Help first time black tail hunting SW WA modern general season

[bowshot1994]

Afternoon everyone,
I'm new to the site been browsing trying to absorb the info, but not finding what I'm looking for. Been out trying to track down a buck this season and I'm having no luck. Was hoping someone could point me in the right direction for general season unit to go stop around in and what I should be looking for. I've found alot of elk....Haha I have a feeling during elk season I'll find the deer but prefer to atleast bring some meat home this year. I appreciate all hints/tips/tricks and whatever else I get. Many thanks in advance.

Update,  got one any buck is any buck. He will eat good and I'm pretty happy first season blacktail hunting, first blacktail, and after 3hrs of packing I send out many thanks to Bud the guy to give me a lift. Always amazing to meet other sportsmen and share stories.

[grousetracker]

did you see any deer during scouting? if so the last 4 days of early season is your time, find clearcuts behind gates and be patient.

[tritt007]

Hunt in the rain , definetly be out this coming weekend , especially if it's raining , glass glass glass and when your eyes hurt glass some more . And if it's raining you should definetly be out hunting , never overlook reprod you think is "to thick too see into" find yourself a vantage point because there IS deer in there , and last but not least glass and hunt in the rain . I saw about 6 does this weekend with no bucks , this coming weekend should hopefully be a different story never waste the last week of general deer season or late season !  And dont get discouraged , they don't call them grey ghosts for nothin . 

[bowshot1994]

Thanks for all the tips, are they generally a lower elevation or higher or ot doesnt matter to them?

[Goshawk]

 

Hunt in the rain , definetly be out this coming weekend , especially if it's raining , glass glass glass and when your eyes hurt glass some more . And if it's raining you should definetly be out hunting , never overlook reprod you think is "to thick too see into" find yourself a vantage point because there IS deer in there , and last but not least glass and hunt in the rain . I saw about 6 does this weekend with no bucks , this coming weekend should hopefully be a different story never waste the last week of general deer season or late season !  And dont get discouraged , they don't call them grey ghosts for nothin . 

 
The nastier the better weather wise. You can work timber and thickets alike with enough cover noise from bad weather.  Once in an area that looks right, slow it down; way down. Three super slow steps at a time then hold position for several minutes looking for every possible "part of a deer". Look for that horizontal line of the back, black nose, a flicker of an ear, the white patch inside the rear legs.  Work it slow and with purpose.  There's a reason most of my deer have powder burns when shot during storms. Look at every patch of timber, clear cut, and draw as if it holds a deer, and don't give up on it till you prove it otherwise.
It's not 1,000 yard shooting, but it sure is hunting.

[buggy]

Agree with what everyone else said. My brother and I always say that if you aren't completely soaked and miserable then you probably won't kill a blacktail.

[bowshot1994]

So just to summarise.......the worse the weather the better due to noose/scent control, storms get them out of the beds....look for rubs/sign anywhere....

Side thought where do they tend to rub? Certain trees? Smaller trees how high can these black tail reach for rubs? 3 or 4 ft off ground? Less?

Go crazy slow and use a magnifying glass under every leaf........

Another side thought what sort of cover do they prefer...? Marsh...swamp..timber....brush.....thickets you cant see through?

They feed in claercuts ish.....like 5year old ones where it's got lots of cover and you cant see well from the roads but from elevation you can and so basically  thick clear cut as of trees but not the underbrush/ferns yet.......?

I'll be darned if I dont get one of these little devils haha....

Another q, when is a good time to use doe in heat urine? Does that work on blacktail like whitetails? Heard the rut was kicking off early this year....any thoughts on that?

[bowshot1994]

Updated!

[lokidog]

 

[fishnfur]

Awesome!  Many people, me included go several years without success when first starting.  I suggest that if you have the time, get back out in the woods (without a rifle, but wearing hunter orange) and continue to work on your craft as the deer start to move more towards the onset of the rut.   Try to understand what the deer are doing, when they are doing it, and why.  That is how you become a good hunter.  In the winter, get out and scout.  Look for rubs, trails, and other indications of recent deer activity.  You will learn a lot.

Many hunters who have early success go out the over the next many years and do the same thing as they did during their first success, and then fail, over and over.  I saw one hunter post that he had gone seventeen years since his last successful hunt.   Now is the perfect time to learn more.

Congrats on your success.

[bowshot1994]

Yap been out basically every chance I can since to try and help buddy get his, but also taking note of every sign and such I can....gotta love onx

[CougHunter]

What's the best way to find reprod? I'm also one of those "new hunters that go several years without success." I'm hoping to finally break the tag soup streak as the rut starts up this year.

[Eric M]

What's the best way to find reprod? I'm also one of those "new hunters that go several years without success." I'm hoping to finally break the tag soup streak as the rut starts up this year.

One of the Onx map layers can give you some of this information.

[CougHunter]

I've been using OnX for a couple years now and really like it. I'm not sure what layers would find reprod except for the burn layer, which doesn't seem to be too up to date in my area.

Dumb question, but do you just use OnX to look for more open areas in the forest, or is there another layer for reprod that I'm overlooking?

[Eric M]

I've been using OnX for a couple years now and really like it. I'm not sure what layers would find reprod except for the burn layer, which doesn't seem to be too up to date in my area.

Dumb question, but do you just use OnX to look for more open areas in the forest, or is there another layer for reprod that I'm overlooking?

Ill open ot up in a bit to look, but i know there is one that tells you when the trees were cut or when ot was thinned.

[fishnfur]

What's the best way to find reprod? I'm also one of those "new hunters that go several years without success." I'm hoping to finally break the tag soup streak as the rut starts up this year.

Google Earth (GE) is great for finding reprod, but the sat. photos can be several years old, so you have to extrapolate sometimes.  It takes a bit of experience in comparing GE photos to on-site viewing in a cut to understand what the trees on GE need to look like.  Typically, once you can start to see individual trees, the spot is just getting good.  When you can see actual tree shapes on sat. photos, the trees are too big.

Here's a cut that is 6 - 7 year old trees.  The photo is a year old, so the trees are a year younger in the pic .  It is perfect this year.  Tree sizes vary from 5 feet (Grand Fir) to maybe 12 - 14 feet (Doug Fir).   Next year it will be much harder to hunt as the trees get bigger.  Down in SW WA, by year 8 after planting, hunting is getting really tough.  The trees may be 15 - 20 feet tall.

The second photo is the same cut a year earlier (2017).  It was very huntable and held deer during the day, but there was too little cover for heavy day use (in my eyes).   If you knew where the trails/funnels were that the deer used, you could find deer in there.  Even this year, many of those funnels are obscured so that they cannot be seen from any distance.

[CougHunter]

That's very helpful. Thanks for the examples! I mostly use OnX for scouting, but I'm going to put more emphasis on GE.