Hunting Big Timber Blacktails

After dark, I stood outside of camp and gazed across the valley at the lights of Ashland. Opening day in Jackson County had been tough. This was public land and pressure was high. By now, the deer would have moved into heavy cover. The woods were so dry that still-hunting was difficult. If I wanted a good buck I would have to go to where they lived, deep into the high timber, far from the road, and miles from the nearest clearcut.

I resolved to not leave the road until dawn. With enough light, I could navigate through deadfall and brush, making as little noise as possible.

Following a deer trail, I headed straight up the saddle from the road. This was a roadless area I was moving into and there were fresh prints in the trail.

Finally, I was in cover so thick that it was impossible to see more than ten yards in any direction except straight up. The deer trail I was on had widened, so that now it looked and smelled like freshly plowed soil.

There were deer feeding to my left. A doe was less than eight yards away, looking straight at me. Soon she relaxed and resumed feeding, moving closer.

The wind was at the back of my neck as I faced her. Suddenly she had my scent. Swapping ends, she bolted for safety, alerting the other deer. They crashed away and I was alone again.

Uphill, I came to a rocky promontory. If I could get up high, there would be a view down into the brush. I started up, pulling myself hand over hand. Midway up the rock, I was able to step from boulder to boulder. Now I had a view of a patch of brush, barely an acre in size, surrounded by tall timber.

Something moved out there. A rattling of leaves. The noise came again. Too big for a squirrel. I held my breath. Brush was moving. Three tall firs obstructed my field of vision. There. Antlers. Wide with heavy beams. A four-point.

Raising my rifle, I waited for him to show, feeling the wind in my face. He couldn't smell me. I eased along the rocky ledge, trying for a clearer view of the deer just 70 yards away.

He lifted his head suddenly and looked through the branches of the fir, directly at me. In another instant he would be gone, crashing away through the manzanita. I could see just the base of his antlers, his head, and the top of his neck.

Centering the crosshairs on the neck, five inches below the jaw, I snicked the safety ‘off' and touched the trigger. The old Remington 243 spoke, sending the 95-grain Nosler on its way. The echo of the shot rang back from the hills and the empty brass case went tinkling down through the rocks as I loaded another cartridge – just in case.

THE CHANGING FACE OF BLACKTAIL HUNTING

From the early 1900s through the late 1980s, timber harvest west of the Cascades led to an abundance of new growth and deer forage. As a result, blacktail deer populations thrived. Today, changing timber management has led to a reduction in the best habitat and the carrying capacity of the land has diminished.

But timber management isn't the only factor affecting our blacktail deer. An increase in predators in many areas has also served to limit the size of the herds in some areas. Poaching and disease have also played a part, along with the development of land.

Fortunately, the blacktail is adaptable and deer herds are still healthy in many areas of western Oregon. The best blacktail hunters are adaptable, as well.

Blacktail deer can be found throughout western Washington, Oregon, and northern California, but certain types of habitat will hold them in greater numbers. If you want to see blacktail deer, watch clearcuts and burns. Logging operations benefit these animals because they open up the forest canopy to let in the sunshine. New growth springs up and deer can find most of what constitutes good habitat all in one place.

Remember, deer need food, water, shelter, and space. Sometimes they get all four in a clearcut. They also become vulnerable to hunters. That's why you will only find does, fawns, and immature bucks in large openings.

If you want to fill your tag with an anterless deer (when legal) or a young buck, hunt the clearcuts in the morning, bedding areas at noon, and paths leading from bedding areas in late afternoon. You will find the deer.

However, clearcuts are not as easy to find as they once were. Forest practices have changed. Now, chemicals are often used to control the growth of weeds, what we hunters refer to as forbs and what deer call groceries. Today's super-fast growing tree seedlings turn clearcuts into forests again a lot faster than they used to.

Also, fear of fire may keep gates closed to timber company lands in low-water years, with "No Access" signs posted until the rains come.

TACTICS FOR TODAY'S BLACKTAIL HUNTER

For a crack at a big buck, look at what the orange-clad horde is doing and do the opposite. Many hunters know only the old way of hunting: Drive gravel roads and watch the openings. Park in the landing of an old logging operation and watch the hillside. Or, hope that a buck dashes across the road on his way to the next clearcut. That's not the way to get satisfaction from the hunt. That's not the way to teach your son or daughter the ways of the forest.

Look for the pockets that the crowds pass by. Sometimes they may be so obvious that no one would think to hunt there. Sometimes they are so far back in the timber that not many will make the effort to get there. Sometimes the brush is so thick that other hunters detour so they won't get caught in it.

In these hideouts, big blacktail bucks grow old without ever being seen by a hunter during the season. Their sanctuaries provide both cover and food. Water can be reached after dark. During the general rifle season, bucks spend most of their time in an area of just a few acres and feed after the sun goes down.

Blacktail bucks seldom come easy. Examine aerial photos and topo maps to find the places where the big bucks live. Locate roadless areas and natural escape routes such as saddles and canyons. Look for brushy shelves where a buck can watch his backtrail from his bed. Locate a trail from a nearby feeding area or water and you have found a buck's living room.

Hunt into the wind and watch your every step. Move too fast and deer will see you before you spot them. Slow down. Every time you take a step, a new window opens in the heavy cover. Look for the horizontal line of a back, the black of a nose, the flick of a tail, the crook of a leg, or sunlight glinting from nut-brown antler. Carry binoculars around your neck, not on your belt or in a daypack. And use them.

At lunchtime, instead of heading back to the truck, stay in the woods. Carry your lunch with you. Watch a trail leading into a bedding area and let other hunters push the deer your way.

Learning to recognize feed, watering areas, bedding ground, and escape cover are the fundamentals of hunting these most challenging of our western deer. When at all possible, hunt from above, whether from a tree or looking down from a high cliff. Such stands afford greater visibility, keep you above the line of sight, and keep your scent stream above the game.

I was just beginning to understand these things as I made my way through the brush. My bullet had found its mark. The buck lay in a bed hollowed out of a one-acre patch of head-high brush. Several generations of bucks had probably taken refuge here. I took some pictures and admired the buck, whose four-point rack stretched the tape to over 22 inches.

I marked my tag and tied it around the antler beam. My season was finished. And now, a long way from the road, the hard work would begin. As I field-dressed the deer, I heard voices. Two hunters talking about their morning. Their conversation came to me on the breeze. As I listened, the sounds grew fainter as the hunters changed direction to avoid the bedding area brush that gave up my big timber blacktail.

Focus on the goal, stay out all day, and hunt into the wind. Locate feeding areas and find windows in the forest where you can look down into bedding areas. Your attention to detail will pay off with more opportunities at big timber blacktails.

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