Blacktails in Thick Brush

[Jeremy S]

I just want to see how people would go about hunting the situation I've been facing.....

[Mike450r]

I voted other,  you need to do some of both.

I would use a quick pointing open sight gun, 336 or 94 style lever gun if you have one.

Still hunting that thick stuff should put you on deer.  You can literally bump them around in the brush all day long and see glimpses of them and they will stay no further than 50 feet away from you all day.  Stick with it and if there is a buck in there you should get a shot at him.  Take a stand for awhile when you get tired of still hunting and hope you get them moving because they can't hear you walking anymore they may come out to see if the coast is clear.

[wildmanoutdoors]

I voted "other"
Find a heavily used trail. Then find the trail the big buck uses. Usually the bucks will use a less used trail a bit off the beaten path, but still parallel to the main trail. Coarse with Rut time its not safe to say they wont be chasing the does and or sniffing the main trails.

Just stay back aways. Dont get too close to the trail your watching.

Bushwhack in the mid day. try to jump a shooter.

Also, trails are usually only used for one direction. Make sure you know which way they are coming.

[rock]

still hunt off too the side of a big game trail

[ser300wsm]

I also voted other. I would put up a stand & hunt in that in the early morning & then still hunt in the midday, then stand hunt again at late afternoon.

[billythekidrock]

Still hunt with some light calling/rattling during a heavy rain/wind storm.

[tony04]

a buck will most always travel with the wind on his back. therefore using differant trails to and from feeding and bedding areas, depending on wind direction.

[HUNT-HARD]

I would get a buddy and one person set up on a good game trail and the other push through the thick brush.

[mulehunter]

I usually look for Doe and I went for hiking scouting thur Heavy Forest and found 5x5 NICE Ghost Blackie Yesterday in Heavy Rain. I have got pic of him.    He has Darkest Red and possible 19" wide and Nice Buck! I wish I have tag to shoot. I am saving it till Next year.


Mulehunter  

[1morebuck]

I also voted other. I would put up a stand & hunt in that in the early morning & then still hunt in the midday, then stand hunt again at late afternoon.

Yep, stand hunt it. Buy a climbing stand and wait it out. Get some doe estrus and watch it!

[MasterTracker]

Well this comes up alot with me beacuse I hunt a area with few new cut's and don't use any trail cameras or devices you see on the market. What I do first is look for not just deer trails but rub lines and buck dropings and see how old they are also same with tracks.  what you do is scout an area of about 4 sq miles really not that big. Keep in mind that blacktails in the lowlands only live in a 350 acre area before that rut hit's. mark all this down and use google earth to mark area's of sighn from buck's and make notes on the time you think of how old the sighn is. This comes into play when trying to back track buck's to legal shoting light....




So much more to say i feel like i could right a book pm and ill take more time to talk with you....

[jackmaster]

the thing is with a big mature buck is he will hold and let you walk right by in the thick brush, if you have some left over tarsal gland from another buck from last years hunt."i always cut mine out and put them in the freezer for the year". but if you have them slip into your stand about an hour after shootn light, paying serious attention to the wind, try to hang them a distance that you can see obviously and get up in your stand, just make damn sure that you sit there and pay attension between 10 an 2 that is prime time for the ole gray ghost

[Kent Hunter]

Still hunt em just like Mike450r says to do. Eventually you will let the air out of a VERY nice buck.

[bow4elk]

I'm a 20+ year treestand hunter but nothign floats my boat more than still-hunting blacktails.  Make something happen!

[throttlejocky20]

This year in oregon we ran into this issue. No deer during daylight hours and nice tracks in our tracks the next morning. We had to get agressive. Hunting the stuff you cant see 5 feet. Ther is open pockets in this stuff and its hard to hunt. We end the season with one 3 point( my buddies) and I had a decent buck in my crosshairs but no shoot. Thats how it works most of the time in the thick sh-t.

[willhnt4food]

IMHO blackies are the hardest species to hunt... though none of them are easy.  I personally like to still hunt the vast majority of the time and have had some success. The key is relaxed awareness. Don't give up. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and that takes time.

[Skyvalhunter]

How thick is thick? We talking just reprod, or salmon berries, blackberries? One persons thick is another persons paradise.

[Special T]

When i hunt down in the southern area of the west side Battle ground, washoogle, wind river suxion etc.. I ten to tree stand in the morning and eveing and still hunt in the day... I don't think there is as much brush as up here in the skagit area.... I ONLY treestand hunt here... You can see so much more from 10-20 ft up its crazy... you look down into the brush not through it...  If i rifle hunted, i would  found find a nice spot to sit for an hour or so in the morning then still hunt. 

[grundy53]

I love still hunting through the thick stuff.