blacktail deer pre-rut

[RadSav]

Cola negra son impresionantes

[fishnfur]

I've seen them running really low and fast trying to escape cats and bear.  Happened just this early archery season with benchleg does and a bear.  Can't say I've seen that from a simple miss/stutter step I've made.

I have seen young bucks move off semi-rapidly in a crouched position giving a wide birth to a dominant buck.  All the time being vocal in what I call an acceptance bawl/bleat.  Seen that a lot during rut.  Always figured that was a young bucks way of saying, "Sorry.  Just passing through.  Please don't kill me."

Not sure if any of those things are similar to what you experienced.  I still seem to learn something new from these creatures every year.  One of my favorite animals!

After re-reading this, I'm forced to further question an event that happened just before the start of my first hunting season.  I was out marking trails in the woods so that I could walk in dark to my planned spot on opening day.  I was working my way through trails in Salmonberry in a wet area that separated a large Alder Bench and a 200 ft incline up to the next bench.  I was working very slowly and likely very quietly.  As I was finishing up, I reversed my course back a few steps to the Alder and as I stepped into the open, an animal comes flying out of a hole in the swordfern, zig zags around my position and tears off into the distance.  It freaked me out.  My instinct at the time was that it was a cougar.  It ran completely crouched, belly almost on the ground, eyes wide (and possibly yellow), wet gray fur. I remember seeing just a blur of legs, like those in a TV cartoon, as the character makes a hasty exit.  I threw my arms up in the air, starting yelling as loud as I could, and ran right at the thing as it scrambled to get away.   Being positive that was a cougar, I'm sure you can imagine that I was pretty freaked out for that entire first season walking in the woods solo in the dark. I was sure that it had been watching me from perhaps 10 yards away, and my sudden reversal of course sent it into escape mode. 

Last year, after experiencing the second event of seeing three bucks sprinting in the same crouched fashion, it made me question that original encounter.  As it turned out, the two events occurred maybe just a quarter-mile away, but on opposite sides of a creek from each other.  If the first event was a deer and not cat, I wonder if that is a learned or perhaps instinctive behavior for Blacktail, or a just local phenomenon.  What is the trigger that tells them to crouch and sprint vs. the stotting/bounding escape mode more typically displayed??  I've researched escaped modalities of ungulates on the web on several occasions.  Nothing is ever mentioned about crouched sprinting.  I even emailed Eric Holder, the WDFW Biologiest/Blacktail specialist.  He had heard stories of slow belly crawling by BTs, but not sprinting.    I'm sure I'll never know.

[fishnfur]

Back to the rut.   Anybody seeing anything? 

My backyard cams have been dead for about a week, which is weird.  Apples all over the ground and no takers at all. It does look like they're browsing apple tree leaves in preference to apples.  I'm noticing new damage.

This AM at first light, I went out to a community walking trail where I frequently see see doe and bucks.  Absolutely dead.  I would expect that during this late moon phase, deer would be up and feeding past first light.  If most of the doe were in the midst of a "lockdown" type situation, I'd at least be seeing fawns and yearlings up and about.  I'm wondering if mid-day feedings may be the best time to spot a buck in tow?

[Blacktail Sniper]

Right around 6:00 last evening there was a real nice two-point just focused on a doe right next to the Littlerock Grocery Store, in the yard area between the store and the Church.

Tall forks that I don't think started forking until past his ears, and decent body size on him, so he was a mature buck...acting like a horney teenager!

[deerhunter_98520]

With 2 does right now in the middle of a big cut

[blackveltbowhunter]

He is getting after it! Deer hunter how was your season?

[deerhunter_98520]

Tbh the worst season to date....the last day of the season was the first day I seen any rut activity in my area...weather and number of hunters really messed it up....leaving for Idaho on Friday and trying to figure out if I'm gonna come back a couple days early to hunt late buck

[blackveltbowhunter]

Sorry to hear that! Good luck in Idaho!

[fishnfur]

Geeze, I hope I don't have to refund all those nickles! 

Good luck in Idaho!

[RadSav]

Tbh the worst season to date....the last day of the season was the first day I seen any rut activity in my area...weather and number of hunters really messed it up....

Even with the tree farm pass it was that way this year.  Saw about half the deer we usually do.  Over half our usual buck spots are now completely dead enormous clearcuts.  And you would have thought they eliminated the permits and went back to public access.  I'd bet we saw more hunters than we had the five years prior to the start of permits.  That and the moon really seemed to keep those bucks nocturnal.

After archery season we were very optimistic.  Haven't seen deer numbers, or buck numbers for that matter, that good inside the tree farm in about 15 years.  That moon, weather and hunter numbers...they sure disappeared for general!

I swear Weyco found my daily hunt list and decided, "Hey, lets rape every batch of timer this sorry SOB likes to hunt.  And let's do it all at one time.  He'll spend more time whining than hunting.  It will be hilarious!!!"

[predatorG]

All our bucks were out during the day super early, and are now back to nocturnal 

[Big6bull]

Early in the season I saw 15 deer on one of those 70 degreee days. Passed several bucks. Shot a nice forky with eyegaurds the next day. Went to same area yesterday didn’t see a single deer. I always see a few day stretch each year after that pre rut seemed to land on last few days of the season this year.

[deerhunter_98520]

Tbh the worst season to date....the last day of the season was the first day I seen any rut activity in my area...weather and number of hunters really messed it up....

Even with the tree farm pass it was that way this year.  Saw about half the deer we usually do.  Over half our usual buck spots are now completely dead enormous clearcuts.  And you would have thought they eliminated the permits and went back to public access.  I'd bet we saw more hunters than we had the five years prior to the start of permits.  That and the moon really seemed to keep those bucks nocturnal.

After archery season we were very optimistic.  Haven't seen deer numbers, or buck numbers for that matter, that good inside the tree farm in about 15 years.  That moon, weather and hunter numbers...they sure disappeared for general!

I swear Weyco found my daily hunt list and decided, "Hey, lets rape every batch of timer this sorry SOB likes to hunt.  And let's do it all at one time.  He'll spend more time whining than hunting.  It will be hilarious!!!"

This sounds all too familiar....over the last 2 months they have been punching in roads and landings into all my good spots ..so I'm sure that hasn't helped at all either...I guess we'll see what late buck brings if I come home....I have seen 5 shooter bucks in the last 48hrs so things are looking up I suppose 

[blackveltbowhunter]

Nice that's awesome! Hope  you get to fill some Idaho tags early and get back to hook up with one of those dudes.

[fishnfur]

BTW 98520 - Nice pic.  I remember you've got a Vortex spotting scope.  Is that the 60mm aperture model?  You sure get some good/fun images from distance.