Help with Blacktails

[Steelie Ben]

Well, this is my first year hunting and I am looking for a little advice. I went out the first two weekends of the season and accually saw my first buck. I didn't shoot becuase I wasn't sure if it was a fork'd or better, well after he turned to run I saw that he was a 5x5. That really put a damper on my spirits, knowing that I might have blown my only chance for a buck this year. I got a good call and have been practicing for about two weeks now and feel I have it down really good. I usually still hunt and am wondering if calling and still hunting go good together? If you have any tips that might help me that you want to share please feel free. Good luck to all.
SB

[fishncliff]

Too bad on the buck I done did that last year. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]
I still hunt. I have used a call to some degree, but not till late buck season or if they are in the rut.
I just got a nice 2x3 on monday,still hunting and stalking.
Good luck to ya.

[Grantspastor]

A change in the weather helps. Best time to hunt Blacktails is in the rain and wind. They don't like to be in the brush when it's storming, and you're more likely to catch them out in view. The later in the season it gets helps too because they are thinking about the rut. In my experience Blacktail bucks will never be far from cover...they will always have an escape route or two from where they are bedded. If you can find a new burn clear cut or a recent fire there should be deer there. I've never tried calling. Good luck. I think a big Blacktail is the most difficult of all deer trophies. Just keep at it. There are plenty of them out there

[Norm]

I think GrantsPastor has it nailed. My father was a blacktail killing machine, unfortunately it didn't rub off on me . A few tricks I learned from the master. He used to sit on a stand all morning without making a move(I mean still) until about noon. Then, if it was raining he would still-hunt in the bedding area's. If he was after a big buck, he would sit on the bucks escape route until someone pushed it out to him. The best time to hunt is after a heavy two or three day storm. They won't feed much at night if it's nasty but will be out feeding as soon as it breaks. Blacktail trophy hunting is really a patience game.

[FishBowl]

I love them blacktails, and all those hunting shows talk about how wiley the whitetail deer is I have yet to see show after show of people taking blacktail bucks. I would like to see some of them easterners get schooled by a truly wiley animal like our western oregon blacktail's. My last harvest was about 3 years ago and was my first bow kill, and it was a spike buck and just felt lucky to take such a beautiful animal.
Tim

[Snapset]

Ben, I am convinced that the reason success for Blacktails is so low is because most casual hunters hunt opening day, and maybe one other weekend in the beginning of the season, and get burned out crunching through the clearcuts.

I agree with what everybody else has written. Here is my advice: Start hunting this week, look for trails leading between feeding areas, rubs and beds. Stay out of the clearcuts, just hunt the fringes. Hunt hard if it is or has recently been raining, and hunt SLOW. If there are boot tracks other than mine where I am hunting, I go farther from the road until there are none. If you hunt hard from now til end of season, following the advice these guys are giving you, my money says that you will get a buck.
Wool pants with suspenders, Goretex lined boots, and a good breathable rain shell are much more important than any equipment except an accurate rifle.
If you think you would like stand hunting (I don't)and are after a book buck, read Blacktail Trophy Tactics by Boyd Iverson. An excellent book.

[Chromaflage]

Well, I've been looking for an opportunity to show one off. But, this confrims the rain theory. I bagged this 18.5" Blacktail in 2000 at about 10:30 im the AM during the rain - it had been raining for a couple days prior. He came out about 50 to 60 yards from cover to eat. I took him to the Sportsman's Show last year where he scored 109!! Missed book by 1 point. But He's a trophy to me.



ORS

[ 10-22-2003, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: OregonRedside ]

[Grantspastor]

Very Nice!

[Lured In]

I have harvested two bucks in the last 4 years with my muzzleloader. One was a good sized fork with 1.5" eye guards. Actual points he was a 3x2, but the one beam hadn't really forked enough for me to call him anything bigger. (eastern counting he would have been a 4x3 :shocked: ) The second was a nice 3 point. One thing to keep in mind is understand your area and where the hunting pressure comes from. IMHO that will dictate where the deer are and when you will see them more than other factors. (excluding the rut).

Here are some key things that I look for. I usually hunt within 200-300 yards of a clear cut, meadow or burn that have good feed in them. I then look for a points, draws and ridges that are nearby that have bigger timber with good cover in them. Sometimes this is nothing more than a 50' hill or high spot in the area. The cover could be blowdowns, or young fir thickets or even high fern cover. (Blackberries too in some areas).

Walk a few deer trails along the ridge in the timber. Look for entrance or exit routes from the cover, through the timber and into the feeding area. Find where several trails intersect in the timber and set up off the trail on the downwind side.

I have seen lots of deer this way. The years I haven't got a deer since using the method, have been too CLOSE to get my gun up. One year I had 3 deer withing 10 yards!

Keep at in and learn your area. Look where the trails are going and for rub lines along the trails. Let the deer tell you where they are at. [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

[novice]

SB
Whatever you do....DON'T...I repeat DON'T...rattle a few horns together, and mix it up with a few buck grunts. It will NOT work this time of year. They come in to fast to even get a shot off. :grin:
novice

[Steelie Ben]

Thanks for all the reply's and help. I see most of you stay out of the clear cuts but you also state that is where they feed. What should I be looking for in a clearcut or burn that represents food to deer? I hunt a nice blowdown area next to a 70yd wide thicket close to a 5 year old cut, should I concentrate my efforts closer to the thicket or the cut? Thanks again for all the help, if I harvest an animal you will be the first to hear/see it.
SB

[blacktail]

Move slowly. Spend more time standing still and looking than actually moving. Use you binoculars.
Best hunting is when it is misting or raining. The later in the season the better.

Mike

[Fishbone]

Steelie,

I am a big fan of hunting over heavily-used trails via ground/tree stands, especially where several trails intersect. It is very exciting when a buck strolls by at close range.

Although this method is often rewarding, it can be hard on the patience level at times.

Stick with it!

[Steelie Ben]

Thanks for all the info and advice, alas I am still holding an unpunched tag. I only saw two deer all weekend, both on my way to camp friday night. I followed your advice though and posted up on a blocked road about two miles in. There were several rubs and scrapes in the area I sat so I know bucks were in the area. After about three hours sitting with nothing moving I figured I would try my hand at calling. I made some short soft grunts followed by a long drawn out grunt, about five minutes after finishing I hear something running through the thicket towards me. I grunted a few more times and it kept coming. I stood up to see over the brush in front of me and spooked it back into the woods. I never saw it and could only guess it was a buck, it didn't grunt or snort or anything at me so I guess I will never know. We need some rain and I will be back at the same spot next weekend.
SB

[Snapset]

90% of my bucks die while I am chewing homemade dried pumpkin seeds.