Black Tail

[CP]

I’ve taken mule deer and I’ve taken whitetail but I’ve never hunted black tail.  Mules and WT are very different animals and require different strategies.  Are BT similar to one or the other, or are they something completely different?

[saylean]

I personally think they are similar to Whiteys...in that they like the thick stuff.....

and over on the wet side...we gots plenty of that. They seem to be active after a nasty storm...just after it quits raining...check the clearings, etc....I am no expert however.

They dont taste as good to me as a Muley or a whitey though....they seem real gamey....

[Gobble]

I think they are the hardest Deer species to hunt PERIOD. Way harder than WT. They hide in the nastiest cover. How many trophy BT do you see on the Posts? Not many. Not that they don't exist but they are extremely wary game and can disapear in a flash. Most Trophy BT are completly nocturnal

[boneaddict]

Closer to acting like a whitetail than muley in tactics to hunt.

[MountainWalk]

i would say a mature buck bt is the hardest deer to come by. i have taken nice bucks of both whitetail and mule deer pesuasion. not afraid to say i have never taken a nice bt buck.

i feel that while they do use trails,  they do not use the same ones everyday. i may be wrong.


some biologist feel that mule deer are the offspring of wtx bt, not wtxmd as always thought of.

[Dman]

 A similarity between whitetail and blacktail is that you'll often find them in clearcut's, but even more so with blacktail. Blacktail will bed and feed in clearcuts, going into timber only occasionally, particularly when hunting pressure hits high levels. There are blacktail in the Monroe area to hunt, they do get some toads up there in the NF. The one drawback to some of the north-Sound units is that many of them have no late season.

[Coasthunterjay]

Closer to acting like a whitetail than muley in tactics to hunt.

well *censored* then ive got this hands down.......

[Houndhunter]

shooting a bt is as easy as the rest, IMO. i have no problem getting a decent bt buck every year, you can see a pic of mine i got this year in my gallery and i classify that as a decent bt buck. now getting a big bt, 120-130 or above class, is harder. but is it harder than gettin a 150-160 or higher mulie?? not IMO. i have had chances at real nice bt, and one i shot and never found, and i've only been hunting deer 4years. or then again maybe im just an outstanding hunter, who knows? ?

[Coasthunterjay]

or then again maybe im just an outstanding hunter, who knows? ?

not if you cant find them........ ....lol....

[bucklucky]

Blacktails are tough to hunt especially mature bucks. I think the whitetails are alot more easy to pattern where a mature blackie is much harder. Mulies, they are not easy by no means, none of them are. Put your time in and you will better your chances . Still think blacktails have the edge though.

[Red Dawg]

black tail in my experience are the hardest to hunt. No questions asked. They are the ghosts of the forest.

[PolarBear]

Blacktails are genetically much closer to whities.  Actually mulies are a result of blacktail and whitetail cross breeding.  Blackies have many of the same traits but like was said, whitetails are easier to pattern. It is really tough to pattern a mature blacktail buck.  As far as which is tougher to hunt a mature buck I would put blacktails first, mulies second and whities the easiest.  In my experience, whitetails are too damn predictable.  If they werent I wouldnt have a half dozen+ P&Y whitie bucks.  Whitetails are harder to sneak up on but they will often let their curiosity get them into trouble.  I'll take a big, mature blacktail buck over any other deer any day.

[bucklucky]

Right on Polarbear.

[Bigshooter]

I agree with Polarbear 100%.

[BlackTail]

Not sure about the genetics (not disagreeing, I just don't know) but otherwise totally agree with PolarBear!