A whole lotta blacktail buck questions

[brian]

Say hypothetically you are hunting a nice looking coastal bluffy area and bump a big blacktail from his bed (40ish yards away). You can't get the shot off because he is obscured by too much brush so he walks off. He doesn't seem too worried. What is the smart thing to do after you let loose a long tirade of whispered swears? Do you think it would be productive to head back there in a week or is the area pooched now for a while? How tolerant are big blacktails of having smaller bucks around them during the rut (Could these same bedding grounds be home to a number of bucks at this time of year)? Assuming they are not pressured, do blacktail bucks tend to return to their same bedding grounds while rutting?

[Steeleco]

GO BACK, especially if it's a shitty weather day. Walk slow look lots. They don't tend to roam like Mulies. Very good chance you'll find him again. Good luck.

[takla1]

go to where you saw him,look for scrap line .if you find it in the area he will be back.they check thier scrap line every day or two,usually at night early in the rut.there should be doe tracks in the area as well.be there for first light and last light if you can,watch your wind.there will be younger buck in the area as well they can smell the doe's comeing into heat to.usually there the ones that mess up and get shot.My four point i got the other morning was 40 yds from his scrap line bedded with 4 does.

[ryanb]

A while back I was trying to nail a big blacktail. He was living in literally the most miserable thick shit imaginable. I kept trying to sneak into where I knew he was living but he would bust me every time. Over a month I must have tried at least 5 times, and every time he busted out of there, but was there next time. Finally in the rut I was able to coax him out of his miserable hole using a call. He will likely be right back there in a couple days. Plan your approach better next time.

[brian]

GO BACK, especially if it's a shitty weather day.You guys have convinced me to take another crack at him.

go to where you saw him,look for scrap line .if you find it in the area he will be back.they check thier scrap line every day or two
Do you mean rubs or scrapes? This is a blacktail so no scrapes. I did see a couple of the largest rubs I have ever seen on big sized trees. I didn't look too hard for other rubs. Next to those rubs I saw an area where it looked like a couple of bucks had a good fight. The ground was all turned up with everything in between messed up good. I don't think getting in their for first light will work with the thermals. I'll need to wait for them to switch before I can hunt this area.

A while back I was trying to nail a big blacktail. He was living in literally the most miserable thick shit imaginable.

Yeah this guys tracks brought me into some miserable miserable dense crap. I really hope he's not hanging out in there. My approach is all wind dependent, but I have a few ideas.

[proguide66]

Side note,last yr I videod a book buck Nov 12 within 100 yrds of crazy rubs , maybe 20 of em. We killed the buck within 200 yrds of those rubs on the last weekend of the month. Hunt the surrounding area of those rubs , you dont have to go right to them now. Treat the rub area like someones house and slip around the neighborhood where you can catch him in his yard.

[takla1]

When i say "scrapes" i mean scraped up smaller alders,you call them rubs ,maples ect,you will sometimes see where the buck has been pawing back the dirt close by the bass of the scrapped up trees as well{more so with muleys than B_T}there leaving there sent there for the doe's.As for your wind it will be traveling primarily downhill early{cold air sinks} until the day warms somewhat then it reverses and heads uphill.the deer there will have age-old travel trails.there all over under the old growth where we hunt,dug right into the steep mnt sides.The deer have been using these for eons.If you have clearcuts where you hunt there will be entrance trails and exit into the cut blocks,all along these trails there will be trees scraped if there there now.Basicly the clearcuts are there feeding area's especially up against old growth timbered area's ,very little to eat in there

[brian]

As for your wind it will be traveling primarily downhill early{cold air sinks} until the day warms somewhat then it reverses and heads uphill.
There is usually a very gentle uphill breeze in the morning and it switches around 9:30 or 10:00 to downhill. I have been on this mountain side lots and it almost always goes the same. Occasionally the wind does something different, blows from an unusual angle and you can get more of a consistent uphill breeze. But usually you get this downhill breeze switching inconsistently east or west. The ridge line protects the area from most wind and creates this gentle swirling vortex. It sucked when I hunted the cuts because it always meant being on the bottom of the slope looking up and never being able to gauge which end would be best.

Treat the rub area like someones house and slip around the neighborhood where you can catch him in his yard.That's the problem, I had no respect. Hopefully he'll stick around despite my lack of manners.

[takla1]

brian i dont worry too much about slipping in and out of the area's with the scrap lines are,hell i walk along them after they start createing them as there usually just moving along them at night looking to gather doe's early on.I was walking along my 4 pts scrap line when i shot him on monday morning.he was bedded 40 yrd off the line.The main thing is to approach with the wind in your face and be stealthy,quiet,and be there right at first shooting light.And when you get lucky and he gives you a shot,make it count,you dont get many second chances!!2 of the last 4 yrs ive shot bucks where ive walked in on the same trail{scrap line} gone in to the end and been working back out on the same trail and had bucks comeing towards me right on the same trail i had walked in on.

[Morel]

You can't get the shot off because he is obscured by too much brush so he walks off. He doesn't seem too worried.

Is it not possible to follow him or try to circle around to where you think he his hiding for another shot, or is it better to wait for another day and try again?

[bc_buckshot]

100% go back to that area. He might not be in the exact spot you saw him but that's his area if there is scraps and bedding. Unless you really chased him out, he will be around. I saw the same young buck 3 times this month almost by clock work where my spot is.

[brian]

Is it not possible to follow him or try to circle around to where you think he his hiding for another shot, or is it better to wait for another day and try again?

I am curious about what would be the best way to follow him? Do you treat him like a wounded deer and wait a good little while so as not to spook him?

[bc_buckshot]

I say just treat him like a normal deer like you've never saw him. Where you stop the truck or quad or whatever stop couple mins away and "Walk"....... Walk slow check every corner or ridge before you go around the corner. Stay right tight against the bush and look and wait. Take a bit to look around and glass then walk a bit more then do the same thing over and over until to stop at the spot where you saw it. Then look more past it and glass over trees and shrub. The buck won't be far from that area. I'm no pro at all with hunting but from what I learn blacktails arnt like mule deer always cruising new areas, they have there spots and stay tight. If you walk that area and far enough from the deer for the shot they don't run away like elk do they probley stand there long enough to feel safe until your too close.

I know of a buck in this one spot I walked stood on top of a log to look down where I though he may be feeding and after 15 mind of glass as soon as I turned around to step down the log the buck was 40 yards away on the landing standing broadside doing the creep away walk. Went to shoot but my power on the scope was too high all I saw was. Black. By the time I turned the power down and took the safety off he was bouncing away to the thick.

take your time, look around the corners. He might not be there today, tomorrow, or next day but soon or later he will be in the freezer.