I’ve had one draw tag for archery blacktail in 2013 that I pulled with a friend. We both harvested 4 days into the hunt, me on a non-typical 4x4 and him on an old 3x3. I haven’t applied since because I’m building points for mule deer hunts.
My advice for these tags is that just pulling the tag isn’t enough, you need to have historical knowledge of the area to consistently take mature bucks. I’ve identified core rut zones that have been unchanged for 10-20 years in some areas. I can put a camera there October 31 through November 15th and catch good bucks consistently working these spots during peak rut, sometimes 10+ legal bucks a day.
Where it’s different for me, is that during general rifle I still see a lot of cruising and find the deer are more responsive to calling. In a 600 acre area I may have 8-10 stand locations to work depending on wind and time-of-day. Come November 1st through the 12th that same 600 acres will be narrowed down to 1-2 spots which I’ll sit on for the whole day.
One area in particular I’ve taken 5 bucks on, all within an 300 yard zone. I can go to this spot for an all day sit any day in October and be lucky to see one good buck. Go back to this same spot November 5-10 and it’s a madhouse, literally almost been run over by bucks chasing does while taking film. For me these tags allow you to hunt mature bucks that are usually nocturnal in their most vulnerable state, and with next to no pressure.
My caution would be that just because you draw these tags doesn’t mean you can fly blind into a unit and stumble upon crazy rut action (but hey it happens). With some knowledge of an area and scouting these tags can turn what normally is a decent hunt, into a memorable experience hunting one of the toughest critters to connect on.
