2nd Year Hunter Needs advice (blacktail SW WA)

[Janitor123]

Hey All, I've been reading for a few months and just joined up. I grew up in SW WA but never learned to hunt. I took it up last year at the ripe age of 31 and am looking for a community of hunters to bounce things off, so thought I'd come here.

Last year I harvested my first ever animal, a 2pt blacktail. It was awesome but also dumb luck. I got to a clearcut well before first light and was watching the timberline. Once light hit, some trucks came in and pushed the 2 pt right to me. Saw him coming down the hill, blew my doe bleat right as he crossed the logging road, he stopped 30 yards away, I shot, he fell. It was an amazing adrenaline laced experience. I owe a ton to my childhood friend who took me out a copy times to show me the ropes and to his family who helped teach me to gut, skin, hang, process the deer.

Now - to why I started this: can anyone help me understand if I'm doing the right stuff or just bumbling around?

I've read in many places that still hunting thick timber has solid success as does being out there during the rain. I've been out 3 times this year (6 hour+ each time) and have had an "encounter" each time.

1st time out - a buck (I think) wheezed and snorted at me through brush too thick to see into.

2nd time out - In front of me I heard deer coming from feeding to bed at 6 am but it was too dark to see where they were exactly. By the time the light showed up I realized it was too thick to enter without blowing them out and I wasn't sure what to do anyway. Behind me there was clearly a deer in the timber 15 yards out, it responded to my doe bleats. I put out a scent jar and it came in and checked me out. Never showed itself. I tried to enter, but pushed it away.

3rd time out - I still hunted up a small knob in order to sit and watch a clearing during the pouring rain (friday 10/21). I came across TONS of beds and fresh poop. While sitting there I saw a doe and her fawn feeding in a pocket not visible from the road. Multiple road hunters came by looking at that clearing, not realizing there were deer just standing there. (this was confirming to me to get out of the truck). I got so cold and wet I backed out, got warm in the truck, then drove a ways around to the other side of the clearing. There I parked low and walked up the road. Eventually I took off into open timber with lots of knee high fern saw some trails and again tons more fresh poop.  With an hour of shooting light left I decided to sit. I used a rattle bag twice and just waited. I was looking into the open timber, presumably where they may walk through and go to the clearing to feed at night. however, I got nervous I was narrowing myself too much and thought I should get a better view of the entire clearcut/timber line to catch them going to feed at last light....

...Big mistake, in that last move I make a TON of noise breaking all sorts of things. It was very frustrating thinking I found a spot that looked good but wasted it with FOMO.

My questions: once I know there are deer there (does, fawns, trails, poop) should I just sit for hours? Still hunt through the open/fern timber? Still hunt through the younger/thicker reprod? And if I come upon a buck, like my first time out, how do I get him out of his safe thick bed and into a shooting lane?

I'm hunting three different spots in SW WA but all my "encounters" have happened in 2 of them.

I saw many road hunters come in right before last light then heard some of them have success in the distance. This leaves me thinking, should I just be driving and glassing for the last hour of light like those guys? Was my taking time off and being out in the rain a complete waste? They seemingly were successful and I was not.

I know the odds or harvesting are low, but I'm just looking for any advice anyone can provide to point me in the right directions.

Thanks in advance!

[kramman]

I've not hunted blacktails a ton but the success I've had is doing exactly what your doing. You've found an area with some does, the bucks will be there soon. This cold snap will get the juices flowing. The last few days of the season 29-31st are the most productive of the general season. Seen smaller bucks moving all day on Halloween before. Start watching for rubs while your out. The big boys will be marking their territory on game trails coming in and out of clearings and bedding areas. Get in there next weekend if u can and sit and glass clearing edges and areas between to clearings especially if there 2 different ages of clearings.

Find the does the last couple of days and sit on them. Your headed in the right direction. Best of luck to you.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I'm definitely not an "expert"
I don't really hunt deer.
Almost all of my deer have been shot while bowhunting for elk.
.
But it sounds like your doing fine.
Not every shot you hear from those road hunters is a dead deer..
Chances are it was a grouse or rabbit on the road.
.

[Alan K]

There is a reason a lot of people "road hunt", and it's because you can see a lot more country in a little bit of time compared to on foot.  By walking in, sitting, and watching for hours you're certainly going to see more of the animals in that area than the road hunter that pulls up, glasses it, and moves on. 

Will you see more animals in total though? Who knows. Say the guys driving and glassing only see 50% of the deer in a unit.  You walk it, sit, watch for a few hours and see 90%.  The guy driving the roads looks over 12 units in a day, you look over 3.

In my opinion, the road guys will often see more, but the better bucks hug edges and bottoms that aren't visible from the road (that's how the make it through hunting seasons right?). It all depends on the time of year, weather, rut activity etc. as to how I spend my days. Both styles of hunting are effective in their own ways.

[b0bbyg]

For as little as you have been hunting you are seeing more deer than many who have hunted for years.

I would keep doing much of the same, but just slower and watching the wind close.

Also sometimes if you find does alone this time of year waiting can have a buck show up following behind

[Alchase]

Blacktail bucks have fairly small core areas. If you are seeing good sign there are bucks in the area. If you can, get about 50 yards into the trees where you are seeing does come out to feed. If you can find a finger that is a bit elevated, that is great. Now glass all around and inside the tree line and bedding areas you found. Look for the flick of an ear or tail.
Do not discount luck, being prepared and putting in the hours, can help make luck happen.
Knowing that almost all hunters stop at clear cuts, you can make that work in your favor. look for their escape routes, and when other hunters do come by, you might catch them as they slip away.
Finding a clear cut off the road would probably be more productive. I use to find a finger to work up and over away from the roads. Remember glass, glass, glass, can't count how many times I looked up and a dear was standing right where I had been watching for hours, never saw it move in. 

[bkaech]

You are doing it right. There is never one answer to hunting blacktails in the timber, every encounter is different and you just need to keep doing it and gaining experience. If you are seeing/hearing deer in the timber in western WA you are miles ahead of most hunters out there. Seeing bucks in the timber is a tough go, getting a shot is even tougher, I do it just for something to do in the middle of the day when I am not likely to find them out in openings, chance of killing one is low, but every once in a while it all comes together.

[slavenoid]

Keep glassing. If your seeing deer just keep doing what you're doing. Even if your watching does all day its going to eventually pay off. You never know when that big buck is going to run through to check on the does. If a hunter bumps a group of does through a clear-cut watch them they may just cause a buck to stand up.

[Bullkllr]

For as little as you have been hunting you are seeing more deer than many who have hunted for years.

I would keep doing much of the same, but just slower and watching the wind close.

Also sometimes if you find does alone this time of year waiting can have a buck show up following behind

 

I would add the road hunters may see more deer total, but "shootable" deer is a different story.

[boneaddict]

Patience is the key to success.   A deer has no schedule.  They need food eventually and water and to stay alive.  The rut throws one chink in their armor.    In the thick, you need to find where they might be moving through and you will be able to see or at least shoot.  The shooting lane does not need to be large, but obviously the bigger the better your chances.
Make sure the wind or air movement is in your favor, or you are sitting there for nothing. 
Try not to fidget a whole bunch.  zipping backpacks, digging the phone out, chewing on nuts, wrinkling the wrapper.    Their senses are yours x 1000.   
You seem to have a good mindset.

Road hunting is a choice.  I see a lot of game driving down the road.  My feet stay relatively dry driving down the road.  I get to laugh and chew on some road snacks while going down the road.   Dumb luck happens and sometimes a big buck will stand there.    Its a personal choice, one I really dont care for myself.  Remember not every shot you hear is a successful hunter.  Might be a grouse, squirrel, boredom.   Dont let it distract you.

I wasnt there to hear it, but dont confuse the terms snort wheeze or buck snort with what lots of people do.   Its a deer than senses you and is trying to get a wiff of you.  Generally you have triggered one of their other senses and they are trying to confirm.  Likely you are already playing the wind right or they wouldn't need to be  trying to wind you.    They are trying to get extra sar through those holes located right under/front of their eyes.   Just as easy or even more likely since there are more of them, a doe as it is a buck.   

Now that the weather has turned, and this rain, the bucks are going to start moving.   Now is your time to be successful.  I bet more blacktails (and bigger)are killed in the last 4 or 5 days of the season than throughout all the rest.    Goodluck

[pd]

To the OP:  Blacktail hunting and coastal elk hunting is very similar in my experience in this sense: Every single hunt is different.  There is so much to learn!  Put another way, there are an unlimited number of mistakes that you can make.  After a long time (5 years?  10 years?) you eventually learn enough or make enough mistakes to move you into the "journeyman hunter" category. 

Long story short, you are learning yet.  But you have made a fantastic start.  One of the best hunters that I know is naturally gifted, but he also improves his odds by hunting more and harder than anybody else.  You can be that hunter, too.

[kramman]

Lots of great  advice here. The most blacktails I've ever seen in 1 morning. was after a big rain storm came thru. It rained hard all night with wind, about 8a.m. it stopped and boom there was deer everywhere.  My brother took a mature deer just over a ledge in a clearing about 5 yrs old. We walked a skid road looked over a ledge and there he was with about 6 does. On our way out we saw 20+ deer. So keep an eye on the weather and be out there right after a storm.

[GWP]

Like has been said, it sounds like you are doing fine.
There is a reason in WWa the average shot is less than 70 yards. The brush is thick, hard walking (generally) and noisy. Rain helps mask some of it.
I have spend very long wet days hunting on this side with no deer seen, but LOTS of other wildlife observed.
My fav was sneaking up on a Woodpecker and watching it for about 45 min. Made my head hurt! Nature is amazing.
The advice presented here is pretty standard, and works.
If you have a partner you can take turns ‘pushing or sitting’ for deer in an area. Or be where you can take advantage of a vehicle or ‘other’ people pushing the deer around.
It is crazy how well they blend in. I have glassed an area and been surprised by a sudden animal standing where I was just looking.
Be patient. Remember it is hunting, not collecting. Experience the adventure and just be happy to have the freedom to be able to do it!

[Janitor123]

Wow thank you all for the advice and encouragement! One thing I appreciate about this community is the sincere and humble experienced hunters...compared to the more dramatic FB groups out there.

I'm reading all your comments and taking notes as I go out tonight. Wind is such a way that I'm going to still hunt down a new skid road and look for opportunity to get up into the timber with. The newest things I just learned from you all: bottoms, wheezes are deer scenting, go post storm.

[Spearbrave]

I've had my most success sitting in one spot from sun up to sun down. Nothing wrong with hunting the thick woods. Best advice I'd say is find where the doe's are. During the rut the doe tends to stay close to home. The bucks will come for her. In any given year a doe will have multiple bucks visiting her. Just a matter of time and patience and maybe a few apples for the doe for her cooperation lol. I got my buck this year. Jumped a dow and fawn so I just sat down and waited. Not 10 minutes later a buck came along and I got a freezer of venison l. Happy hunting!

[fishnfur]

You've been given a lot of great advice, though it can be hard to put it all together and make it work the field.  I don't have a lot to offer but I will reiterate those points that seem important or provide a learning opportunity.

- Snort wheeze in Blacktail is almost unheard of.  It seems to be a rut related vocalization, perhaps used as a challenge or as a threat.  If you asked a hundred BT hunters if they've heard a buck snort wheez in the field, you might find one person who believes they have, but they are not sure.  Youtube has a couple of videos of bucks snort wheezing on trail cam if you want to search them out.  More than likely, what you heard that day was a deer "blowing", which is a behavior they exhibit when they've identified that you are close to them, but they don't know what you are.  It is an alarm signal to other deer in the area so I wouln't try to recreate it.  It sounds similar to blowing real hard into your fist, trailing off as it's breath fades.  If you're busted and hear that sound, all you can do is hold motionless and hope that the animal doesn't move downwind to catch your wind.  Don't move for 20 - 30 minutes before moving on.

- I agree with others, you're already doing better than many hunters.  You cannot know for sure how to proceed when a new deer encounter situation arises.  There are too many variables that a deer uses in deciding what it is going to do.  Wind/thermals and terrain amongst them.  All you can do is trust your instincts and if you fail, try to learn something from the encounter. You will mess up many times along the way.

- When you see deer or fresh sign in the woods, you should try to reason out why they are there at that location and/or what they are/were doing when they were there.  Deer don't just walk around for no reason.  The better you understand their daily and seasonal activities, the better you will be able to guess what they might do next. 

- move less, glass/watch more.  Sit silently and watch (while hidden).  It is hard to fool a deer older than one or two years old. If they hear some loud or unusual noises in the woods, they are immediately focused on the source of that noise.  If the noise happens repeatedly, the deer get up and move out of your way, or duck their heads in the ferns/brush so that you can't see them. Being silent and moving slug slow (thanks Jakeman) gives you a chance.  You should move so slow that an observer away from your position would not notice that you were moving when they looked at you, but only that you were in a different position since they had last looked at you. 

-You can't still hunt down the middle of a road.  BT' bucks live in the deep and dark.  You need to try to stay hidden and move (sloooowly) just inside the edges where woods/brush meet clearings.  Rattling or doe bleat "can calling" occasionally as you move pre-warns any deer in the area that you are there, and helps them believe that you are a deer making the noise, not a person.  Small noises made as you move will not cause huge concern to unseen animals close by.

Enjoy the fall weather.  Have fun.  Good luck!

[kramman]

Hey Janitor if u can get out tomorrow it should be as good as it gets for a general season based on the weather.

[grousetracker]

Get away from the roads, hunt the edges of the cuts and have patience,be slow you have all day. you will get it done.

[Janitor123]

Thanks again for the advice! I'm re-reading it all again. I might be able to put a couple hrs in this evening and tomorrow.

With the rain tomorrow, You think I should just sit one of the clearcuts I know there are deer around? Or go timber walking? Unfortunately I dont' have the whole day to mix it up.

[JakeLand]

At this point in the game or last day with a tag and are happy with any legal buck I would run and gun . What I mean is be on the move hit cut after cut and glass them thoroughly when you get out of areas glass them all again be on the move , dont sit on one area and hope pray or try and beg a buck to show itself. Be active and cover as much ground effectively and completely as you can

[Janitor123]

Thanks again to everyone's willingness to provide advice. I woke up sick yesterday and was in bed most of the day. Big bummer it is was a great day to hunt. Here's to hoping late season works out.

[kramman]

Sorry to hear this. Wife has had a head cold for a week now. Luckily I've not got it yet. Lucks like the rut is kicking in for blacktails.  Good luck on late season.