blacktails live and learn

[scotty30-06]

Hey guys I know myself as a self taught hunter chasing blacktails is tough...and I know there is more then a few guys that would love tips and tactics (not honey holes!!!)...on these tough de to hunt.....i have read pg66 black tails threads an what I'm wondering is if any new tricks ha been learned since 2010?....(at very worst get a fresh BT thread going ;p

[Ferenc]

Finding the perennial rub areas has worked for me..... Once you find one you will know : )

[ruger#1]

I have been hunting them since I was 17. You never stop learning.

[takla1]

Ive found a few good spots that ive been hitting.They are a climb tho and that's the secrete ,get off the beaten path,find sign .The bucks start to get stupid{rut} the first week of nov..prime time to spend as much time as possible in their haunts to get the opportunity for a shot.

takla

[.264winmag]

Been 5 years since I chased grey ghosts' on the island. Shot quite a few but not very many good ones. An old mature bt is as challenging as they come. The few I'm proud of came while hunting the ugliest weather the coast can throw at you, or the calm just before/after. Also blew it on the biggest I ever seen during a monsoon at first light, still haunts me.
And as said, find good rubs in november and he'll be close...

Good luck and enjoy the chase!

[Jovesque]

I'm basically brand new to Blacktails and really keen to learn more too. I use to hunt in Quebec which is a different experience altogether(whitetails and tamer landscape).

Last year I though I'd just go deer hunting and was immediately drawn into the world of Blacktails and deep/high timber still hunts. So far I've sponged up every bit of free or cheap advice I could get my hands on including PG66 and his App over the last year. With everything now in order, I've gone out on every opportunity and love it. So far I've only saw one bedding once, but wasn't able to close the gap enough to see what it was. Had a few black bears come to within a 10 yards which was pretty cool; I had the wind working for me in both instances. Looking forward to the end of the month when I have more time to get back out there.

The last few times have been pretty quiet with the exception of some nut jobs irresponsibly shooting off thousands of rounds from questionable firearms in a cut no more than 500 yards from my location. It was disappointing to say the least; 3.5 hours of racket. Turns out they were target shooing at paper and who knows what else with no back drop and rounds going into the forest I had previously scouted and could have been in. Thats a rant.

I hope to see more more follow up discussion on this topic

Safe bounty everyone.

[scotty30-06]

I have a couple good spots with sign but I get in this one clear cut tons of sign and I'm there early and leave just after shooting light and nothing....im full camoed and sit still.....you can't take 2 steps without stepping on tracks or droppings.....but it's almost like they are ghost....i love the challenge but this spot is driving me nuts....never have I seen sooo much sign and almost no fur other then 2 does cruising....hell I have even seen bear and what I believe to be elk sign....I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if they only travel the route at night....i set up trail cam with some buck jam in front and will be retrieving SD card this weekend...heres hoping I'm just missing them and I can adjust....im worries it's more a night time hot spot which would really suck

[tinhorse]

Give it a couple weeks and they will be showing up during the day also.... All in good time!

[Dash]

I have a couple good spots with sign but I get in this one clear cut tons of sign and I'm there early and leave just after shooting light and nothing....im full camoed and sit still.....you can't take 2 steps without stepping on tracks or droppings.....but it's almost like they are ghost....i love the challenge but this spot is driving me nuts....never have I seen sooo much sign and almost no fur other then 2 does cruising....hell I have even seen bear and what I believe to be elk sign....I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if they only travel the route at night....i set up trail cam with some buck jam in front and will be retrieving SD card this weekend...heres hoping I'm just missing them and I can adjust....im worries it's more a night time hot spot which would really suck

Really interested to see the footage on this one. I bet persistence will pay off!

[brian]

I have a couple good spots with sign but I get in this one clear cut tons of sign and I'm there early and leave just after shooting light and nothing....im full camoed and sit still.....you can't take 2 steps without stepping on tracks or droppings.....but it's almost like they are ghost....i love the challenge but this spot is driving me nuts....never have I seen sooo much sign and almost no fur other then 2 does cruising




I have hunted a place like this before and like you never saw a soul inside of it other than hunters driving the roads. The first question I would ask myself is how easy is the access to the area/ how much hunting pressure will it receive? Obviously high localized hunting pressure will make the deer avoid those areas until the pressure is off. If I had any advice I would push the bush around the cuts until you find bedding grounds. Find the trails they will likely use and set up on them deeper in the timber. Just because the deer are only visible in the cuts in the dark doesn't mean they are not up and moving during day light hours. Also my mistake back in the day was not looking at the larger picture and viewing areas in isolation. If you scale back you might see some reason they will not be there when you are.

[Salty]

I've been at it about 15 years. I've had a couple split second chances on hat rack material as far as black tails go, and that's it they knew I was there before I did them and 3 or 4 bounds and disappeared never to be seen again. I've read everything going as well talked to quite a few guys about it but hunt alone almost always for them so whatever good/bad habits I've got I came up with myself! lmao

But the more I do it the more I think that really its something that can't be taught you have to do it yourself and start seeing and experiencing all the moves these buggers can make and leave you high and dry. Its more like golf or skiing or something you just have to do it and put your time in. Luckily its reasonably easy to find younger bucks and that's what keeps a guy going I guess I've passed on a ton of them but shot 3 or 4 just so I don't go completely insane. hahaha As others have said getting a fully mature prime of his time buck and actually even the old guys on the downhill is about as difficult an achievement as there is hunting wise. There's the odd person that's lucked in to one but the huge percentage has put in a shit ton of boot time. It is what it is.

Keep researching and reading tho its all good I'm sure its helped me quite a bit. The business of find the girls and the bucks will come to you is very true. But, they're still grey ghosts coming so its far far from a gimme. A few other morsels are keep looking for the rubs later in the year. And when you fund them don't bugger them up with your sign, back out and think up a plan. I've never actually connected this way but I've played hide and seek with a few by still hunting day after day and getting close calls or seeing that they've been back but I missed them. When you find one don't be afraid to come back to it next year either ;) When the moons are big, very tough sledding. They may never show themselves in the day light.
Calls. Zero success here but I know they can work. One thing I've seen them do though is a couple gentle doe bleats have settled down a harem that are on edge. A few times they hear my dumb ass snap or rustle, hear the doe bleat and go back feeding. Haven't brought a buck in with any kind of call yet tho.

Get out there. Don't be hard on yourself its not a competition. Enjoy the day. If you're not enjoying it, it might be best trying another type of hunting. Its a huge test on the patience and if your bummed and frustrated you're just not going to put the time in.

[brian]

One thing I've seen them do though is a couple gentle doe bleats have settled down a harem that are on edge. A few times they hear my dumb ass snap or rustle, hear the doe bleat and go back feeding. Haven't brought a buck in with any kind of call yet tho.
I've done this too, it works to calm them down. Last doe I killed I brought back to me by mimicking her snort wheeze back to her. She had got away scott free but curiosity got the best of her. I had the coolest looking half albino buck about 60 yards away from me when I was calling. I am not sure if my calling worked or he happened to be there and was confused as hell by what I was doing. I blew it on him but I am determined to keep trying to call. I try a bit every season but I haven't drawn a buck to me by calling (Yet).

Get out there. Don't be hard on yourself its not a competition. Enjoy the day. If you're not enjoying it, it might be best trying another type of hunting. Its a huge test on the patience and if your bummed and frustrated you're just not going to put the time in.
So true, I can't tell you how many times I came home so thoroughly discouraged in the evening, but the very next morning I would be counting the days till I could get out there again.

[scotty30-06]

Awesome tips.....and don't get me wrong I absoultly love hunting them just all a learning curve....but I'm interested to se what's on the cam for sure

[ryanonthevedder]

Born and raised a stone's throw from BT country. My best tip is you can't shoot one from the couch. You never know when you will happen upon one so you just need to pound ground IMO.

[ruger#1]

Born and raised a stone's throw from BT country. My best tip is you can't shoot one from the couch. You never know when you will happen upon one so you just need to pound ground IMO. Ha Ha. I used to sit and drink coffee on my fathers porch. He would watch me take his 870 with SSGs and go across the road and shoot a black tail buck. I have done that four years in a row. And it was in mid October when they would show up. The biggest one I seen there was a 4X4. Biggest one I have shot there was a 3X3 and lower. In the valleys they like to run alone the blackberries. They love trotting through water.

[.264winmag]

Bleats and soft grunts have worked well for myself and hunting buds. Two can bleats and one soft grunt will suck out a decent buck even from his hot doe. You have to be quite close though, like so close you know he's there and ready to bust you. This gets him coming to you before you blow your cover like I usually do. Ass n antlers going away for a couple bounds is what I seen usually until I started slowing down and calling.

[takla1]

Aggressive rattleing at snow level first couple weeks of Nov will bring them in running...if there in the area.Weve killed many this way and if you have neg temps rattle till noon.

takla

[scotty30-06]

Tried can calls....brings in does....but will try rattling snow line approach and even in my "spot"....with all the sign....dosnt hurt that's for sure

[.264winmag]

Oh yeah rattling for sure works, especially in the pre-rut. Anything that might sound challenging to a dominate buck, which is why I found it more effective to grunt along with a bleat or 2. Can works good to for still hunting to calm em down before spooking off, make too much noise for a couple steps just bleat to let em know you're just a clumsy doe!

[hookedonblacktails]

Tried can calls....brings in does....but will try rattling snow line approach and even in my "spot"....with all the sign....dosnt hurt that's for sure

Is there mature timber close to this slash? If so how much time have you spent in it and how deep in did you go?

[ruger#1]

Tried can calls....brings in does....but will try rattling snow line approach and even in my "spot"....with all the sign....dosnt hurt that's for sure I use a rattle bag. Watched a four point and a three point locking antlers. I rattled. They would break a part. Takla shot the three point. The next day I shot the four point. When you are starting to go into a slash. Watch for a flicker of white. Could be a bird or a tail of a deer. Watch the tree line. Their trails are ten to twenty yards into the tree line. Another important thing is. You might just see a head with antlers looking at you.so just do not focus on the whole deer. They a not called grey ghosts for nothing. I shot one that looked like a Holstein. It was a spike. And one of the coolest blacktails I have shot.

[scotty30-06]

There is mature timber all around and game trails going in every direction....but at the top is a gully that runs down from the top of the mountain....almost like a shoot from alpine to Valley bottom..but to try and hike up it would be brutal if not impossible that's why I'm hunting the slash....the slash is like a giant taco shell lol

[ruger#1]

Put up a tree stand and be ready. Keep your eyes open. Sometimes times they will run into a clear cut. Like it is the last one on earth. I had my trail cam up a few years ago. Got pictures of a nice 3x3. At 1am. Never seen that deer all season. Ended up shooting a spike. That's another thing. You might think you are watching a doe. But it could be a spike. I have seen spikes with an Inch and a half spikes. So use you binoculars on its head. And keep an eye behind it. As a buck might sneak in. You need lots of patients with blacktails.

[scotty30-06]

I do have a tree stand....and if trail cam has bucks on it them the stand will go up...wish I stumbled onto this spot earlier so I could have done more pre scouting....but I'm just glad I found it.

[ruger#1]

Keep at it. And keep the wind in your face. Getting your first blacktail seems like the hardest thing to do. My first one was up west Harrison. Close to twenty miles bay.

[scotty30-06]

Haha right on I hunt east side a fair bit....i actually have a permanent RV set up there and is great base camp for spring bear season.....spot I'm talking is Chilliwack area

[BCBear]

pick up a copy of the books by Boyd Iverson they are good reads with very useful info. For some reason amazon has them waaaayyyy overpriced. As for the ghosts I've gotten a few but those big boys are just so hard to find!

[hookedonblacktails]

I'd try to spend more time in the timber. It may seem impossibly thick but my experience is that there are often areas that are a little more open in that timber and that seems to attract rutting blacktails, almost like secret rut holes away from the crowds. If they're not in the slash they have to be somewhere. Go on Google Earth and look closely at the color of the timber and try to find spots that are a bit lighter in color. It will probably be a spot a bit more open possibly full of ferns. If it's got rubs in it you're golden, secret rut hole that no one bothers to go into.....that's why they're there.