Experienced Blacktail Hunters..... Your Assistance is Requested.

[Jeremy S]

I'm trying to find an experienced blacktail hunter that will let me pick their brain. I'm not looking for a honey hole or secret spot. I have an area picked out where I know there are deer and I'd like to find someone willing to fill me in and answer some of the more in depth-questions I have about hunting techniques and such. I've read many posts in this forum and read "Blacktail Trophy Tactics II". I've been spending lots of time in the woods but there is still some info missing. This year I want to truly hunt a deer. It'd be cool to have one run out into a clearcut while driving to my spot in the morning, but I am more interested in the process. I want to start early in the season scouting and put the puzzle together piece by piece. I believe this will  lead me up to shooting that nice buck, creating a memorable story, and being able to have pride for the meat I put on my table. If you would be willing to assist me send me a PM. Thanks.

-frogger

[DoubleJ]

PM me too.  I fit this description 100%.

[chester]

Well I dunno if this will help but its just a couple things I've learned over the years. These are the things I try to remember. It works for me and my goals.

1.Get up early (I shot my buck this year about 5min into shooting light)

2.Dont be too picky...(Ive got friends that kill big ones every year. If it forks im killing it)

3.Dont be too proud...(If Ive spent all day running around in timber just to have one run across the road into a clearcut. I'll probably kill it. Thats the deers mistake. Not mine)

4.Chase everyone you see(two examples...Helping a friend as i had already tagged out. Spotted a doe. went after it. and he ended up putting a shot on a Big 3pt that was in the brush behind her. A friend this year was chasing a spike around only to have a 3pt step out in front of it. if he would have passed it over as just a spike he wouldnt have killed his biggest buck yet.)

5.Spend as much time as you can(It should be dark when you go into the woods and dark when you come out)

6.Blacktails spend alot of time in the same area(If you spot a buck and want to find it again dont give up on a spot til you have physically kicked every bush in the area)

[chester]

7. They run around all day in rifle season.(My first deer was with 8 does in a clearcut,shot at 11:35am)

8. If you have limited time hunt the last 3days of early modern(I swear the peak rut is oct 31 every year)

9. Its good to be lucky and lucky to be good.

10. I use bear and grouse season to scout for deer. Deer season to scout for elk.Elk season to scout for late buck.Then if all that fails go hunt ducks.

11. And if you find a honey hole...Tell everyone including your mother its on the other side of the county, if not the state.


This is just what Ive learned hunting coastal blacktails. Im in no way an expert. But I havent had to eat my tag for awhile either. so take it for what its worth.

[Skyvalhunter]

Good luck with your hunt. I am sure there are a few BT experts on here that will help you out. They seem to be a tough animal to figure out from what I am told.

[ELKBURGER]

Blacktails love blackberry bushes and rain. And always keep the wind in your face.

[Alan K]

Feel free to PM me any specific questions you have and I'll answer them the best I can.

[AKBowman]

I agree that BT's like Black Berry bushes and also rain. Its also true that BT's stay in a relatively small area their hole lives.

You've started by reading one of the best books $ can buy. Boyd really knows his $hit. One of the most important things to know is this...you line in the state of WA. One of the Mecca's of Blacktails in the whole country, dont let anyone tell you different. This states holds more and bigger bucks BT's than anywhere on the west.

The comment about the peak of the rut hitting on Oct 31st! Well...he's damn right on!! If you could pick four days to be in the woods it should be the 3 leading up to the 31st and the 31st. The bucks get dumb and sex leads to mistakes not normally made by these "gray ghosts". Hell big bucks dont normally even walk on deer trails during the rut let alone show themselves during any daylight hours, they will walk an inabscure trail down wind of the main trail and scent check the trail every few hundred feet to check for activity. There too damn smart and to go in to their living rooms and expect to out fox one of these bad asses when their on their "A" game is the hardest thing to do in North America.

So...hunt during the rut or pre-rut preferrably.

Get the the nastiest, thickest, steepest areas you can find and sit and wait. I guarantee if you know there are deer in the vacinity the deer will be there...you just have to believe, and then they will materialize out of thin air. Its crazy.

And I think my best advice would be to get off the ground and hunt from a tree stand. Even if you are gun hunting. If you want to "hunt" a buck or have half a chance at a decent sized BT get your ass up in a stand and have patience.

Good luck! We'll be waiting for the pics and story! 

[bobcat]

I'm defintely not an expert on blacktail deer, but I have to disagree, I don't believe they "like" rain. They're just forced to live in it, just like we are forced to hunt in it, because this is where we live.

I've been reading Boyd Iverson and I'm finally going to try tree stand hunting this year. And with a muzzleloader. It may not be the right decision as I will not get to hunt the rut. But I'm just hoping to get to do some hunting close to home in uncrowded woods.

[Romulus]

I cant say whether or not they "like" rain but they are absolutely way more active during a rainy, nasty day. If the day is so nasty that you are not sure if you want to stay out in the woods that is the best time to hunt, especially for big bucks. It is also really good if it gets nicer after nasty weather but only for a brief time. Bottom line is you have to become obsessed to consistently kill older age class blacktails because they are just not very active in daylight hours. Good luck

[SW Blacktail]

PM me, I love the puzzle

[BLR 243]

If your stillhunting don't walk vertical bend over @ the waist and look , look ,look. and when u get done looking look some more. and if u spot a deer and u think its alone think and look again theres always another deer someware close by (400 yds) Ware wool clothing be especially alert around 10 am Blackies are active then. Take a pair of hand prunners with u and cut obsticles out of your way.

[Sneaky]

If your stillhunting don't walk vertical bend over @ the waist and look , look ,look. and when u get done looking look some more. and if u spot a deer and u think its alone think and look again theres always another deer someware close by (400 yds) Ware wool clothing be especially alert around 10 am Blackies are active then. Take a pair of hand prunners with u and cut obsticles out of your way.

This is good advice. If you're gonna be hunting the same spot for a while, you would do well to cut some of the brush out of the way instead of tripping over it and making noise every time you walk by it. Wool will weigh a thousand pounds by the end of a wet BT day, but it will keep you warm even when soaked and is very quiet.

[carpsniperg2]

the guys got you some good info here. good luck with you quest.

[Alan K]

I think they reason you see them more active in the rain is that their hearing is being interfered with by the rain falling.  They feel more vulnerable, so they don't want to be complacent and stay in one area for too long in case they're being stalked.

 

[257 Wby Mag]

Last 4 days of general is KEY. Decent weather is just frosting on that cake.....

[Houndhunter]

one thing i havnt heard people say yet is you need to spend time on the glass. i got to hunt with some outstanding hunters growing up and one of the key things i learned from them is you glass alot. take your time, listen, glass, and pay attention to the wind are some important things to getting on big bucks. they can smell you from a long ways off and that big buck will get outa there when he catches your wind, not all the time but the majority when your on big blacktails. i would say theres two parts to wind you wanna know: 1 is watch which way your scent is moving. 2 blacktails do not like wind, if your hill side, ridge, clearcut, or whatever is windy i would say most likely your deer will not be there and you wanna find that spot where they can get away from the wind. hunting them in general season can be tough thats why i go where i can see them from a long ways off, the rut is really the best time to get the monsters. if you see a doe in the rut, watch her even if you swear theres no bucks with her. i'll watch a doe during the rut for as long as i can handle, number of times we spent over an hour watching them feed and than see a nice buck pop outa no where. just remember glass and glass and glass, than glass more. rattling is also a fun way to get them, but its tough

[Bigshooter]

Last 4 days of general is KEY. Decent weather is just frosting on that cake.....

+1

Those are my most favorite days to hunt blacktails.

[the1rod]

one thing that i have learned that hasent been mentioned much is that they will hide. if they spot you or hear you or smell you they are not always going to go busting out and run, they will hunker down in tight brush and wait for you to pass them by. so you really have to ake sure to check every little hole that they could  hide in. also i have seen many time when a buck and doe are together the doe will bust out one way and the buck will slowly sneak out the other way un-noticed. so like mentioned before when you see one deer look for more. i dont know if mule deer and white tails do this to or not, but i sure know that Black tails do. good luck.

[Jeremy S]

Thanks for all of the helpful advice everyone. I have printed this out and am reading and re-reading your ideas to make sure I take a good look at all of these techniques.

[heavy hauler]

if your not soaked,tore up from blackberry bushes ,and draggin a$$   from the steep and deeps you might be doing something wrong.  its hard to pattern bt  and at times it can be extremely  frustrating  but  you might have a idea of caliber of bucks in your prospective area if you shed hunt and scout in the summer.the red coated bucks can be seen at quite a distance.good luck