Late BT Opener

[ADBuck24]

How was opening day for those of you that were able to get out there? I had to sit at work all day and wonder about what i was missing out on. Was there much activity? I'm mostly curious about the Weyco Vail area and Capital Forest. Hope it was active for everyone! Good Luck!

[elkrack]

I was at work so no hunting for me but received a picture of a nice buck from a friend

[ADBuck24]

That's crappy you were also at work but awesome for your friend. Hopefully activity is high where I'll be.

[dreadi]

I hunted for six hours in Matlock and saw no deer. After that I went to Capitol Forest and also saw no deer.

[MADMAX]

I hunted all day in Quilcene area and the Coyle
saw zero

[Encore 280]

Doe and fawn off Dabob Rd. on state land. Lots of rigs parked at gates and a few road hunters. Headed back in a few minutes.

[Axle]

The weather for this late buck season is not good for BT hunting.

[Deerdad44]

Crazy that I haven't used my rain gear this season, global warming!

[ADBuck24]

I'm about to head out and go sit a big clear cut. hopefully they will be moving. I really hope to get my first blacktail since this is my last BT season..... I'm moving to Arkansas next month. good luck everyone

[screedler]

Heading out to capitol forest today... Just hoping the gate I want to hunt behind is clear...

[GodLovesUgly]

Opening day?  Isn't that next Wednesday? 

Good luck boys.

[dreadi]

Yeah this weather is something else. Warm elk season, warm late deer. Maybe the freeze tonight will get them motivated to move and warm up.

[NWghostgetter]

Hunted mason county all day yesterday and today and not a single deer.  Fresh rubs, tracks a poop galore. Tried everything.  Still hunted the timber, reprod and clearcuts. Glassed, watched straight stretches, rattled, grunted, bleated, nothing. Threw the kitchen sink at them from sun up to sun down, to no avail. Might bite the bullet and bust out the treestand. Good luck to all and keep us posted on how you do.

[ADBuck24]

I sat a large clearcut in Vail. I glassed it for the last 3 hours of light and didn't see a thing. a guy walked by and mentioned that he saw 2 does opening night.

[fishnfur]

Went for a walk without a gun today in 530.  It was actually misty pissing rain all afternoon.  Lots of fresh sign, heard a couple of deer jumping around, saw squat, got wet.  It was better than sitting around the house.

[wt]

Nw ghost hunter. We had the same day it sounds like. And tomorrow I'm bringing my climber. Don't  forget the estrus drag.

[Joyce]

Make that three of us. Hunted hard yesterday and today all day and saw 0 deer after trying everything I could think of. Fresh tracks and recent rubs everywhere.

[ADBuck24]

Went for a walk without a gun today in 530.  It was actually misty pissing rain all afternoon.  Lots of fresh sign, heard a couple of deer jumping around, saw squat, got wet.  It was better than sitting around the house.

You are definitely right about it being better than sitting around the house. I feel like one of the most frustrating things for me is that I have been in fresh sign during the entire seasons for blacktail and still cannot find a damn thing.... I almost feel like it's more discouraging than not finding fresh sign

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Been 6 does and a couple bucks in my driveway this week, of course they will move on by Wednesday...

[DeArBuCK4me]

Good morning to all hunters. I been out since day one of late season and the 407 unit still a hart break. I wont give up until I have that buck I want 4 me. My back is sore and feet are too but I rather be hunting than at work, this is limited time and work is all year long...I like to hear if anyone slew a deer in 407.  Tough unit to hunt...

[Encore 280]

Saw 3 does yesterday state land on Dabob rd. in the Coyle. Been slim pickins though.

[NWghostgetter]

WT, I have 2 scent wicks soaked in estrus ziptie'd to my boots as we speak.

[fishnfur]

Hey NWGhostgetter, long time since we've heard from you (?).  Go kill us a masher!  Good luck!

[MADMAX]

sad state of affairs for late buck, used to be the best days to hunt

3 days
1- 50 lb doe sighting
glassing, walking, driving, sitting
grunts and bleats light rattles
Quil
Hamma Hamma
Coyle
Snow creek

[WapitiTalk1]

Shot my buck on Halloween but spent the last few days helping a buddy get his. Been seeing a few but all came together at the crack of dawn this morn and he put the smack down on a nice buck. 200 yards, shooting an A Bolt .243 off my shooting sticks, the buck went less than 30 yards. Being only 4 months removed from disc surgery, he did darn well with the 2 1/2 mile packout (my buddy, not the buck ..). 

Good luck to all you cats these last few days, they’re definitely tweaking and ripe for the taking.

[WoolyRunner]

Is the rut still on? I saw a 2 pt run down the road in front of me and he didnt look rutty

[WapitiTalk1]

Is the rut still on? I saw a 2 pt run down the road in front of me and he didnt look rutty

Yes, it is still going. Case and point, the buck my friend let the air out of this morning pretty much had his snout up a does wazoo.

[Mossyhorn]

Hunted this morning for a few hours, just glassing some cuts near home here. Saw a few elk on the edge of a clearcut but no deer. Saw about 60 trucks too. I guess I'm too close to home to expect anything else?

On a side note, I saw way too many guys out without any hunter orange. Saw two guys that thought they were playing special OPs or something. Faces all painted up, wearing tac vests and carrying AR type rifles, kinda weird.

[Crunchy]

Blacktails rut different times in different areas.  Where i hunt i expect to kick off in the next few days.  Just started seeing fresh rubs within the last 7-10 days. 

[PolarBear]

Been keeping tabs on 2 bucks for my daughter, one is a monster.  Unfortunately she has pneumonia and hasn't been able to get out after them.  Hopefully tomorrow.  The rut is still on.  Saw a huge 4 point chasing a doe across the road in front of the Sterling Breen Pit by Shaefer Park out of Centralia today and another nice buck pushing at Hawk's Prairie by the dump.

[ruttnbuck]

I was out all day Thursday and Friday passed a 2 point Thursday that was out of my comfort zone ,   Seen a few on Friday and missed another chance later in day due to fog . Both the bucks I seen where by themselves , I seen more rut action during early season then late season so far.  Might try a late afternoon hunt tomorrow and call it a year. 

[dreadi]

I saw hunters way off in the distance but, only bumped the same one twice. We passed each other at the same place in the morning and evening.

In the morning after we talked, a doe crossed my path. I was going to follow her but, she disappeared after I gave her some space. Figuring there had to be a buck near I glasses the 900+ yards ahead of brush and a trail. Didn’t see anything so I gave a low grunt and up pops this buck and starts running the trail uphill toward me. I took cover before he saw me as I was hunting in a firearm restricted area and had a shotgun with me. He didn’t get into a comfortable range before seeing me, quartered, stopped, started and turned to bound away tail up. That was before 9am and I never saw another deer. I worked the area in a big loop and left for another, and came back in the evening. Oh well. There’s still tomorrow.

[fishnfur]

So close Dreadi.....  Dang!  At least you had some excitement.  Good luck tomorrow.

[tritt007]

Super awful couple days here in sw wa where I'm at . Nothing but 20+ mph winds since early this morning and it's supposed to continue ....

[Martinhunter]

I haven't been out in the woods at all for the late hunt due to work and other things but as far as rut activity up here at my house, its been completely dead since Halloween . From October 25th to Halloween it was a absolute rut frenzy but it completely shutdown. I know its still on and now's the time to find a trophy blacktail chasing does but wow this weather has sucked this year.   

[PolarBear]

Went to check on my cows that are due to calve at any moment at about 2:00 this morning and there was a 2 point pushing a doe around my apple tree and across my yard.

[WoolyRunner]

I haven't been out in the woods at all for the late hunt due to work and other things but as far as rut activity up here at my house, its been completely dead since Halloween . From October 25th to Halloween it was a absolute rut frenzy but it completely shutdown. I know its still on and now's the time to find a trophy blacktail chasing does but wow this weather has sucked this year.

Thats what im thinking. 2 buddies of mine tagged out on Halloween and Oct 28th. Nothing since then.

[brokentrail]

Based on the action on my cameras, things got hot and heavy about the 3rd of November as I had bigger bucks on cam that I had never seen.  They disappeared about the 11th and haven't seen them since. One of my boys tagged out last night on a small 2 x 2 and he still smelled a little but didn't reak.  I've left the cans out to try and see if those bigger bucks show up again around the 24th.

[fishnfur]

Good idea brokentrail.  In most years, when we've discussed rutting bucks on cams, we've generally agreed the best dates are somewhere around the 8th - 10th and that they're long gone after about the 12th of Nov., never to be seen again that season.  I've seen the best buck ever in my yard this year on the 14th, and another 3 pt. came in at night on the 16th, so that rule has been stretched or broken already.  In my yard, in the middle of semi-rural suburbia, the does come and go all year but bucks only show in Spring when the apple trees leaf out, and during just a few days in mid- late Oct, and around 8 - 10 November.  They seem to come in as situations dictate, not just willy nilly (The current situation indicates that at least on the 14th, there still seemed to be enough hot does around to justify a big buck walking around in broad daylight at 0830 AM in the hood - very unusual behavior here).
 
The number of bucks that might suddenly show up around the 21st (or so) will likely be far less than that seen earlier in the month, because there should be fewer hot does drifting scent around.  Here, I'd be surprised if I saw a single buck that late in Nov., though dates of prior activity indicate that it should be happening to some extent.

[TimBaleia]

I have a nice 4x4 BT buck in my front yard. saw him a month ago last time )
Hope he came back on 21st ).

P.S. Can I join someone on on late archery?

[Old Man Yager]

Opening day spotted a stud 2 point for my son, bedded in a clear cut. Got him all set up, and waited for the buck to stand. After about 45 min, my son says he had a good shot at the Bucks neck. So, my dumb ass lets him try to shoot it bedded. Missed him, I was so pissed at myself for letting him shoot. Learned a hard lesson for both of us, should have attempted to get the deer to stand, or wait him out.

[dreadi]

I hunted public land and was in place pre dawn, same place I saw the buck yesterday. Boy was it cold for a while. I never saw him in the 3+ hours I sat there. I gave a grunt every 20 minutes. No action. By this point it's after 10am and I'm thinking it's time to move, so I do. A mile later I finally see vehicles piling up at the gate. Glad I moved, I kept hunting my way up a hill and glassed around. All the hunting groups looked up and saw me and kept moving the way I had come from. Then it got hot...never thought I'd say 56 degrees is hot. I'm from Florida.  I hit the hills and timer and followed some tracks for a couple hours.

Then I got a text about an opening to hunt the private land an hour+ away that I've got my two deer on in the past three years. So I bust out around 1pm and get there by 3pm after stopping for a meal. Had a good time, saw a mess load of rubs but, no bucks.  Glad I have a multi-season tag.

[NWghostgetter]

Well, struck out this year. Yesterday was the most productive as a I actually laid eyes on some deer. 2 does. One in the corner of some reprod and one in the road as I was moving to new territory. They didnt seem to be hot but I watched each one as long as possible just in case there was a buck bringing up the rear. Notta. Weather was my biggest enemy this year. I know the bucks are there but where I hunt its thick! Either 30 year old tight timber or 20' tall reprod with with chest-high salal. Combine that with dead-still days and frozen ground, no matter how slow you go it sounds like walking on a bag of Tim's chips. Next seasons planning starts now.

[BigTines]

I went out yesterday. Absolutely dead. I’m starting to think the end of early season (oct 28-31) is a better bet.

[trophyhunt]

really dead yesterday with my dad in hancock, we did see a 2 point buck early in the morning but it was way too thick to get a shot for him.  We both have multi tags so hopefully I can find him one in the near future.

[Justdecent]

I’m 100% with bigtines.  Even when the weather wasn’t favorable, the 26-31 were by far the best days. Late season was absolutely dead in 501. I was seeing bucks throughout the entire regular season.

[The Marquis]

To answer the original question, my Late BT opener was quite good.  Got myself a 3 pt buck 20 minutes in.

[kball4]

Mason and Kitsap were dead, ended by streak.

[dilleytech]

Girlfriend got a good buck nov 15th and from what I could tell and from what I saw that day I would say they were done by then.