Timber Stalking Blacktail, or just stick to clear-cuts? [Modern Firearm]

[Alchase]

Blacktail bucks have relatively small core areas. Find the trials they use in and out of feeding areas back to their bedding (core areas). I have found core areas in various.
Example - 50 yards off clear cuts where there are small almost clearing with opening in the canopy, with thinner trees and brush growing. They will bed down in the brush. Glass these areas looking for ear twitches. They can also be bedded on small finger benches that lead up or down to feeding areas. Hunt the trails or overlooking known bedding areas. Do not walk down the trails into the bedding areas. I use to see hunters do this all the time. 
If you are seeing does, bucks are not far off.
I would do a quick glass on a cut, if I see deer, pay attention to where they are grazing to, where they enter and leave the cut. Then move into the trees just off the trails looking for slight elevation that I can use to glass the trails and bedding areas.
Also watch them to see if they are looking around, sometimes they will let you know there is another deer when they keep looking in that direction.
I use to get a kick out of watching hunters pull up to a haul out land on a cut, step out of their vehicle doors slamming shut cigarettes in mouths, talking loud, and watching deer slowly walking away.

[blackveltbowhunter]

The most consistent  big blacktail killers I know have the patience of Job and are very methodical about how they hunt. Personally I am not one of those guys  Whether, it's private access and tons of off season scouting,  trail cam plotting, or the ability to hike into the same drainage everyday watching a 20x20 opening waiting for a buck to move into it, they put in alot of effort and are patient for every actual opportunity. 

IMO weather plays a big role in deer sighting and rut intensity. If it's cold and rainy during the first estrus cycle, a higher chance of the doe getting bred, and the bucks getting on their feet and doing work. If it's warm, those odds go down. The bucks will still get up and cruise a bit, but not with the focus and drive. The more deer get covered the first estrus, the less intense the " November peak" is. Conversely the opposite seems to also be true.