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Blacktail Deer

I really like using treestands wherever I can for blacktails.

By Tim Herald

To me, the Columbia blacktail of the Pacific Coast states is the most beautiful of all deer.

I have been around blacktails a fair amount while hunting for other species like bear and turkey in both California and Oregon, but I have not had the chance to hunt these western jewels. That being said, my longtime friend and hunting buddy, Scott Haugen, has been hunting blacktails all his life, and he is a noted authority on the subject with numerous record-book bucks to his credit. He even penned a book on the subject, Trophy Blacktails: The Science of the Hunt (signed copies available at scotthaugen.com).

In talking extensively on the subject of pre-rut blacktails with Haugen, an emerging theme materialized. You hunt blacktails in early and mid-season much like you hunt whitetails at the same time of the year, but you must adapt for differences in where these deer live.

Haugen says that the most important aspect of an archery blacktail hunt is scouting. Most seasons begin quite early with opening days in late August to early September, but in certain areas of California, archery season opens in late July. Scouting for food sources is the way to start, and mid-summer is the best time to find bucks.

In July, bucks are in bachelor groups, and they feed more readily in daylight hours. Whether you are watching ranch-land pasture edges in California or timbered cutovers full of luscious browse in Oregon, bucks will be visible during late afternoon, and you can glass them from a distance without disturbing them.

Haugen shared, “First, if you put in your time behind a spotting scope, you can inventory the bucks you have in a given area. Once you see there is a trophy buck or more than one trophy where you will hunt, you can start patterning your target animal or animals.”

The experienced blacktail hunter went on, “The bigger bucks will almost always bed away from most other deer, so you have to key in on buck movements, not just on deer movement. Often they bed higher on the mountain and work their way down to feed, or in ranch country, they might bed in really thick brushy draws. You need to try to glass them coming from bedding areas and moving to food sources in the afternoons. Note trails used, openings passed through, where they might stage a little and finally where they enter a favorite food-source area.”

“Likewise, you may be able to watch them leave food in the mornings and move back to bed. If the terrain is open enough, you might even get to see where they bed. Mornings can be tough as sometimes the bucks will leave their feeding areas before good light, and you may miss them entirely.”

After Haugen has located a good buck or a bachelor group that he wants to hunt, he begins forming a plan. “I really like using treestands wherever I can for blacktails. I just like being able to see their approach, and most of the time I am on a hillside and it can be tough to get a blind on a level spot. But sometimes in the West, suitable treestand trees are not readily available, and then I will figure out a way to use my Primos Double Bull blinds. I like to set them up on openings that I have seen the bucks move through on their route to and from food and bedding.”

“These openings along the trails are the places I have been able to see the deer during scouting, and they are often best bets to get a clear bowshot. I hunt closer to the food sources in the evenings and closer to the bedding areas in the mornings. I do not, however, crowd their destination. I want to be able to leave my stand if unsuccessful without blowing out the deer from where they eat or sleep and thus changing their pattern. Also, if you back off the food source on an afternoon hunt, you have more of a chance of your buck coming through earlier and in good light as he is making his way to feed for the evening.”

I asked Scott about the transition as time passes, and he told me, “Food sources definitely change as summer turns to early fall. Deer may start out on lush grasses, tender leaves, honeysuckle and the like. But if you are in an area with oaks, just as soon as the acorns begin to fall, blacktails will shift their feeding focus. Even though it is hunting season, you still have to keep up the scouting and stay on top of deer patterns. It can be a game of chess with you moving stands as bucks move their daily routines, but when you score, you certainly feel a real sense of accomplishment.”

In areas that open early or during the extremely hot and dry periods that are often experienced in California, Haugen says that water sources such as springs can be the ticket to killing a monster blacktail. “Food sources are my major focus when hunting Columbia blacktail, but when it is extremely hot and dry, I love to hunt hidden springs. If you can find one of these and it has lots of deer sign around it, you may have just hit the jackpot. These spots are often so secluded that you can’t glass them for scouting, but if you can set up a treestand or blind, you will likely see some action there in mornings and evenings. In wet or temperate areas, blacktails may get all the moisture they need from the vegetation they eat, but during hot drought conditions they will need to drink every day. If you can find the spot where they feel secure and like to quench their thirst, you have a super chance to take a great buck.”

Haugen ended his advice with the fact that as with all other deer, you need to be very conscious of the wind wherever you set up for blacktails. Big bucks act like big bucks whether in Illinois, Wyoming or Oregon, and they just will not put up with human scent.

During my talks with Scott Haugen, I learned a lot about hunting the beautiful Columbia blacktail deer. I am planning a hunt for these elusive West Coasters, and I hope what he shared will help you too whether you live where the blacktail is the dominant species or, if like me, you must travel to the Pacific states in hopes of tagging your first blacktail buck.

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