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I gave a good buddy a lead on a hunting spot, somewhere in the Saddle Mt unit, last weekend because I had to work and figured my season was over. He went exactly where I told him and got a shot on a monster black tail, one for the record books by his account, but missed. As luck would have it I am getting off work early tomorrow and even have Friday off now. In your guys experience, what are the odds that the buck is still hanging around that area? I'm concerned that with the rut being in full effect that he could be long gone chasing tail. I have not had a chance in 10 years to hunt this late in the season and quite frankly am at a loss as to the best way to go about this. What would you all do?
 
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I have hunted Blacktail my whole life, and what I've discovered is, few things in life are less predictable than a Blacktail. The rut, of course, alters the wiring of a Blacktail, and the danger it may have perceived, could be instantly erased.

Not a very good answer, but a truthful one.

On the other hand, whatever enticed this buck to be in this area, could very well entice another one.:cool:
 
Try using a buck grunt while being in concealment of the edge of that same clear cut. Rattling antlers on and off will bring them out sometimes too. Use some doe in heat urine on cotton balls. Let the wind swirl the scent around
 
In my area bucks do tend to be creatures of habit toward the rut (edge of agriculture), they are also very wary. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there. You can walk within 20 yds of one and if he feels confident in his concealment he won't move a muscle until you make eye contact, then it's all over. If a buck is running a good rub line he will keep coming back and making sure no other bucks are messing around in his area. Follow the fresh scrapes to figure out his area, more than likely it'll be an area you won't want to go in, you don't want to intrude on it, stay on the perimeter, if you go in too much you'll run him out. Look for does this time of year. An area that holds a lot of does will bring bucks in, the younger ones will work the daytime hours, older bucks will try and hold out for late and early rutting but like mentioned above, that's not a truism, just a generalization. I've caught big boys out w/they're pants down in the middle of the day during the rut, they definitely lose some inhibitions during the height of it.

There were 3 bucks that weren't too hard to pattern behind my place one year, unlike Whitetails they won't do the same thing everyday but they will cycle through some routines over a period of time. About once a week I could get a look at them. Didn't hunt local during the 1st part of the season but ran into them later, still together, 2 3x's and a forky. A buddy of mine and I busted the 2 3 pointers one evening going into the fields, the next weekend I brought a guy I work with out and we got the forky up on the hill heading back into the brush in the morning. Almost too easy that year.

On the other hand, Blacktail bucks are the most frustrating animals I've had the privilege of hunting. As soon as you think you know something your gonna rethink it 'cause that buck already figured it out. It's almost like you want to act like your not hunting or looking for them, like using your peripheral vision to get a glimpse cause as soon as you look they're gone. The hardest part about hunting them IMO is just seeing them. It's almost a guarantee if your sneaking around the woods deer are watching you but good luck seeing them. Still hunting works but you cover so little ground that it's almost painful (and sometimes is, walking uber slow is hard on the legs after a while). 1 step, look at EVERYTHING, another step, look at EVERYTHING. My wife and I did it together one morning behind the house, it was hard work, took us a couple hours to cover almost no ground but we saw 3 bucks that morning. The tendency is you start out still hunting but then end up losing focus and start just covering ground. It's a very disciplined way to hunt and really only works well when you KNOW animals are in an area. The trick is to really LOOK, deer don't spook much if your being super quiet and moving slow but they will become aware of you and move out before you're aware of them. You'll think the woods are dead but you're moving animals out that know how to be very stealthy. The brush around here can hide an elk 30 ft from you so you can bet the deer are using it to their advantage.

Another good way to hunt this time of year is just find a nice spot and park your butt for a few hours. Deer will be moving w/the rut, if you can find a good travel area and can sit in a good spot w/out getting in the way it can pay off.

Best way to score a Blacktail buck is just putting in the time, if you go out one or 2 weekends during the season you might get lucky, if you go out as much as possible you up your chances considerably while gaining a lot of knowledge about them. I'm one of the odd guys that doesn't hunt clear-cuts, I'll work the woods around them but I don't run from clear-cut to clear-cut hoping to catch something out in the open, that's a waste of time IMO although lots of people get them that way.
 
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A couple of things came into play. He over estimates the distance by a lot. He also said he was having a hard time getting his rifle steady. He was pretty nervous and shaking because he had never seen a black tail that big.

Buck fever!! Seen it happen. On the bright side he didn't make it bleed and then not find it. ;)
 
need a range finder.

I've always wondered why people miss.
I heard some guy ahooting at an elk one year. Like 14-16 shots. And came home empty.
People need to learn rules of a ethical sportsman.

Don't shoot at something you aren't confident you'll kill quickly.

Don't shoot when you can't properly identify your target

Don't shoot when you can properly see your backstop

Don't go in the woods after consuming alcohol.

Too many gung ho weekend warriors that don't care about being responsible.

Not saying your friend is one of them, probably a great person, but been seeing too many of these stories and seeing these thing play out.

People get shot every year out hunting because some jackhole can't follow simple rules of safety and moral character
 
Couple of thoughts. Black tail hunters that are good at it, can go kill anything! Lol! Trust me!
The rut starts different times in a lot of areas, and right now is early rut. In 2 weeks it's full swing.
Black tails in most cases never leave a 1 square mile area.
Black tails are experts of freezing up and not running. That's why the live so long.
Unlike mule deer which are rather stupid.
I used to think range finders and scopes that are dialed up are cheating. Not now! Not enough game to take a chance on missing now.
 
Couple of thoughts. Black tail hunters that are good at it, can go kill anything! Lol! Trust me!
The rut starts different times in a lot of areas, and right now is early rut. In 2 weeks it's full swing.
Black tails in most cases never leave a 1 square mile area.
Black tails are experts of freezing up and not running. That's why the live so long.
Unlike mule deer which are rather stupid.
I used to think range finders and scopes that are dialed up are cheating. Not now! Not enough game to take a chance on missing now.
Mule deer freeze alright. They just run 50 yards, stop, and turn sideways to check if anything is following them. A truly brilliant way to survive.:rolleyes:
 

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