You’ll find them close to the edges of the woods during these times. There are certain places and seasons that are ideal for spotting and hunting these fascinating animals. Here we’ve listed some of the best among them:

1. Mendocino County, California

This is the top spot for hunting blacktail deer. Lake Mendocino and Clear Lake can be excellent starting points. The bow season begins in mid-July and the rifle season towards the end of the first week of August. If you want to hunt blacktail deer in California, you must apply for specific zones and units.

The deadline for submitting big-game applications is the 2nd of July. The odds are greater in the A-Zone, and this is followed by areas in the B-Zone. In the open areas, the blacktail bucks would be the hardest to approach. Plenty of time is needed to locate and establish the deer’s presence.

2. Oregon

The Santiam and McKenzie zones in Oregon are the top units for trophy blacktail deer hunting. Regionally, the south-western part of the state is ideal for this purpose. The calling and rattling methods can be productive during the period of late-fall. You can also choose any of the other areas like the western foothills of the Cascades. In this region, hunting along the edges of logged forest units can be quite useful.

3. Lewis County, Washington

Located in western Washington, Lewis County is the state’s top spot for hunting blacktails. The best rifle season here is the last few days of October. You can also choose the late rifle season, which usually begins around the 18th of November. It continues for four days and gives you ample opportunities to stalk and hunt the deer.

Bigger bucks are usually spotted in the timbered area between Interstate 5 and Mount Rainier. It is in November when the bucks come out of tight cover. The cold and rainy days during this period would be perfect for hunting. The high countryside is usually abundant with the blacktail bucks when they seek some respite from the heat.

The soaring temperatures force them to move to the higher areas of the mountains. During these times, it would be difficult for you to stalk them in areas of open terrain. You can hide your approach using certain features like boulder fields and ridgelines.

In the regions where there’s heavy timber, you must be extremely cautious. Moving just 200 yards one fine morning can produce better results than tromping through large forest tracts. Another great blacktail deer hotspot can be a patch of young timber with logged units surrounding it.

It is important that you hunt from cover in such areas. The best strategy is to move through the timber slowly at sunrise. You can thus intercept the deer while they move to bedding areas.

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Once you’ve identified the exact spots of a blacktail buck, hunting it would be very much possible. This is easier said than done, as the task involves plenty of skill and patience. Successful blacktail hunters of coastal Alaska and northern California use the spot and stalk method to hunt these animals. This method is especially employed in Alaska for hunting blacktail deer during late-August and September.

This is when these animals come together in large numbers to feed in the alpine and sub-alpine regions. These areas are located at an altitude of above 2,000 feet. Physically fit hunters can reach these spots in a matter of hours beginning at the sea level.

Finding a good vantage point

During late-August and September, the fur of these animals take on a reddish color. This makes the blacktail deer quite easy to locate when they’re feeding in the open areas. While hunting under these conditions, you must watch for fresh tracks and trails when you enter the alpine areas.

This will be the key to improve your chances of success. After you’ve established the presence of blacktail deer in the area, find the right vantage point. You must ideally explore the regions of mixed timber and alpine muskeg. The peaks and slopes with grassy basins that surround such areas must also be considered.

Once you spot the deer you’re looking for, take some time to mark their location. Make a note of the navigational references with the help of the surrounding features.

The use of a secondary vantage point

It would be a good idea to move to a secondary vantage point instead of charging directly towards the deer. This vantage point must be within the rifle’s range, downwind of the blacktail deer’s general location. Upon arriving at the spot, you must ensure that you’re able to locate the hangout of the deer.

It’s also essential to make sure that it’s within a reasonable shooting distance. There are two possibilities if you’ve got a good vantage point. Either you’ll spot the deer and fire your shot or you won’t spot the deer and keep waiting. If you’re experiencing the latter, don’t be in a hurry.

If there’s no one to disturb them, the blacktail deer usually stay around a certain spot for days. So, it would be the best strategy to try again the following day. If you use archery for hunting, you can utilize the secondary vantage point for planning your final stalk.

Conditions prevalent in California

You’ll not always look at alpine zones while in California. The situations for spot and stalk method would be a bit different in this part of the world. Here, you’ll be looking at open grasslands, farming areas, and slopes abundant in timber. Nevertheless, you’d be applying the same principles.

You’d go scouting for the deer and verify their presence. Once this is done, the best strategy would be to step back and watch for these animals from afar. It would really be a bad idea to violate their sanctuaries and disturb them.

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It’s a fascinating animal that thrives mostly in the North American regions. According to the Canadian biologist Dr. Valerius Geist, the first blacktail deer originated around 2 million years ago. Their habitat was first discovered during ‘The Lewis and Clark Expedition’ in the early 19th century. Blacktail is considered as the least studied among all the North American deer species.

For hunters, a grown blacktail buck is a prestigious trophy as it’s difficult to hunt them down. Owing to their stealth and secretive behavior, blacktail deer can easily evade most of the hunters and predators. Now, let’s go through some of the basic facts about this fascinating deer species:

1. Classification

The name ‘blacktail’ comes from the characteristic black tail that this deer species possesses. It can be mentioned as either ‘black-tailed deer’ or ‘blacktail deer’. The blacktail deer is a sub-species of Odocoileus hemionus or the mule deer. The Columbian blacktail deer and Sitka blacktail deer are its two sub-species.

2. Lifespan

The blacktail deer has a natural lifespan of 9 to 10 years. However, if they’re kept in protective surroundings and provided excellent care, they can live up to 20 years.

3. Habitat

You can find the Columbian blacktail deer in regions spanning California to British Columbia. The habitat of Sitka blacktail deer exists in areas spanning British Columbia to Southeast Alaska. They live mostly in the forests in and around the Pacific coast.

You’ll also find them on the mountains and the foothills nearby. Blacktail deer prefer mild climatic conditions characterized by ample rainfall and cool temperatures. They don’t migrate, but those living on the mountainous areas can descend to safer places during winters.

4. Predators

The most common predators of blacktail deer are bears, coyotes, wolves, cougars, and golden eagles.

5. Physical features

The weight of a blacktail doe is around 58 kilograms. Blacktail bucks can weigh up to 90 kilograms. Owing to the smaller size of Sitka blacktail deer, their weight is usually between 36 and 54 kilograms. The height varies from 27 to 45 inches. Usually, this deer species possess a stocky body with long and sturdy legs. Blacktail deer change the color of their coat according to the prevailing season.

During winters, the color of their coat is brownish-gray. In summers, they change the color to reddish-brown. The color of their tail is either completely black or dark brown. They have an undersurface with a white shade. Blacktail deer have large ears that can make independent movements. Blacktail bucks usually have antlers, but female blacktail deer may also have antlers in rare cases.

The development of antlers in blacktail deer begins when they’re 6 to 8 months of age. The term ‘antler buttons’ describes the antlers that begin to appear during their initial stages of growth. The antlers develop under a skin layer, which is known as ‘velvet’. Once fully developed, the dried velvet peels off and the antlers start showing.

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Some of the blacktail deer hunting failures happen either due to bad timing or bad luck. On the other hand, there are failures that happen owing to mistakes that could’ve been avoided. So, here are some of these mistakes that you need to avoid while hunting blacktail deer:

1. Ignoring the wind

The wind can be your best friend or a bitter enemy when you’re stalking or hunting blacktail deer. It is, therefore, absolutely necessary to learn the direction of wind in the area where you’re hunting. This will give you a better understanding of where your right spot would be. Some believe that the wind acts as warnings for these animals. It tells them that they’re being followed.

This can be true to a great extent. So, going by this fact, you wouldn’t want the wind to be at your back when the deer is approaching. Make sure that you’re wearing hunting clothes that are free from any fragrance. The wind can carry the scents to the deer, warning it of your presence.

2. Not scouting around for the deer

Today, you have some excellent gadgets such as modern mapping and trail cameras. Such gadgets make scouting much more efficient and effective. This gives you enough reason to make some serious efforts. You can look for the deer in low-lying areas as they’re the preferred haunts of resident deer. During winter, the deer arrive in these low-lying areas, making it easier for you to track them.

While blacktails in some areas might migrate to safer places, most of them are homebodies. They don’t readily leave the spots that are abundant in nutritious food. You can learn more about the exact spots of the deer from the local wildlife experts. Most of them are biologists who have a good study of the migration patterns of the region’s animals.

3. Making an approach instead of waiting

You might believe that you can hunt the blacktail deer only by slowly walking up to its spot. There’s one thing about this deer you must not forget. It’s the fact that a blacktail deer is extremely good at sensing your presence. Sometimes, you’ll be tempted to make the first move, but waiting is the key. You must let the deer offer you the perfect shot.

It’s always a good strategy to keep a watch on the deer from a suitable distance. The blacktail deer move slowly, scanning a certain area with its sharp senses. When it is assured that there’s no one around, it will start feeding. This is when you make your careful approach and go for the kill.

4. Losing patience and quitting

Blacktail deer don’t leave their key spots that easily. This must be some sort of an inspiration for you to keep trying. These animals test your patience beyond limits at times. This is why there are many unsuccessful blacktail deer hunters around. Patience and persistence is the key here.

Not repeating the mistakes you’ve made earlier also helps to a great extent. You’ll have much confidence once you’ve carefully scouted the deer and you know about its exact spot.

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