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.