thread.  Hopefully, you begin to realize that hunting BT is way hard, especially so in the early season.  You ask if it is really that difficult.  For most people, the answer is yes, it really is that difficult.  A very few people have a God given ability to hunt well with minimal learning.  It is almost intuitive for them.  My gut tells me it's a genetic trait, which makes a lot of sense if you put a few minutes of thought into it.  For people like me, who had that genetic trait bred out of their family lineage over the last few thousand years, hunting is a skill that needs to be learned. 

So when you accept the fact that you want to learn a new skill, the next question is:  How do you choose to go about it.  The tried and true method involves a family member showing you the ropes, or a friend who is already skilled taking the time to take you out and acting as a substitute family member.  There are endless books and videos.  There's the old "time in the woods" adage that is thrown about so frequently.  All are valid ways to learn.  Remember though, there will likely never come a day when you do not learn something new as you hunt, or understand that what you thought was right, might only be right on certain occasions.  Never stop learning.

So you have to accept the fact that you've chosen one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, big game animal in North America to hunt.  From the outset, you have to accept the fact that the odds are against you.  BT bucks, by nature, choose to live in the darkest nastiest most inaccessible areas in their daily lives.  From late August/early September until mid - late October (in other words, most of the hunting season), they stay bedded all day long, rising only to pee and stretch out a bit.  They are masters at hiding and bed so that the winds and surrounding vegetation or terrain will alert them to danger.  Once the velvet is off their antlers, they will almost never be seen in daylight.  They leave their beds just before dark and go back to bed in the morning just as it starts to get light. 

There is only the relatively short period of time in late-October to December when the does are receptive, that the bucks' sex drive overwhelm their desire to stay safe.  In order to find the does, the bucks are going to have to do a bit of travelling, most of it is at night, but come late October, they'll be risking some daytime travel as well.  They still stick to their normal hidden trails and stay close to cover at all times, but the fact that they are moving during the day makes them vulnerable to hunters.  If you're lucky person, you might find yourself in a situation where you're glassing an area and find a buck that is tight to a hot doe.  He will follow her anywhere and everywhere.  He'll go stand out in broad daylight right next to her as she feeds.  If you look closely at that doe, you'll notice her tail sticks straight out when she is in heat.   If you see a doe with her tail sticking straight out, don't you dare take your eyes off her.  Mr. buck is probably very close by, or will come along shortly.

Otherwise, you should be asking yourself, where do I expect those bucks to travel in search of does?  Do some research on deer funnels, find a topo map and/or satellite photo of the area you hunt and try to figure out where the pinch points are.  Scout them out as you hunt, look for sign, follow trails, etc, etc,... These are the areas you might consider hunting on the last few days of the month. 

If the weather is really really bad and windy, the forest noise overwhelms their senses.  They cant hear or smell normally, so they are reliant on sight.  The deer will often go to into reprod or go stand up in holes in the forest where they feel safer, and can watch for predators.  These are the best BT hunting days.  If you know what time a storm is going to hit, you can pre-position yourself to catch the deer as they exit the timber and head into reprod.  You can also hunt the leeward side of a ridgeline, where the deer will seek shelter from the winds.  Trial and error.  It's a great way to learn.

If all else fails, find a good patch of 5 - 8 y/o reprod where you can get a good view in between large areas of trees.  Glass till your eyes bleed.  There's almost always deer in them.  You just have to find them. 
 
As for me, I hunted Mason and Kitsap in the last two days.  I can't believe the amount of fresh sign I see on the ground, at least in comparison to 506 and 530.  I feel like there should be a deer sitting everywhere I look.  No new rubs, and I saw no deer at all in the two days I hunted.  I saw three does and bumped one unknown on Friday while ML elking down south.  That is it for the past six days/two weeks of hunting.   Still very slow.  I had a great time though!  Heading south tomorrow - I'm missing the kids.

Just wanted to comment that this was a bad ass write up. Thanks for taking the time to put your words to (digital) paper.

I'm also addicted to blacktail hunting right now, not coming up with a lot of success, and these words help a guy to keep going.