How To Hunt Blacktail Deer
Most deer hunters are enamored of the famous black-tailed deer. It has a reputation for being elusive and hard to catch. Here are some tips to get started.
Tools/Materials Required
Tree stand
Hunting rifle or bow and arrow
Stalk
Early Dawn Hunting
Most deer hunters of the black-tailed deer have had the most luck in the early parts of the season. Hence, you could try sitting on a high tree stand in the early hours of morning, even before sunrise. The larger the viewing area, the better the chances of getting a catch.
The Tag Team Method
If you are hunting with another partner, you could employ using this method to trick the black-tailed deer. You could use hand signals as well as two-way radio signals for good partnership.
Groups Of Young Bucks
The big bucks usually use the small ones as shields. So, the moment you find a cluster of young bucks in a particular area, you can be almost certain there is a larger buck lurking nearby.
Stalking The Deer
Once you have spotted the black-tailed deer, begin stalking it. For this, go very quietly through the winding pathways, taking care to avoid other deer lurking around. They might just make a sound to signal your presence to other deer. If this happens, the black-tailed deer may run away very quietly.
Climbing The Mountain
A proven method of capturing the black-tailed deer is to climb up a mountain and close in on the deer from the rear. As the black-tailed deer lurk mainly in mountainous regions, this approach will take them by surprise.
Leveraging Tree Stand Hunting
A common approach that could work sometimes is to sit on top of a tree stand. However, unlike the white-tailed deer, which have definite trails and patterns of movement, the black-tailed deer is quite unpredictable.
Don’t Hunt During the Rut
Most experienced black-tailed deer hunters finish hunting long before the rut begins. So it may not be a very good idea to have rattles and grunt tubes tagging along with you. Instead, you need to take along a sound-spotting scope with you.
Watching The Trails
A good tactic to ensure success in black-tailed deer hunting is to keep a close watch on droppings, track marks, and rubs. This will provide clues to the common places this deer visits. Although these deer reside in dense forests, because of lack of food sources they sometimes graze in clear areas.
Downhill Evening Feeding
Most black-tailed deer go downhill to feed during evenings, whereas in the morning they travel uphill to sleep. You need to build a tree stand that is camouflaged enough to ensure success at hunting while being open enough for you to spot a black-tailed deer.