New blacktail hunter needs help

[perryandrew16]

Hello. This is my Second season of hunting. I live and hunt in trinity county CA. I am having trouble do to the very limited and/or conflicting info provided by my hunting buddies. I have tried every tactic and area they have shared with me with no success. It turns out that these friends who are willing to share info with me are very hit and miss themselves. I do know a few guys who fill there tags with very respectable bucks in only a couple of mornings but wont give a word of advice.

As anyone familiar with the area knows, we have everything. Old growth, clear cuts, burns, plantations of every age and tree size, Etc...

I am not asking for anyone including you guys to give me directions to your honey hole. Do to my lack of time to devote to hunting I just need some solid advice on where my time will have the greatest effectiveness. Should I be glassing burns, plantations, clear cuts, draws, ridges? or Are there other more effective tactics?

 

[Terry aka Coydog]

welcome to Hunttalk. My first suggestion is try glassing the edges of clearcuts the first hour of morning and the last hour of shooting light. Concentrate on the edges more out of view from roads. Mid day I try to hunt in the timber adjacent to clearcuts that are 2 to 4 years old. Also I suggest reading Blacktai Trophy Tactics by Boyd Iverson. Even if all you want to do is fill a tag this book will give you a great insight to the habits of blacktail deer. I've hunted muleys whitetail and blacktail and find the blacktail a very hard deer to hunt. Here in the pac NW with the rainforests and thick cover they have a lot of places to hide. The best place for me is clearcuts a few years old where the food sources have grown back. I try to catch them along the edges before they get back to the heavy reprod. Best of luck

 

[2rocky]

I think you are at the point where time in the hills is your best tool. Make the most of the peak times at dawn and dusk, and use your optics. You are in a good area, and blacktail deer are hard to find. I would focus on Oak covered knolls, and Buck brush (Ceonothus) as feeding areas.

When weather changes are happening the deer will be more active. I know it seems like you aren't making progress but if you continue to cover lot's of ground, away from roads and trails, the deer will teach you what you want to look for.

The ground I'm familiar with in Trinity county looks like Mule deer country and Mule deer tactics work well on those deer. The next 4 weeks is prime hunting time and gets better each week.

 

[perryandrew16]

Thanks for the info guys.

2rocky, by mule deer country do you mean more open areas Like in the Hayfork valley?

Terry should I be watching the edges along the flanks of the clear cuts or at the top or bottom or all of the edges? I ask because all the clear cuts I know that dont run along a used road are very large and force you to pick one side or the other and most you cant see the bottom from the top. Would you suggest staying at the top looking down a side or drop down into the cut where I can see the bottom?

Another question I have is about deer travel. I have been told that Deer move up in the morning and down in the evening but every deer including the bucks that I have seen are doing the exact opposite. Also I have been told to glass from the top in the morning and bottom in the evening as to take advantage of the winds. Since the deer are moving opposite of what i was told should I change where I glass from or was I given bad information about one or the other of these topics?

 

[2rocky]

I mean Country like the Trinity alps. Rugged rocky crags with deep canyons.

 

[perryandrew16]

thats the truth. so would you just watch the canyons in those areas?

 

[2rocky]

I'd cover a lot of ground and glass what I could.

Are you seeing bears? Sometimes bears will push deer out of a canyon.

Are you seeing tracks? beds? Does?

 

[perryandrew16]

not seeing many bear in my deer spots, only one all year actually. tons of sign and a lot of doe spread out. a couple mornings ago I spotted 11 deer together, doe and 2 spikes.

 

[BOHNTR]

Think Trinity Alps Wilderness.......at or above timberline......high vantage point....let your binos do the walking. You'll see bucks.