public land blacktail traditional archer

[Jeremyfromjtown]

    I am starting to research hunting public land in Washington for a trip I am planning to make in September. I am from Arkansas and only hunt whitetails in the Ozarks and the Mississippi delta region.
                        Requesting info and 
  insight about this. Thanks. Also I have never been on any type of "forum"

[addicted1]

I’d recommend hunting in Modern Season using a trad bow if you are targeting a buck, target closer to Halloween if you can. Set the bar low, really low and if you see a deer any deer then consider that success. Blacktail are pretty similar to WT, thick cover and edge habitat. Old spur roads are a good start.

Good luck. I know everyone thinks they hunt the hardest animal, but trad hunting out of state BT will be a challenge for any hunter. Hunt by sign, not by animals seen. They are crafty.

[Kingofthemountain83]

Do a lot of research on the WDFW site to see which gmu is best for you for access, success rates, and deer numbers/densities... And cross reference on OnX... Huntstand isn't very good here, I got a free trial with some game cams and was frustrated using it and went back to OnX... WDFW mostly bases blacktail numbers off of harvest statistics... There are more gmu's that have any deer legal vs any buck and one 3 point min gmu for archery... There is a lot of private timberland that is pay to play with some having better blackie hunting than others... You have to purchase access earlier in the year via a website to the timberlands...  There's also some public land with good/ok/bad blackie hunting... Hunting in a gmu with low deer numbers can still be very productive if you find the area where most the deer are and want to be... I've shot 6 blackie I can recall 40 yards or under with a rifle or muzzy... Again looking up potential gmu's on the WDFW page will give you a great starting point to see if they interest you...

[raydog]

I’d recommend hunting in Modern Season using a trad bow if you are targeting a buck, target closer to Halloween if you can. Set the bar low, really low and if you see a deer any deer then consider that success. Blacktail are pretty similar to WT, thick cover and edge habitat. Old spur roads are a good start.

Good luck. I know everyone thinks they hunt the hardest animal, but trad hunting out of state BT will be a challenge for any hunter. Hunt by sign, not by animals seen. They are crafty.

   I hunted archery seasons only, for the first 5 years I began hunting. Killed a few does as a teenager. Never did get a buck with my bow. Then switched to rifle and proceeded to kill bucks almost every year. The kicker is that most of these bucks were within bow range   

[kodiak06]

Go big, Jason Bunch on Kodiak Island. It would be way more fun guaranteed.
https://www.facebook.com/huntkodiak

[kodiak06]

Be aware, before the 2025 season baiting was legal in WA and guides did have clients hunting bait so keep in that in mind when you see kill pics from different guide pages, it's a different ballgame for them now.

[pd]

@Jeremyfromjtown

Do not come in September.  Hunt the rain during the last week of October.  The broad leaf maples will have released their leaves by then, the rain will have softened the leaves (making your stalk very quiet).  Hunt the fern bottoms.  Hunt the rut, the bucks will be cruising.  Spot and stalk, no need for tree stands.

20-yard shots are definitely possible.

Thickly covered national forests are a waste of time.  You want open canopy (older growth), with ferns. 

If you are serious, keep up this thread.  There are a lot of very successful bow hunters on this site.  After a while they might release a bit of intel.

By the way, that time frame is rifle season.  If you chose your area poorly, there will be a sea of bobbing pumpkins.

[Sundance]

Be aware, before the 2025 season baiting was legal in WA and guides did have clients hunting bait so keep in that in mind when you see kill pics from different guide pages, it's a different ballgame for them now.

I'd be curious to know how many fewer blacktail bucks were taken since the baiting ban. Likewise, what would that number fall to if cell cameras were also restricted. Not saying I support either, but I would imagine a drastic reduction, especially for mature bucks.

[kodiak06]

Be aware, before the 2025 season baiting was legal in WA and guides did have clients hunting bait so keep in that in mind when you see kill pics from different guide pages, it's a different ballgame for them now.

I'd be curious to know how many fewer blacktail bucks were taken since the baiting ban. Likewise, what would that number fall to if cell cameras were also restricted. Not saying I support either, but I would imagine a drastic reduction, especially for mature bucks.

Most people putting out cell cams aren't running in and killing deer. We all know that most hunters are run and gun types on the coast and it's typically great scouting or dumb luck on mature der.... Hunters pushing cell cam bans being implemented are pretty much taking over the role of anti hunters. Baiting was banned and welcomed by some and not others but what it did was take away the joy of hunting for some, especially some disabled hunters.

[addicted1]

 

Cell cameras are fun, they don’t kill deer.

[Jeremyfromjtown]

Thank you all for the info!
it is a very good start for me

[Jeremyfromjtown]

    I am looking at Alpine lakes wilderness area.
  does anyone have any knowledge about this location?

[Sundance]

    I am looking at Alpine lakes wilderness area.
  does anyone have any knowledge about this location?

You’ll need to verify, but there is very little area if none of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness that meets P&Y boundary criteria for Columbia blacktail deer. There are plenty of areas along the cascades and parts on the eastern side that hold hybrids, or “benchlegs”. If you’re seeking a buck that could be entered in the book, you’ll need to look west or study the boundary. If you don’t care about the book requirement there are plenty of big deer in the mountains that have blacktail characteristics.

[scotsman]

The entire Puger Sound lowlands are packed with Blacktails. There are two primary times when we see’m - March through July when they show at first and last light, and again late October during the rut. I saw these two on our lower property near Gig Harbor, then walked back to the house to get a camera and tripod. I slowly zizagged back where they were, set up the camera and posed these piccs. The buck was so tired from vhasing ladies all night he just looked at me and said, “ It don’t get any better than this, just kill me now.”.

Take whatever lesson you want from this episode…This was October 19… after archery season but during gun season. There are many areas in Puget Sound lowlands with firearm restriction areas. Legal to hunt archery during gun sesson, hmmm.

[Boss .300 winmag]

    I am looking at Alpine lakes wilderness area.
  does anyone have any knowledge about this location?

You’ll need to verify, but there is very little area if none of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness that meets P&Y boundary criteria for Columbia blacktail deer. There are plenty of areas along the cascades and parts on the eastern side that hold hybrids, or “benchlegs”. If you’re seeking a buck that could be entered in the book, you’ll need to look west or study the boundary. If you don’t care about the book requirement there are plenty of big deer in the mountains that have blacktail characteristics.

If it’s east of the pacific crest trail blacktails don’t exist according to the record books. But those bench leggers get big.😉

[pd]

@scotsman

Those are wonderful pictures.  Please don't remove them.  They really do explain the Puget Sound blacktail situation.

Nice looking broad head on that trad bow, by the way.   

[Jeremyfromjtown]

   Thank you!
  I’m in the right track now. I think!
What about the lower quilcene trail?
I found a YouTube video of a hiker videoing this trail.
It looks really good to me. The trailhead starts just to the east of the Buckhorn wilderness area and heads west to the upper trail head. The trail does not look like it is in the wilderness area so I did not know if it was huntable or not.

[Sundance]

Hunting the big timber in the national forest on the eastern slope of the Olympics is tough business. There are deer there, but the amount of predators is absurd. Long term scouting (cameras) will get you in a general area to start, but flying blind into that country you may not see a deer all day, for multiple days. Most people focus on state lands where there is active logging or they head higher to the alpine where they can glass. For reference, we have a cabin less than a mile from where you’re talking about and I find myself spending less time looking for deer and more time looking for bear and cougars there. My best advice, stay below 1500’ of elevation and find a thick river bottom in close proximity to 40 year old+ timber, a clear cut, and thick 6-8 year reprod.

[scotsman]

Take a look at State Timberland on the Dabob Peninsula.

[MADMAX]

And any gates you park at leave nothing of value you can’t live without.

[kodiak06]

And any gates you park at leave nothing of value you can’t live without.

Hope they don't drill ya gas tank as well.

[MADMAX]

And any gates you park at leave nothing of value you can’t live without.

Hope they don't drill ya gas tank as well.

I heard about a guy up in the Toutle state patch they did that to
Bastages

[Jeremyfromjtown]

   Thank you for info about quilcene area. Yeah, we don’t have cougars in Arkansas unless you go the eagles lodge on Saturday night.
I really appreciate all the comments. I’ll take a look at dalbob peninsula