Smartest deer?

[actionshooter]

  Don't knock them for being nocturnal, that is them being smart. . .

Oh, I'm not knocking blacktails being nocturnal, thats part of what makes them so tough.

[Romulus]

 I think there are two different issues. If you ask what species is a true trophy the hardest to kill I would say blacktail hands down but not necessarily because of intelligence. Big blacktail bucks are impossible to kill most days of hunting season including the rut but might make a mistake on nasty stormy days when the rut is on. Most of the legal shooting hours they are bedded in country that is just not stalkable.  Whitetails are spookier but because they are more agressive and habitual many get killed from rattling or tree stands on trails so they are easier to kill with rattling tactics or local knowledge. Blacktails are random and impossible to pattern and most of the time in doghair that is not glassable either. Mulies are the easiest due to increased technology for spotting and shooting distance. Individual bucks of each species can get very savvy however and nearly impossible to kill.

[actionshooter]

I think there are two different issues. If you ask what species is a true trophy the hardest to kill I would say blacktail hands down but not necessarily because of intelligence. Big blacktail bucks are impossible to kill most days of hunting season including the rut but might make a mistake on nasty stormy days when the rut is on. Most of the legal shooting hours they are bedded in country that is just not stalkable.  Whitetails are spookier but because they are more agressive and habitual many get killed from rattling or tree stands on trails so they are easier to kill with rattling tactics or local knowledge. Blacktails are random and impossible to pattern and most of the time in doghair that is not glassable either. Mulies are the easiest due to increased technology for spotting and shooting distance. Individual bucks of each species can get very savvy however and nearly impossible to kill.

 Very good post

[fly4fish]

I think Mature Mule Deer are getting a bad rap here.  I believe it is a matter more of the habitat the deer live in.  Before long range rifles and optics, mule deer were probably a lot harder to kill.  Any animal looks pretty dumb at 400 yards.  For a mature mule deer to survive 5 plus years in the open terrain they inhabit is amazing to me.  Ecspecially with the amount of people after them.  Even the dumbest of deer can get lucky and live to maturity on the westside where it is so dark and thick that you almost need night vision to see, or in the brushy areas that whitetail perfer.  I would say though that whitetail and blacktail are smarter for staying in the cover, whereas mule deer will choose the barren south facing slope over the wooded northfacing slopes.  Must have to do more with predators.  Besides, whose to say that mule deer are the only ones that will stop for another look.  Whitetail and blacktail only need to run 30 yards and are out of sight, that Mule deer doesn't know you have a rifle that can shoot 500 yards plus!  So, that being said, I think they are all equally smart, but some just choose to live in safer areas.

[Kowsrule30]

^^^^ Well put!!



I still think the WT isn't the brightest crayon in the box..  JMO....

[mad-bomber]

That's the thing about White tails I love.  If you jump one don't figure it ran ahead of you and hid.  If I spook a WT buck the first thing I do is back track 50 yards or so then sneak off to my right or left depending on the wind.  WT bucks will  try to circle around and get behind you.  A few years back I spent most of one day playing cat and mouse with a buck, we probably never left a 10 acre area, he just kept circling and I kept guessing where he was going to go.  I jumped him at least 6 or 7 times, never really seeing him, just flashes of an ear, tail or tine, finally he won and I never saw him again.  It was that hunt that convinced me that they are the smartest deer and possibly smartest game animal period.

 I hunt whitetails where people think there is just mule deer. and if you jump a whitetail out here you can sit down and spend the next 10 mins watching the buck run 4 miles away! if we pressure these HOT spots to much they will just not come back. i walk past mule deer all day! i will say the are good at hiding! they will hold as long as possible when you are down wind. i have seen whitetails crawl through weeds! and when you get busted they do not stop and turn around for you. there are small coulee's filled with thick brush and we have had to throw 20-30 rocks into them before 19 mulies come "stotting" out and then they all stop and look for what was making that noise. they are all formidable opponents !

[MichaelJ]

I think a mature muley is the willyest of all of them... never hunted blacktails so I couldn't say.  But the type of terrain I seen mature muleys in is just insane... Seen a buck that wasn't even mature never stay no more than 20 yards from a fellow as he walked around the brush the buck just stayed exactly opposite of the hunter through the brush and the guy never knew he was there...

Seen beds that were literally dug out 2-3' deep into a cutback so they can hide...  I think the biggest factor with guys not killing big muleys is they underestimate their smarts... Some will hide all through the general season not more than 200 yards from a road with hunters driving by constantly...  Others will use smaller bucks as lookouts. How many times have you guys put a stalk on a bachelor group of bucks and seen all but the biggest most mature buck make a mistake???


I haven't hunted whitetails very much, and blacktails none at all, I'm definitely a little biased of muleys I'll admit, but I agree with others they are gettin the shaft a little on here...

Michael

[h2ofowlr]

Mature Blacktail by far.  They become nocturnal.  Typically the area's where a lot of mule deer hang a good pair of optics and a long range gun can put you in contact.  Whitetails can be patterned good.  Those dam big blacktails find the thickest crap, blackberries etc to hide in.  Tough to find some of them in the thick crap to.  Definitely helps if you have some property a few apple trees, some rose bushes and a row of arborvitaes.  That's the best way to shoot them large BT's.

[bow4elk]

IMO a mature BT is the hardest to tag.... 7/8 of the country has a mature whitetail on their wall....

I'm no expert but I've hunted whitetails in five states with ZERO scouting and filled every tag.  I grew up in western Washington, and lived a good stint in western Oregon after college.  Killing blacktail bucks on public land consistently is notable.  Killing mature bucks is a whole different deal altogether.  I'm still trying to unlock the secret formula but these deer have a way of keeping you very humble.

[h2ofowlr]

I think I have scene some of the biggest blacktails afterdark with my head lights and my brakes locked up.  They target vehicles at night.

[MichaelJ]

I'll admit I am a little scared of hunting blacktails... For one I absolutely hate the west side of the state, the weather, the vegetation...not to mention other things.  I have hunted the wilderness areas and there is nothing better than chasing muleys up there.  Tromping around through thick brush where I can't see more than 10-30 yards doesn't sound like fun and sounds like a helluva hard hunt.

I'll admit shooting a mature blacktail is probably the hardest (not sure about the smartest though), but put them in the wilderness and I'd be real curious to see how they do...

Michael

[bone head]

whitetails are by far the toughest and thats the darn trueth

[mossback91]

roe deer 

[MichaelJ]

Reindeer....

Michael

[mossback91]

Reindeer....

Michael

Pshh I could spot one of them flashing red noses anywhere!! not tough to find! break out the candy canes and they come out of the woodwork!