Coastal Blacktail deer numbers? Trail cam footage/sign.

[DeerForce]

I know Blacktails are a niche topic or interest for few folks, but I've been wondering from those who are following them, if you've noticed a drop in cam footage/sign this year following a harsh winter on the coast, or conversely a dry summer?

[Harvest the Land]

Great question. I was assuming the same thing, but the area I hunt in the northern Cascades I've gotten so many more deer on camera this summer than ever before. And surprisingly the majority have been bucks (mostly spikers and forks) but I do have a few big forked horns and a giant 3 pointer on camera. Also have a number of does with fawns on camera too.

Yesterday we got to our spot shortly before 6am, made the perfect entry into our blind with wind in our favour, didn't make any noise, we smelled like cedar trees. Right around 7am a giant doe and fawn stroll right in front of our blind, casually sniffing and tasting stuff along the way. (the blind is setup on the edge of a small bench, and really close to the trail, so very cool to see them up so close). 20 minutes later a group of 3 spike bucks come right to us from the opposite side of the trail. Unfortunately I came down with a severe case of buck fever and shot low. Thought I hit one of them, but there was no blood trail. We searched for the next 4 hours looking for him, but eventually found my bullet hole in a stump right where I shot, and I definitely shot low - it was a pretty brutal shot as anyone could have nailed him right in the boiler room he was so close to us. Oh well, that's why they call it hunting and not "bagging". I sometimes have a real tough time maintaining my composure and steady hands when there's bucks right in front of the blind. Regardless it was pretty awesome to hang out with the grey ghosts yesterday morning.

But to answer your question, I've never seen so many blacktails on my trail cams, and never had so many walk by my blind before. So in the north Cascades (in the area I hunt anyway) they seem to have done really well over the rough winter. The fawn I saw yesterday morning still had spots and was still trying to nurse and was still pretty small, so I'm guessing her mom might have missed getting bred in her first estrous and got bred late November/early December. Not sure if that had anything to do with the rough winter or not.

Sorry to ramble on - I just love talking blacktails so much I could go on about them all day (sure beats talking about work right now).

Let me know if you're seeing any deer in your area. Good luck this season!

[caddisguy]

I have noticed an increase on the trailcams. Saw a lot more does with twins this year and several bucks... couple nice ones too. Also seeing a lot more deer. A total of 6 over the weekend. Actually maybe 7 now that I think of it (its possible two could have been the same)

Technically anything I see is not really a blacktail, as I hunt outside the official blacktail zone, but it's blacktail genetics for the most part and the odd mule or hyrid.

[scotty30-06]

I wonder where they really start fadeing into muleys...hope?...pitt lake?....shit couqahalla summit?...hmmmmm

[deadlyshot19]

I wonder where they really start fadeing into muleys...hope?...pitt lake?....shit couqahalla summit?...hmmmmm

Past hope, there is a map outlining the areas. Which of course isn't a black and white line in the real world, but I have found it to be fairly accurate minus the few stragglers and cross breed/hybrid deer.

[caddisguy]

There are dominant blacktail genetics all the way up the canyon to Boston Bar or Coq to the summit.

I believe the official boundary is the peak of the mountain range between Hope and Chilliwack, but I would estimate 90% of deer on the Hope side are dominant or pure blacktail genetics. There are roughly the same number of pure mules or hybrids in the valleys on either side.

There are no borders as you mentioned. Moose and whitetails show up in Chilliwack/Hope. It's the really the habitat that changes. Blacktails like steep country and jungle rainforests. Once you hit Merritt or Cache Creek, it is obvious blacktail country is long gone.

One question I have is if blacktails will continue to exist on the mainland or if they will be displaced and breed out of existance. Mule deer and whitetails seem pretty adaptable to the coastal rainforests.

[scotty30-06]

Very interesting point caddis....I assume general population of mule deer compaired to blacktails dosnt even compair....so having that much reinforcements for mule deer coming in on blacktail country....I wonder if only islands on bc coast would sustain a real pure population. ....on a side note....has your action picked up on the cams.....I have one up high soaking and gonna put on right on the valley bottom. ...people say BT like high altitude amd brutal terrain. ...but I cant see some big bucks not hanging out down low ....where no one goes into and food is plentiful and timber is thick....theres no way a few atleast wont be in there.

[caddisguy]

Actions on the cam, yes and no. It's been a while since I posted any trailcam videos due to lack of time. It doesn't help that YouTube removed their video editor which was great for mixing video in 3 different formats from 6 cams... short story long:

Up until October I had a lot of good bucks on my mountain of focus. A young 4x4, mature 3x3 which huge bases, a gnarly looking 4x3 I call The Godfather (cool vid of him interacting with a fawn, seemed to be politely telling the fawn he will always be the boss)

I haven't seen any of these bucks since the beginning of October. I am seeing a fork almost daily. Looking at the cam footage, I almost bumped into him (well, missed him by an hour so "almost" might or might not be the right word)

Still lots of does. At least 3 single does and a few does with fawns too. Unfortunately a lot of cougar crap in the last few weeks.

It's really neat to what goes on my little mountain. I can tell when someone drives up the road. I had one doe spend an hour watching some people shooting while her fawns messed around and hit the salt). Most of the deer show up on all of the cameras. I have one camera that has seen every deer, so my place to set up seems like a no brainer.

In the last couple weeks the deer have been very nocturnal. The only daytime vids seem to be when it's pouring rain. One video looked like it was snowing pretty good (not sticking though) and the deer were having a blast.

Now I am wondering about this weekend. It's still early but their could be some pre-rut activity or younger bucks harassing does.

Also, the weather for Saturday is saying 50+mm of rain. That is a favourable wildcard. My bucks (and does for the most part) never hit open feeding areas during the day. It's all steep timber with moody wind all over the place so I think a good rain storm will work in my favor, hopefully get them moving and dampen scent and sound.

I am not entirely sure but I think it's too early for rattling or blasting the deer talker. The bucks aren't going to stick with the does and and the mature bucks probably aren't interested in fighting. I don't know how the young 4x4 or the fork would react but I am not going to risk blowing up my spot. I'll be waiting another week at least and will keep it minimal.

That's about it for updates other than caddisgirl is out of the game for now due to back pain. We're not sure exactly what happened but she did tumble down one ridge to the next pretty much head over heels several times in the process. Oddly that happened a couple weeks prior to the onset of the pain. She is doing physio now so hopefully nothing major and a speedy recovery. For now she definitely can't be sleeping in the jeep at night or climbing around during the day. Probably back in it a Boston Bar doe hunt if the snow holds off.

[Grasp]

I'm about to head up to my spot in the Chilliwack valley to check my cam and hunt next week sometime. I'll update everyone. The cam I have up there has been running since last October. It had 8 high-end batteries in it and a 32GB card so I have high hopes. I tried to get in last Nov but was snow locked. Has anyone seen any rutting activity yet? I had good luck last year this exact week rattling and blowing my can.

[scotty30-06]

Hahaha I too will be heading up chilkiwack valley this weekend....black jeep patriot if you see me stop and say hi

[caddisguy]

Crap. It looks like the blacktails will have to wait (and I hope they do just that)

caddisgirl isn't doing good at all. In addition to the back/neck/shoulder problems (from the ridge tumble or whatever caused it) they found she has a major kidney infection and "some other anomoly" they will need to do more tests to look into once the infection is clear, whatever the heck that means. Now she is on harder antibiotics (they thought UTI initially) and has lost 15lbs in the last few weeks. Sorry to derail, just worried as f*** and priorities switched.

I'll post a BT update if and when I get back out there.

[aamenta]

One spike on Sept 5th, and one Doe on Oct 5th.
About 4 black bears, one of which was a big fat sow.

I've been going out lots but haven't been able to connect with one yet.

The snow has been falling on higher elevations and last weekend I was able to spot some tracks in the little show that was up there.
This weekend should be much better, hoping for lots of snow.

[aamenta]

Question for you blacktail hunters because this is something I want to get into heavily due to it's proximity to home.
Does anyone call for them like this?
I found these videos on youtube and Im curious if anyone actually does this and if it works.

This video is of a sitka blacktail call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTV378ESFxM

Here's one for mule deer
https://youtu.be/rvnK7GnBSwM?t=49s

[caddisguy]

Question for you blacktail hunters because this is something I want to get into heavily due to it's proximity to home.
Does anyone call for them like this?
I found these videos on youtube and Im curious if anyone actually does this and if it works.

This video is of a sitka blacktail call
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTV378ESFxM

Here's one for mule deer
https://youtu.be/rvnK7GnBSwM?t=49s

Yes a lot of people use this over rattling. Check out the "deer talker" call.

Essentially it sounds like a fawn in distress. Bucks are sick opportunistic freaks that know the sound of a fawn in distress can trigger a does maternal instincts to protect it which just means "hot date". Quite often they will show up before the does do.

Watch out for cats.

Edit: only do this during the rut ... any other time you might see a doe but bucks want nothing to do with that kind of drama and will run off

[aamenta]

Yes a lot of people use this over rattling. Check out the "deer talker" call.

Essentially it sounds like a fawn in distress. Bucks are sick opportunistic freaks that know the sound of a fawn in distress can trigger a does maternal instincts to protect it which just means "hot date". Quite often they will show up before the does do.

Watch out for cats.

Interesting, thanks for that info.
Have you done any calling like that yet this season?

I am heading out Saturday again. So far I have been going in quiet and making no calls. Perhaps I will try this but yeah I am usually alone so I would hate to attract the attention of cats.

[caddisguy]

No not this season. Check out my edit about timing. It only works during the rut. Any other time bucks will not want to get anywhere near that kind of drama and will run off. I would hold off on that (or any calls) until the first week of November.

Go hunt Saturday like you normally would. It will be raining like crazy and blacktails will be acting erratically and excited. Don't blow your spot with calls too soon. Very light rattling in the afternoon if anything.

They are feeding somewhere and they are bedding somewhere. There should be trails in between. Get in there (the timber) early before light if you can. Mind the wind and the thermals. Smack a blacktail and tell him caddisguy sent you... I am living through you this weekend. Do it up... giddy up!!

[aamenta]

No not this season. Check out my edit about timing. It only works during the rut. Any other time bucks will not want to get anywhere near that kind of drama and will run off. I would hold off on that (or any calls) until the first week of November.

Go hunt Saturday like you normally would. It will be raining like crazy and blacktails will be acting erratically and excited. Don't blow your spot with calls too soon. Very light rattling in the afternoon if anything.

They are feeding somewhere and they are bedding somewhere. There should be trails in between. Get in there (the timber) early before light if you can. Mind the wind and the thermals. Smack a blacktail and tell him caddisguy sent you... I am living through you this weekend. Do it up... giddy up!!


I'll do my best man, thanks for the advice,. ill report back Saturday hopefully!

[scotty30-06]

Im heading out sunday....excited to get my Excalibur crossbow out....wanted to during bow season but never ended up happening.....sunday im going into a bow only zone and hunting/scouting a treestand spot.....bucks and bears are on my list.

[604Stalker]

I would beg to differ rattling and can calls become suoer effective during pre rut you may want to go for a slow walk and let a can call fly every 30 paces or 15 mins ..then be ready!

[junkyard_g]

Shot one in skagit years back that had very dominant blackmail features

[aamenta]

The only buck so far on my trail cam was back on Sept 5th but I'm hoping for some more activity with the snow now.
Can't wait to check the cam on Saturday.

https://i.imgur.com/xKS5hIZ.jpg

[Wild one]

Don't be afraid to call done right you sound like deer this does not wreck a spot. Instead pick a location with rut sign and increase the odds of calling being effective. Doe bleats if you want non aggressive

As for blacktail hunting in general there is a reason the same guys are successful every year. They know their location and perfected their style of hunting. But you can't go to the same places hunting the same way with low to no success and expect different results

I know of lots of region 2 blacktail that have hit the ground this season and very few days were put in. There is a reason they are successful

[Wild one]

The only buck so far on my trail cam was back on Sept 5th but I'm hoping for some more activity with the snow now.
Can't wait to check the cam on Saturday.

https://i.imgur.com/xKS5hIZ.jpg

Are you getting lots of does on cam at least?

If not I would be looking elsewhere

[aamenta]

Are you getting lots of does on cam at least?

If not I would be looking elsewhere

Since then, I left the cam for one month and there was a few bears after that buck, then a couple does at the start of oct when I last checked two weeks ago. If there’s nothing on my cam this weekend, I’m going to find a new game trail

[IronNoggin]

... caddisgirl isn't doing good at all.

Please pass along my sincere Best Wishes for all to heal up quickly and fully for her Buddy!
Hope she can manage to get out with you a little further into the season...

Although I am pretty much resigned to living vicariously this season (eye is still very much pooched), I do have to head out and service the cams I have out there. Decent break in the weather to day, so planning on that run this very afternoon. Been soaking long enough I should be able to get something of a handle on the local population...

Last time in, I had to pass up the local bruin (all 400+ pounds of him now) at 40 yards as I could not find him in the scope (serious low light issues besides vision problems in shooting eye). This time I am dragging along a rather good shooter, so if that bugger steps out again, we'll finally get shed of him once & for all...

Letcha know as it goes...
Nog

[scotty30-06]

Yes same from me caddis....send my best wishes and speedy recovery

[scotty30-06]

Does anyone have cams on valley bottoms?.....or low elevation areas.....I know they like the cliffs but theres gotta some down low

[Wild one]

Does anyone have cams on valley bottoms?.....or low elevation areas.....I know they like the cliffs but theres gotta some down low

All my best spots are down low

all blacktails my buddie have shot this year are low elevation

Preach it all the time on here stop hunting where everyone else hunts. None of the blacktail I know of being shot were in normal locations

[Wild one]

Best advice I can give for region 2 blacktail is don't look for large tracks of land with logging roads. There is so many dumb places that go untouched that hold great hunting. Learn to think outside the common train of thought and you will find better buck to doe ratios and higher deer numbers

Figure this out and you will wonder why you worked so hard in the past

[DeerForce]

Crap. It looks like the blacktails will have to wait (and I hope they do just that)

caddisgirl isn't doing good at all. In addition to the back/neck/shoulder problems (from the ridge tumble or whatever caused it) they found she has a major kidney infection and "some other anomoly" they will need to do more tests to look into once the infection is clear, whatever the heck that means. Now she is on harder antibiotics (they thought UTI initially) and has lost 15lbs in the last few weeks. Sorry to derail, just worried as f*** and priorities switched.

I'll post a BT update if and when I get back out there.


Sorry to hear caddisguy, best wishes to her and a speedy recovery. Not sure if it will help but dandelion root is really good for the Kidneys and Liver, it's also great for restoring gut flora after a run with antibiotics. Stuff grows just about anywhere in BC and roots are easy pickings. Just wash em off - they're really bitter, but can be more palatable if cooked in a game meat stew.

Good luck.

[aamenta]

Do most of you hunt the chilliwack valley?

any Squamish or whistler area hunters here?
ive been wanting to explore deeper but my hunting partner won’t go for blacktail.

caddisguy, hope she had a good recovery.

[ryanonthevedder]

Just loaded a chubby spike buck into the truck this afternoon. Deer numbers are just so so this year IMO. I have been out a lot.

[DeerForce]

Well I switched things up this year for cam location. I only have two and found a super good looking spot that deserved a relocation. No fresh sign, except bear sign, but the place is loaded with rubs, both new and old. I counted 34(year old) rubs in the area no larger than 2 acres. :shock: I moved the cams up a month ago with salt and haven't been back since; don't plan on going back into that place until mid Nov. It's a totally new spot for me so I have no idea what I may be getting into. I figure the deer only use the spot during the rut along there way to their wintering ground.

Near by and at a higher elevation I've run into a pack of does that look to be holding tight to an area based on their sign; this was last weekend. If I get out this weekend I plan to work my way around and above them to see if I can find any more sign/deer and try to put together the pieces for this new spot/rut hole. I also hope I'm the only guy who knows about this spot right now. :?

[IronNoggin]

... Letcha know as it goes...

Mr Bruin did not show his face yesterday.
But he certainly did on one of the trail cams.
Beat it so badly it stopped doing what it does.
Going to HAVE to deal with that SOB! :mad:

One of the other cams had 137 videos. In a week. At one point 8 does and their wee ones (17 in the vid) were in the capture zone. Only two smallish bucks (a deuce and a spike) ever showed up, and the Ladies were putting the HARD run on them. Persistent little buggers, they needed to be driven off multiple occasions. Lots of footage of the various interactions of the Ladies' Social Club.
The bear made one cameo appearance, and left that camera alone. Thakfully.

Going have to replace the one soon. Hopefully nail that damn boar the same time.

From what I see mid-Island, we got some waiting to do before The Prom gets officially announced...

Cheers,
Nog

[aamenta]

No luck for me today and my camera came up empty.. So
I found fresh tracks and moved my camera to where they might be going in and out of a trail.

Here's one of the tracks I found on the road.
I think its a pretty good size buck? Anyone have any input on this track. It was about 4 or so inches from the dewclaws to the front of the hooves.

I'll go back in two weeks hopefully before the snow gets too deep.


https://i.imgur.com/DOzgs3f.jpg

[scotty30-06]

Hmmm big rounded off toes....who knows how big he is but could be old.

[floden]

Crap. It looks like the blacktails will have to wait (and I hope they do just that)

caddisgirl isn't doing good at all. In addition to the back/neck/shoulder problems (from the ridge tumble or whatever caused it) they found she has a major kidney infection and "some other anomoly" they will need to do more tests to look into once the infection is clear, whatever the heck that means. Now she is on harder antibiotics (they thought UTI initially) and has lost 15lbs in the last few weeks. Sorry to derail, just worried as f*** and priorities switched.

I'll post a BT update if and when I get back out there.
Sorry caddisguy- hope she gets/ feels better soon

[IronNoggin]

... From what I see mid-Island, we got some waiting to do before The Prom gets officially announced...


A week often makes a HUGE difference.
Pulled the chips this am.

There is a Shooter in the house!! Actually several of them now. :grin:

The Big Boy is trying his tactics on the Leading Lady. To no avail yet, but damn soon now methinks!

Bear busted another cam. Pulled, and hot-wiring another for him now. :twisted:

Cheers,
Nog

[NChunter]

A week often makes a HUGE difference.
Pulled the chips this am.

There is a Shooter in the house!! Actually several of them now. :grin:

The Big Boy is trying his tactics on the Leading Lady. To no avail yet, but damn soon now methinks!

Bear busted another cam. Pulled, and hot-wiring another for him now. :twisted:

Cheers,
Nog


Is most of the action at night or are the buck starting to move during the day? Im heading out first thing in the am to an area where i have seen several doe's earlier in the season but was holding off on doing much hiking in the area.

Good luck out there!