Blacktails: Things are heating up!

[Imdone]

Very respectable BT ccrcc. Congrats !

Those tougher extractions are what make it more memorable and appreciative of our great outdoors !

[Redthies]

Beauty buck ccrcc!

Caddis, thanks for the thread. It was a great year for me and my family. Lots of memorable days afield. Still some ducks to be ambushed...

[180grainer]

That looks like an awesome buck.

[last light]

Nice buck ccrcc, congrats he's a beauty. Looks like a nice healthy animal to put in the freezer, excellent table fare.

Thanks for the input Caddis. In my area it seems that the deer can be found mid mountain (600 meters) to very high (1200 meters) in September. Then October comes around and they seem to congregate around mid mountain for the pre-rut/rut. Multiple rub lines found at this height, lots of track, as well as doe and fawn sightings.

You are right about hunting them where they are, not where they have been. Hunting fresh sign is key. It just seems like they make a fresh rub line in October/early November and then by November 15 the rub lines are abandoned. No more fresh rubs or tracks. I realize by the lack of sign that the deer seem to have moved on elsewhere, probably not too far either. I just need to find out where that exact spot is. Maybe with a bit of snow coming and a couple days off work I can try to figure out this puzzle. Still got til Wednesday.......

[ccrcc]

Thanks all. He is a beauty. One of the nicer, bigger bodied ones I have harvested from that area.
In this spot they hang out at snowline, whatever elevation that is. Then get pushed down by snow. Never see them or any tracks in high or super deep snow, too hard to forage for food I suppose.
Then they are on the move, and in a hurry, to the wintering grounds. So I would try to locate the thick shit where they can hide/eat on their way to their winter condos, then throw yer boots in 4low and creeeep.

[Bubbacanuck]

Was out again this weekend and had lots of traffic and snow. No dice. Oh well, was a great deer season still even though I didn’t get a BT this year. I did manage to get my first mulie so that sort of makes up for it haha.

switched over to waterfowl yesterday but only scratched out one duck. Lots of birds flying but the cold and flooding in the valley has them kinda all over the place.

next week goose opens again, so hoping to get out and smash some birds before Xmas.

Here is to waterfowl and predator hunting until spring bear and turkey opens.

Good luck everyone!