Blacktail Harvest ? clear cut or deep timber?

[JasonG]

Hello everyone, I was trying to figure out where to spend most of my time hunting blacktail. I have spent some time glassing clear cuts with little success. Most of my time has been in dark timber on game trails with fresh scat and scrapes. I'm still coming up empty-handed. Where do you guys and girls tend to harvest your blacktails? Thanks, Jason

[flyfishWA]

clearcuts that are almost to brushy to glass in the morning and evenings and big timber in the middle of the day.

[slowhand]

Tag
I think about this dilemma every time I am out. Should I be over a clear cut?
Should I be in the timber? 

[Tiger1358]

Tag
I think about this dilemma every time I am out. Should I be over a clear cut?
Should I be in the timber?

Not necessarily over the clear cut, as long as you can see the whole cut to spot and shoot them that'd be just fine

[Griiz]

My advice is find an area with sign and sit and wait in whatever stand situation is best for the area. Put your time in and you will fill your tag.

[fishnfur]

The age old question.  Where should I be.  It's very easy to second guess your plan once you're committed and sitting there looking at nothing.  Either of your ideas might be successful for you on any given day.  There's no right answer.

Remember, BTs live along the edges (or in clearcuts with enough cover for them to feel safe hiding in there all day).  RadSav says the does move into the alder this time of the season to feed on the green falling leaves.  I'm confident he's correct on that.  Where the does go, the bucks will follow, though the bucks may stay hidden/traveling inside the edge cover waiting for a doe to show herself before they expose themselves, or if they are tending, they may follow a doe out as she feeds. Hunting out in the alder is tough.  There's deer out there, buy you are entirely exposed if you're out there, and alder forests are very noisy to try and hunt quietly with all the limbs/twigs all over the ground.

Hunting edges, whether big conifer/young reprod clearcut, big conifer/Alder, 15 year-old reprod/Alder, etc. are all likely places to find does close to feeding areas.  Finding and hunting areas with fresh sign improves your odds greatly though a buck can show up anywhere and anytime this time of year.  Staying hidden or still hunting inside or along any edge where you can observe does heading out to feed or bucks traveling in search of does (perhaps 20 - 75 yards inside the edge)  is another plan you should have up your sleeve. 

Also, don't forget that the old overgrown gated forest road is a perennial favorite  of many hunters.  Findiing one that has two radically different age classes or types of trees (or reprod) on either side of the road might be a winning ticket.

If it's me - these coastal forests have too much hemlock in the big timber to be effective there, so I'm hunting reprod in the AM - focusing on the edges where I expect deer to be moving back into the timber.  If no sightings after a couple hours, I'm moving to a different reprod unit or moving to still hunt some edge through mid-day (in conjunction with can calls and rattling).  Then it's time to make a decision what to do for the evening.  Probably back to reprod if I know there's a healthy doe population there.   Good luck!

[Shaqdiesel]

Tagging along

[JasonG]

The age old question.  Where should I be.  It's very easy to second guess your plan once you're committed and sitting there looking at nothing.  Either of your ideas might be successful for you on any given day.  There's no right answer.

Remember, BTs live along the edges (or in clearcuts with enough cover for them to feel safe hiding in there all day).  RadSav says the does move into the alder this time of the season to feed on the green falling leaves.  I'm confident he's correct on that.  Where the does go, the bucks will follow, though the bucks may stay hidden/traveling inside the edge cover waiting for a doe to show herself before they expose themselves, or if they are tending, they may follow a doe out as she feeds. Hunting out in the alder is tough.  There's deer out there, buy you are entirely exposed if you're out there, and alder forests are very noisy to try and hunt quietly with all the limbs/twigs all over the ground.

Hunting edges, whether big conifer/young reprod clearcut, big conifer/Alder, 15 year-old reprod/Alder, etc. are all likely places to find does close to feeding areas.  Finding and hunting areas with fresh sign improves your odds greatly though a buck can show up anywhere and anytime this time of year.  Staying hidden or still hunting inside or along any edge where you can observe does heading out to feed or bucks traveling in search of does (perhaps 20 - 75 yards inside the edge)  is another plan you should have up your sleeve. 

Also, don't forget that the old overgrown gated forest road is a perennial favorite  of many hunters.  Findiing one that has two radically different age classes or types of trees (or reprod) on either side of the road might be a winning ticket.

If it's me - these coastal forests have too much hemlock in the big timber to be effective there, so I'm hunting reprod in the AM - focusing on the edges where I expect deer to be moving back into the timber.  If no sightings after a couple hours, I'm moving to a different reprod unit or moving to still hunt some edge through mid-day (in conjunction with can calls and rattling).  Then it's time to make a decision what to do for the evening.  Probably back to reprod if I know there's a healthy doe population there.   Good luck!

thank you for all the great info and for taking the time to write it !!Thanks Jason