Post by: wackmnstackm on September 13, 2018, 11:50:28 AM
Post by: Dhoey07 on September 13, 2018, 11:55:19 AM
Post by: Seabass on September 13, 2018, 12:13:03 PM
I have never hunted black tail but one of hunting partner's spent most of his life hunting them. He says black tail are much harder to hunt...I tend to believe him.
Post by: jackelope on September 13, 2018, 12:18:07 PM
Post by: JimmyHoffa on September 13, 2018, 12:36:51 PM
Post by: Angry Perch on September 13, 2018, 12:41:04 PM
Blacktail will stop and look back, whitetail run to the next country. Whitetail are by far my least favorite animal to hunt.
This! I think they stop because they believe they are invisible. 99% of the time that works in their favor, because you walk or drive right my them! But it's their downfall when you catch a glimpse of them moving before they freeze. I've killed 5 blacktail, and every one of them was looking directly at me, and frozen like a statue.
Post by: trophyhunt on September 13, 2018, 12:48:17 PM
I've killed a bunch of whitetails. I've killed zero blacktails. I've tried, and I know I'm not the worlds greatest hunter, but man they're tough to find. I have a lot of respect for the guys who kill big blacktails every year.big black tails are the hardest animal to hunt in my opinion. I’ve always been suspicious of Guys who kill big ones year after year. I think I’m a decent hunter, have hunted black tail most my 49 years and I’ve seen maybe half dozen 120+ size bucks. And yes, I’ve worked very hard for them.
Post by: JakeLand on September 13, 2018, 01:08:08 PM
Everything is different
Post by: Stein on September 13, 2018, 01:14:24 PM
Post by: vandeman17 on September 13, 2018, 01:16:05 PM
I've killed a bunch of whitetails. I've killed zero blacktails. I've tried, and I know I'm not the worlds greatest hunter, but man they're tough to find. I have a lot of respect for the guys who kill big blacktails every year.
Totally agree!
The biggest thing for me is the terrain and the weather as far as differences go. I don't know how you guys hunt the ferns, thickets and cat hair thick soaking wet crap that blacktails live in. :bow:
Post by: jackmaster on September 13, 2018, 01:16:26 PM
Post by: wackmnstackm on September 13, 2018, 01:58:20 PM
Post by: jackmaster on September 13, 2018, 03:26:42 PM
Post by: brew on September 13, 2018, 04:10:38 PM
Post by: jackmaster on September 13, 2018, 05:06:03 PM
true blacktails are the hardest deer species to hunt period, end of story. if you have any questions about it look at any of those outdoor TV shows...how many of them actually hunt/shoot blacktail deer ? They don't because you can't consistantly kill the deer they need to keep up their ratings. I know i'm gonna :pee: some people off by saying this but i'm talking about actual black tail deer. i've seen a lot of people shooting deer in northern california/southern oregon calling them blacktails but those aren't the deer i'm talking about. Neither are those deer that folks shoot on the upper western slopes of the cascades or "benchlegs"...IMHO those are pretty much mule deer. Blacktail deer IMO are the ghosts that live in the grown up jungle forests. You can't "pattern" them, they rarely use the same game trails and usually go nocturnal when SHTF which is usually September 1st. yes i have shot a couple nice blacktail bucks by putting in enough time in areas with a lot of does and passing up smaller bucks waiting until late October when the rut starts but the first time I ever targeted whitetails my big fat a$$ was able to walk up and shoot one that was bedded in the morning just above a winter wheat field outside Davenport...real nice 4x3 and the best eating deer i ever shot. That was the 6th day of modern season...not saying whitetail hunting is easy but that was the easiest hunt i ever hadBINGO, perfect explanation brew :tup:
Post by: Alchase on September 13, 2018, 05:19:34 PM
They are so nocternal you rarely see movement in daylight. And I can’t stand sitting in a stand all day hoping something will walk by.
Post by: CAMPMEAT on September 13, 2018, 05:55:44 PM
Post by: onmygame on September 13, 2018, 06:15:48 PM
I think you gotta go quite always northeast to find them whiteys don’t ya :dunno:
There are plenty in the SE - though most units are 3 pt or better
Post by: onmygame on September 13, 2018, 06:30:36 PM
If I can kill a Blacktail, anybody can. I've shot, Blacktail, Whitetail and Mule Deer.
Gotta agree with Campmeat.
Interesting thread - where the BT is the 'hardest thing to hunt' due to unpredictability and inconsistencies -
'The BT never uses the same trail...'
'The BT is nocturnal...'
'The BT lives in the thickest of brush...'
'The BT never has to travel far...'
Unpredictable??
Inconsistent???
What more do you want in terms of behavioral patterns...combine these nuggets with the fact that bucks get flat out goofy around the rut, can be called in with either antlers rubbing brush or calls from a grunt tube, and you have a recipe for steak.
Post by: wackmnstackm on September 13, 2018, 06:31:19 PM
Post by: 3nails on September 13, 2018, 06:35:07 PM
In unpressured areas you can pattern a whitetail. A blacktail is completely random.
A blacktail will bed in it's feeding area. Whitetails seldom do.
Do to so many more predators hunting them a whitetail is very skittish and will flee at the slightest hint of danger. A blacktail will just keep an eye on you through a one inch hole in the brush.
During the rut; Aggression! A whitetail buck will lose his mind chasing does, running like a bird dog, fighting any challengers, rubbing like crazy. A blacktail will just set a steady pace and walk virtually all day and night. Avoid conflict if possible.
I don't think terrain plays that much into it. I hunt both in the dense brush and both in wide open meadows.
To summarize my experience: Whitetails are harder to hunt outside the rut. During the rut they are far easier.
Post by: Dan-o on September 13, 2018, 07:51:59 PM
Whitetails: Psycho
Post by: nwwanderer on September 13, 2018, 08:34:37 PM
Post by: CedarPants on September 14, 2018, 06:43:00 AM
Blacktails: Sneaky, secretive, reclusive, hiders
Whitetails: Psycho
:chuckle:
Post by: Alchase on September 14, 2018, 10:33:20 AM
whitetail is very skittish and will flee at the slightest hint of danger.
A blacktail will just keep an eye on you through a one inch hole in the brush.
:yeah:
I use to hut Blacktails in timber where there is a small opening to daylight Or sit about 50 yards inside the tree line of a clearcut and glass, glass, glass looking for a tail or ear twitch.
Blacktails more times then not, will freeze up first, thinking they are invisible.
I have walked within a few feet of Blacktails frozen in the brush or timber, and they stayed put until I was out of sight.
Whitetails will hightail it out of there (literally) if they hear you, see you, or wind you.
I have yet to see a Whitetail freeze up.
Post by: jackelope on September 14, 2018, 02:18:07 PM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/8ad6dc1f9415e77fbe13895dd5898545.jpg)
The view where I’ve hunted blacktails.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/617116eb44b3abd8963b5968c63dfc94.jpg)
(I’m kidding. I've never hunted here)
Post by: Dhoey07 on September 14, 2018, 03:23:23 PM
:dunno: :dunno:
Post by: Jonathan_S on September 14, 2018, 04:11:25 PM
Mature bucks of either species are incredibly wary
Post by: Alchase on September 14, 2018, 08:46:30 PM
It looks pretty much the same as the weyerhaeuser land in Washington.
I was surprised how similar they are. Heavy forest with tons of thick under brush, with lots of Whitetail. The NW parts are prairie as fare as the eye can see.
Post by: fishnfur on September 14, 2018, 09:16:25 PM
Humans tend to name everything, whitetail and blacktail are different species, the mule deer being a subspecies of the blacktail. Whitetail has been around longer, quite different habits as explained so will by so many. While the whitetail has been about for millions of years some of the blacktail species may have separated only 10,000 or so years ago.
Maybe. I've seen more recent studies that question whether the Blacktail might be the oldest species a precursor to the Whitetail species, which eventually spread across N. America. One study even postulated that Mule deer seemed to arise from a cross of WT and BTs. I do believe that it is Mule deer that are the newcomers to the N. American deer family, the subspecies estimated to be possibly as young as 20,000 - 40,000 years old. Very likely a geographical separation from the other two species occurred during the period of glaciation around that time (my own conjecture). Certainly, BT and Muleys are closely related as they maintain the ability to crossbreed and produce offspring that are fertile.
Ultimately, the WT is the most adaptable of the three species. They both occupy virtually every type of terrain and ecosystem within their ranges, but WTs tend to be much more numerous than BTs in many of those settings. BT would be much easier to hunt, much like those in N. California and S. Oregon, if we removed 80% of the vegetation they call home. Given the same level of vegetation, I believe WTs would be equally difficult to hunt as BTs, maybe harder, due to their tendency to run forever. BT have no need to. They've learned to stop at the first cover and hold, which sometimes doesn't work out all that well for a predator carrying a gun. You've just got to find them first.
Post by: 1851navycolt on September 15, 2018, 09:25:37 AM
Post by: MonstroMuley on September 15, 2018, 10:00:12 AM
BT: = "Big Buck Ghosts"
Post by: deerhunter_98520 on September 15, 2018, 12:49:54 PM
The view at my typical whitetail grounds.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/8ad6dc1f9415e77fbe13895dd5898545.jpg)
The view where I’ve hunted blacktails.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180914/617116eb44b3abd8963b5968c63dfc94.jpg)
(I’m kidding. I've never hunted here)
Where you hunting blacktail that's pretty open country :chuckle:
Post by: Huntingtony on September 18, 2018, 01:17:57 AM