Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: Feathernfurr on August 22, 2024, 04:53:29 PM
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Anyone have experience with hunting blacktail bucks when you know where they bed? I like running my cameras in bedding areas, it’s a trick I used frequently for whitetails. I’ve got a decent blacktail that’s pretty consistent using the bed both at night and during the day. Plan to hunt him during MF when he’s rutting hopefully. But every time I watch him lay up in the bed for a few hours I start getting the itch to swap to an archery tag. He’s still in velvet, and I’ve been given the impression that I should expect him to disappear as soon as he’s hard horned. Seasons getting close and I’m chomping at the bit.
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All I know is once modern hits they starting moving. you have a multi season? If not I’d wait till August 30th to make the call. He might change his movements by then.
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The odds of him bedding there during the rut are slim. He'll be all over the country sleeping next to does in their areas. Multi season is a blacktail hunters best friend. 1st few days of Sept, last week of October and the first 2 weeks of December. Sure Nov can be good but it can also mean lockdown time and slow going. Early December you can catch him cruising again looking for does that got missed. What ever tag you choose the best thing you can do is be in the woods in the peak movement periods and don't get burned out early. Staying in bed because its been slow for a weeks or 2 saves a lot of buck lives.
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Unfortunately I was late to the game for multi season tags this year, but will definitely attempt to go that route in the future. Good news is burn out usually isn’t an issue. I’ll sit in a tree everyday of the season regardless of how slow it is if I have the time. It’s been interesting learning about BT. I’ve watched this buck stay in his bed from 6am to 8pm on occasions.
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IME if you KNOW he is bedding there, AND it's a secure bed ( not in the middle of a clear cut ) he likely will maintain that pattern even after he knocks the velvet off, usually good for a week or 2 into September. Once the juice starts flowing though it's anyone's game and he will probably move towards girls and post up in thick unhuntable junk.
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He doesn’t bed there every day. Probably every 4-5 days for 1-2 days at a time. The idea of trying to put a stalk on him in his sounds tempting, but I imagine you only get 1 chance, and the reliance on the cell can feels a bit like unethical if I’m honest. Still on the fence about how I feel about cell cams.
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I’d leave him alone in his bedding area and hunt the fringe
Is he a yard deer or public ?
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Kind of my thought. Placed that camera 2 months ago and don’t have much intention of boogering up his bedroom. Private.
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Lifetime home average range 500 yds
90 % time spent in core area 35% of his range will be thick , rubs
Edges best
Stay out of bedding area
I just can’t shoot a yard deer personally
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He’s on a ~200ac piece of property so he’s not quite a yard deer, but definitely a valley deer and not a mountain buck. I totally understand what you mean though. I will say I’d rather see them get killed by a hunter than a car when the woods they live in get turned into an apartment complex.
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He’s on a ~200ac piece of property so he’s not quite a yard deer, but definitely a valley deer and not a mountain buck. I totally understand what you mean though. I will say I’d rather see them get killed by a hunter than a car when the woods they live in get turned into an apartment complex.
Totally agree bud
👍
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MADMAX - you saying 90% of the time they live in the core area, is that 10% of the time they aren’t during the rut?
I see that with does for sure, only time I gets bucks in certain areas is during the rut 1-2 weeks. They show up for a day or two, then disappear to who knows where. Year after year without hesitation. Always over roughly the same 11 day period.
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MADMAX - you saying 90% of the time they live in the core area, is that 10% of the time they aren’t during the rut?
I see that with does for sure, only time I gets bucks in certain areas is during the rut 1-2 weeks. They show up for a day or two, then disappear to who knows where. Year after year without hesitation. Always over roughly the same 11 day period.
I took the blacktail seminar a couple years ago
It was very interesting
https://theblacktailcoach.com/
I’ve watched my deer around my property and it does seem that to be the case
Another thing I found interesting was
Rising 32+ barometer best
I had always thought best on a falling barometer
Stormy in between squalls second
The rut definitely changes everything
