How often do blacktail go to water?

[ljsommer]

Hello,

   New hunter here; last year was my first season. I have access to a small patch of land (40ish acres) that has lots of blacktail beds, but the only access to water come late summer will be a river that's about .75 miles adjusted for pathing (IE: not "as the crow flies").
Is this too far from water or will the deer migrate when thirsty?

Thank you,

[7mmfan]

That's a hop and a skip for a deer. If they like the bedding area, they'll be there. A side note, blacktail get a significant amount of their water intake from their forage. That time of year grasses and big leafy plants hold a ton of water. Doesn't mean they don't need to supplement it, but it's not as critical for blacktail as say mule deer and elk.

[fishnfur]

Good answer 7mm. 

It seems to me that during the dry months, they make the water run in the dark. The trails are pretty easy to find. Sometimes you might see bucks heading back uphill to bed (after watering) in the first hour or so of light (while still in velvet).  Once hard-horned, they pretty much just go "poof" - (gone), or are using alternate hidden routes that remain hidden to this observer.
 
With a river that close, you might want to examine any close by ravines or mucky rainstorm drainage areas that drain towards the river.  Look for seeps or hidden water sources closer to bedding areas.  Alder trees often grow in these wetter areas.  It doesn't take much water to supplement their needs.

[buggy]

As was already mentioned,  I dont think blacktail necessarily go searching for water. They generally get plenty from the vegetation. Boyd Iverson writes about it in more detail in Trophy blacktail tactics 2. I would highly recommend every blacktail hunter read it.

[AL WORRELLS KID]

How often do blacktail go to water?
Depends on if they have just come from my Apple Trees or from hitting our Vegetable Garden. 
Now if your talking the young ones...... that would be every couple of hours. 
Doug

[fishnfur]

Ha!  Love that second photo!