What method has been most successful for you Blacktail hunting Archery / ML?

[JasonG]

Hello all, I know I'm on here a lot. This will be my second deer season ever and I've been scouting my A$$ off the last few months. I have two areas picked out to hunt in and both are in a centerfire free zone, aka Archery, Muzzleloader, etc..I have bought a tree stand and I'm still trying to get it all figured out. I still hunted last year and was very humbled. Curious what method you guys and girls have had with hunting blacktail? Thanks, Jason

[Blacktail_Slayer]

Tree stand and blind.

[Twispriver]

I grew up shooting clear cut balcktails, back then I was what we called a stump sitter - wait and watch and let the deer move to you. I switched to mule deer hunting for about 25 years but since the Methow tanked I have been back to hunting blacktails. For the last couple of years I have been trying sitting over bait and if I didn't have nice bucks on the camera killing does and spikes in the archery season would be easy. The big disclaimer that may make my experience different than yours is that I own a farm and private timber land which eliminates competition and pressure. If you have access to a low pressure area I'd at least give it a try.

[JakeLand]

Muzzle loader late season would be spot and stalk or still hunt old decommissioned roads

[Stein]

From my experience, the best odds are to run logging roads fast and hope to hit one and jump out and put a salvage tag on it.  Other than that, they aren't easy to find or shoot.

I have always thought that if a guy takes a legal blacktail on public land year after year that he is at the top of the hunting game anywhere in the world.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I don't really hunt deer, if I get a deer it is usually while bowhunting elk.
Area I hunt is any deer, and them damn *censored*s like to taunt me until I decide to stick one.
I buy a tag, just because of this.
But if I was actually after them, it would be with a modern tag during the last week of Oct., or Late buck .
That's when I see the most bucks.
But does taste great!

[headshot5]

With archery, I know a few guys that get a rifle tag, and just use their bow and arrow during the last week in October. 

[pianoman9701]

tagging

[Ridgerunner]

I think your tree stand option is your best bet. 

[Smith_22]

Tree Stand+muzzy/shotgun during mod firearm season.  Scout now with cameras so you know what is in the area.  During the last few days of Oct those bucks will start moving during daylight hours and having pictures of what is in the area will help keep your butt in the seat.  If you are used to still hunting the drive to get down out of the tree and start creeping will be strong!

[fishnfur]

     Good answer there. 

Until it starts raining, still hunting quietly is really difficult in the dry woods.  Often, the real rains don't start until around the time of the MF season.  Sitting still in a high traffic area, whether in a ground blind, in a tree stand, or just hidden in the brush may yield more deer sightings during the early season.  A true spot and stalk for Blackies seems to be a rarely used tactic due to the animals propensity to vaporize into the surrounding jungle.  Plenty of hunters attempt to trail a buck if they can find it's tracks after spotting it though.  If I see a buck outside my effective shooting range, I generally watch and hope that it works it's way towards me.  I likely try to call it with rattling, grunting, or by using a can call.  If you blow a stalk and that deer recognizes that you are hunting him, he will likely be much harder to locate until well later in the season when he is chasing does. 

The more seasons I get under my belt, the less I tend to move in the woods.  You can make a little noise occasionally while you're hunting during the pre-rut, but just a little too much, or a little too frequent (non-deer) noise will make any close-by deer completely nervous and cause them to bolt.  They'll be long gone before you realized that you were even close.  You just see nothing.  I see this over and over again on my trail cam vids - deer in a total panic run from God knows what.  They don't wait around to find out what is causing the noise.

Hang in there and keep working your techniques.  Every season gets a little easier and things make a little more sense.  I'll make a case here for buying a slug gun (with a rifled barrel), which I prefer to ML hunting in firearm restricted areas.  Savage 220 - Not too expensive if you shop around.  (I got mine used, but it looked brand new and came in the original box.  It had just been shot a couple times).  Good to 200 yards with the right ammo, easy to carry, easy on the shoulder. 

Here's a simple article with some other good ideas.
https://www.columbian.com/news/2014/oct/01/outdoors-tactics-hunting-blacktail-deer/

[ljsommer]

I am kind of getting the sense that few people attempt to archery hunt blacktail on archery opener. How many folks are going out today?

[NorseNW]

I'll be out this evening.  Not a huge fan of the 80 weather but I tagged out on the second day last year just hitting the last light hunt as they are moving out to feed in the evening.  Mainly just getting out to shake out the cobwebs for elk opener next weekend but not a bad reason to at least get out there. 

As to the OP I still hunt / spot and stalk.  I'm not greatly successful but I enjoy it.

[dilleytech]

Anyone have much success in this early archery season for true blacktail? In my experience baiting them is a waste of time where I live. They would rather eat the natural food source then cob or apples. And we have so many bears that any bait just gets hit immediately. My plan is to just work areas I think they may be living very slowly.

[pd]

“Rifle-free zone” doesn’t automatically mean you should hunt the archery or muzzleloader season.

Like what Fish&Fur said, a slugged shotgun works very well, especially if you scope it. I find a slow walk with a rifle tag in late October with a bow to be the most fun. I am just as successful with the bow as with the slug gun. YMMV.

[blackveltbowhunter]

Are you talking rifle season in firearm restricted area, or Muzzy/Archery seasons? I have had the best luck still hunting or tracking in quiet woods late seasons or in snow. This is due nearly 100 percent to time managment and when I spend it. I love winter caped bucks and spend my time focusing on them later.  I beleive the best time to kill one is right now.

[brew]

I am kind of getting the sense that few people attempt to archery hunt blacktail on archery opener. How many folks are going out today?

there are more people out there than you think.  took my son's father in law out last year opening day and took him until 9:30 to kill one.  He tagged out this morning at 8:23.  saw a couple yotes but couldn't get a shot at them.  jumped 2 grouse walking in to recover his deer.  It's not that hard if you are not particular.  Back home recharging the batteries and will head out in a couple hours for the evening shoot

[ljsommer]

I am impressed. I have no idea how to make this work. I drove half the day and saw one doe. Incredible clearcuts and amazing habitat, just no deer.

[ljsommer]

Spent some time elk hunting this weekend and saw no elk but counted 19 deer, all does and fawns. Are the bucks just nocturnal at this time of the year? I was shocked that I didn't see a single buck.

[npaull]

Seeing a branched blacktail buck in the September archery season is only slightly more likely than seeing bigfoot. I hunt the early season with my bow every year. I could LITERALLY count on one hand the number of branched bucks I've seen during hunting hours in September over 15+ seasons. Literally.

When it's crunchy still hunting is almost futile, but I'll still walk old roads slowly. I've stumbled on more than a few does and small bucks who were being stupid just long enough to get a shot off with my recurve before they bolt.

Once it starts raining and the ground is wet I still hunt clearcuts super, super slowly. Remember - it's STILL hunting. The goal isn't to move towards the deer. It's to be in a spot where the deer will move towards YOU. A lot of guys get this wrong and think still hunting means walking around until you bump one. Rarely works except for those "got lucky" scenarios I just described.

Tree stands are very effective but it can be hard to find a place that's a reliable producer day after day like you can with whitetail. There's food everywhere. There's water everywhere. There's cover everywhere. Hard to pattern an animal that has that kind of habitat.

Best advice for bow season: Find a closed road that runs between a 4-8 yo cut on one side and a 10-15 yo cut on the other. Be on that road before dawn when it's raining, and walk it slowly and as quietly as you can. If you can manage to only have neoprene booties on your feet you can be super stealthy. You'll encounter deer moving from one side to the other as day breaks. Reverse pattern as the sun sets. It can be super deadly.

[ljsommer]

Ok thank you for confirming my observations! I thought it was crazy that none of these does seem to have any concern for their personal safety, yet the bucks are entirely nocturnal!

[fishnfur]

Seeing a branched blacktail buck in the September archery season is only slightly more likely than seeing bigfoot. I hunt the early season with my bow every year. I could LITERALLY count on one hand the number of branched bucks I've seen during hunting hours in September over 15+ seasons. Literally.

When it's crunchy still hunting is almost futile, but I'll still walk old roads slowly. I've stumbled on more than a few does and small bucks who were being stupid just long enough to get a shot off with my recurve before they bolt.

Once it starts raining and the ground is wet I still hunt clearcuts super, super slowly. Remember - it's STILL hunting. The goal isn't to move towards the deer. It's to be in a spot where the deer will move towards YOU. A lot of guys get this wrong and think still hunting means walking around until you bump one. Rarely works except for those "got lucky" scenarios I just described.

Tree stands are very effective but it can be hard to find a place that's a reliable producer day after day like you can with whitetail. There's food everywhere. There's water everywhere. There's cover everywhere. Hard to pattern an animal that has that kind of habitat.

Best advice for bow season: Find a closed road that runs between a 4-8 yo cut on one side and a 10-15 yo cut on the other. Be on that road before dawn when it's raining, and walk it slowly and as quietly as you can. If you can manage to only have neoprene booties on your feet you can be super stealthy. You'll encounter deer moving from one side to the other as day breaks. Reverse pattern as the sun sets. It can be super deadly.

That's a ton of good advice in just a few words.  Well done npaull!

If you haven't already done so, re/re-read the Hunter's Bible (Iverson).  He well describes the nature of the mature Blactail buck.  In the early season, any close by non-deer noise will put them on instant alert.  Multiple occurrences of non-deer noises may cause them to leave the area immediately.  They don't hang around and wonder what is making the noise.  They just go, and you never knew they were there (at all).  Older, well hidden bucks are also well known for holding tight to cover and letting you  just walk by, completely unaware that they are there. 

You're eyes should be working any low cover below the two foot level.  Try sitting the the sword ferns sometime - in spots you can be totally hidden, even sitting upright.  Deer are bedded down most of the day and typically hidden in foliage (sword fern, Vine Maple, etc) or behind some other obscuring item (tree, log, etc.) and that is where you should be looking as you slowly inch your way through the woods.  Examine every possible hiding spots for anything that might be a small part of a bigger deer (antler tips, flick of an ear, horizontal line of the back)  You'll likely only see a small part of the animal.  Your brain must try to identify that small bit as possibly being part of a bigger animal.  You'll be amazed the first time that it works out for you and suddenly, there is an animal right there that moments before you couldn't see at all.  Talk about an Ah Ha moment!  Later in the season, the bucks will be up moving more during the day and it gets a bit easier.

Closer to the rut,

[fishnfur]

I am kind of getting the sense that few people attempt to archery hunt blacktail on archery opener. How many folks are going out today?

there are more people out there than you think.  took my son's father in law out last year opening day and took him until 9:30 to kill one.  He tagged out this morning at 8:23.  saw a couple yotes but couldn't get a shot at them.  jumped 2 grouse walking in to recover his deer.  It's not that hard if you are not particular.  Back home recharging the batteries and will head out in a couple hours for the evening shoot

I agree with that comment about not being that hard, with the caveat being that the deer population is robust in the area you're hunting, and that you have a good guide (like Brew) to put you in a spot where you're likely to see deer.  Going out as a novice and unguided in Ryderwood from the Columbia River side - you might disagree with sentiment pretty strongly after a couple of days of seeing nothing.

[ljsommer]

I heard that this time of year in ravine heavy areas the bucks are low, as opposed to high on ridges. Any confirmation? I am thinking of doing some steep hikes to check it out myself.

[TriggerMike]

Road hunting is actually pretty effective for blacktails. Especially on really rainy days.

[ljsommer]

Someone should tell that to those deer down in Aberdeen....

[WSU]

Deer in the Olympia area were up and moving around today after the hawks game. Probably the break in the rain.

[Turner89]

I usually find a cleacut where I can get up high and glass. I'll concentrate on finding a doe first. Then I keep track of them. They will let you know if anything else is in the cut or coming in. They also give you confidence that you haven't been detected yet.