Ideal clear cut age for blacktails?

[chad24n]

That's the type of area that they will bed down in all day and feed in it.  I would much rather find a good vantage point or a spot where several trails intersect and hang the stand here instead of the other pic

100% agree

[JasonG]

Yep, I'm definitely learning that!

[fishnfur]

Regarding your last picture - I find hunting reprod that thick really tough.  I've found that I can't really go into  it an hunt quietly nor effectively.  I would work the big timber around the edges if I found myself there.

A good way to find a likely spot is using Google earth to identify an area that has numerous cuts of various ages going back twenty years of so.  Big timber is a great spot to live for deer, but in huge forested areas with no recent cuts, you often just won't find that many deer living there.  There's not enough browse to support huge numbers of deer.  Once a unit is cut and has a couple years of brush growth, the deer populations rapidly expand in response to the increased food.  If only a single unit is cut, the deer population growth only lasts until the canopy closes and the browse gets hard to come by.  If another very close by unit is cut within a few years of the previous one, then the deer may expand their territory to feed there as the old unit looses it's food and/or their progeny will make that their new home.  When numerous cuts occur in the same general area over a relatively short time (20 -30 years), there's a much better chance that there is a healthy population of deer in the area.  This is especially true if there's alder stands or big timber in the mix of the conglomeration of cuts.   

[JasonG]

Regarding your last picture - I find hunting reprod that thick really tough.  I've found that I can't really go into  it an hunt quietly nor effectively.  I would work the big timber around the edges if I found myself there.

A good way to find a likely spot is using Google earth to identify an area that has numerous cuts of various ages going back twenty years of so.  Big timber is a great spot to live for deer, but in huge forested areas with no recent cuts, you often just won't find that many deer living there.  There's not enough browse to support huge numbers of deer.  Once a unit is cut and has a couple years of brush growth, the deer populations rapidly expand in response to the increased food.  If only a single unit is cut, the deer population growth only lasts until the canopy closes and the browse gets hard to come by.  If another very close by unit is cut within a few years of the previous one, then the deer may expand their territory to feed there as the old unit looses it's food and/or their progeny will make that their new home.  When numerous cuts occur in the same general area over a relatively short time (20 -30 years), there's a much better chance that there is a healthy population of deer in the area.  This is especially true if there's alder stands or big timber in the mix of the conglomeration of cuts.   

Ive been shifting back and forth between google earth and Onxmaps . Looking at the past years to gauge the year of the cut!!

[chad24n]

Regarding your last picture - I find hunting reprod that thick really tough.  I've found that I can't really go into  it an hunt quietly nor effectively.  I would work the big timber around the edges if I found myself there.

A good way to find a likely spot is using Google earth to identify an area that has numerous cuts of various ages going back twenty years of so.  Big timber is a great spot to live for deer, but in huge forested areas with no recent cuts, you often just won't find that many deer living there.  There's not enough browse to support huge numbers of deer.  Once a unit is cut and has a couple years of brush growth, the deer populations rapidly expand in response to the increased food.  If only a single unit is cut, the deer population growth only lasts until the canopy closes and the browse gets hard to come by.  If another very close by unit is cut within a few years of the previous one, then the deer may expand their territory to feed there as the old unit looses it's food and/or their progeny will make that their new home.  When numerous cuts occur in the same general area over a relatively short time (20 -30 years), there's a much better chance that there is a healthy population of deer in the area.  This is especially true if there's alder stands or big timber in the mix of the conglomeration of cuts.   

My experience as well, fishnfur says it better than I

[chad24n]

Here's a pic. I scouted this via satellite and than visited it over the weekend. I saw 4 cows, 1 bull and a velvet buck ALL inside this snap shot area.

[BA Mongor]

The comments about that reprod being to tall to hunt is interesting, as they generally hold the deer and that's where they spend the majority of their time during daylight hours. Finding elevated points to glass into these spots will pay off consistently, with a caveat:

Big Bucks Are Where You Find Them !

[bowhntr]

A vantage point looking into jack furs 5-6 ft tall with about a foot of spacing between their furthest reaching branches and with leafy vegetation  mixed throughout.  Bonus points if it is on the top third of a mountain or a hill.

That would be my pick.

[JimmyHoffa]

The best spots I've seen in reprod are little grassy spots about 10-12 feet wide and maybe 50-75 feet long.  Seems there's usually a few spots that don't get planted and you get that little spot where the deer really like to move through when they're heading out.

[BA Mongor]

Agreed Jimmy H.
I've killed a lot of blacktail bucks in reprod with those little grassy areas. I have 20-year old clear cuts with 15ft. tall in it and consider those spots some of my go to spots every year. They're hard to find, but if you're patient it always pays off with a nice buck.

[JasonG]

Here's a pic. I scouted this via satellite and than visited it over the weekend. I saw 4 cows, 1 bull and a velvet buck ALL inside this snap shot area.

That area looks like a good mix of reprod and timber!! Im learning what to look for now its just find it !!

[JasonG]

I have been checking out areas each weekend , going to take a peek at this area next weekend. Looks like there could be some good habitat?

[chad24n]

I have been checking out areas each weekend , going to take a peek at this area next weekend. Looks like there could be some good habitat?

Yeah, there will be game there for sure... just a matter of whether you 'see' them or not. Move into it slowly and use your glass A LOT. Generally, I will use glass every 10 ft or so assuming that every 10 ft I walk opens up new angles into glassable areas.

[Big6bull]

Food for thought. When I first started hunting blacktails I spend far too much time finding the elusive perfect clear cut age with an even more perfect vantage spot that looks into this cut. I started spending more time in the off season really scouting areas and figure if out the bucks. I am pretty successful every year now. And I don’t thing any of my deer came from the stereotypical deer cut. Let your own scouting determine where and how u hunt. Don’t waste tine finding the perfect described spot.

[JasonG]

Food for thought. When I first started hunting blacktails I spend far too much time finding the elusive perfect clear cut age with an even more perfect vantage spot that looks into this cut. I started spending more time in the off season really scouting areas and figure if out the bucks. I am pretty successful every year now. And I don’t thing any of my deer came from the stereotypical deer cut. Let your own scouting determine where and how u hunt. Don’t waste tine finding the perfect described spot.

Thank you for the insight. Im out scouting different areas every weekend to see what they look like in reality vs google earth etc.. once I find an area that looks remotely decent Ill set a cam and learn the area further. I have gone to a few spots that looked good on the computer screen but were not passable in reality.