Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 73

A Cascade Range monarch buck, one of the most coveted trophies in the West.
in the south. While a notice-
ably small area compared to
other major species of deer, it
is packed with diversity with a
multitude of different terrain
and landscapes. Thick, temper-
ate rainforests occupy much of
their northern range to almost
arid type conditions to the
south. Blacktails thrive in al-
pine like conditions in the Cas-
cades and the lush agriculture
land characteristic of Oregon’s
Willamette Valley. Rising up
from the valley floor, the Coast
Mountain Range is a conifer-
ous forest heavily laden with
dense underbrush and cover,
just one of the many land-
scapes a blacktail calls home.
The bucks that live within
each region are unique unto
themselves. Blacktail deer
have bifurcated antlers, which
means they fork as they grow
whereas a w hitetail’s antlers
branch from a single main
beam. While there are excep-
tions to this rule, often a ma-
ture blacktail will have a heavy
rack similar to that of a mule
deer but without nearly the
width or height.
As someone who hunts
blacktails regularly I am enam-
ored with their antlers. With
their heavy compact racks, they
are the bulldogs of deer. Just as
diverse as the terrain they live
in, so are the bucks that live
within each region. Coastal
bucks typically won’t have near
the antler growth as a buck
that lives in the Cascades, or on
the valley floor. A stud coastal
buck may be 16 inches wide, 13
inches tall and have great mass
but won’t score 120. If you were
hunting in the Cascades for a
trophy caliber buck this may
be a buck you would possibly
pass on. The farther south you
go the deer change as well. As
you get into southern Oregon
and northern California there
is more opportunity to harvest
bucks that score considerably
higher; bucks in the 140s and
higher are not that uncom-
mon. Personally, score isn’t
that big of a factor for me. No
matter where it comes from,
it really comes down to how it
looks. If it has a good frame and
mass it’s most likely a mature
buck, a shooter in the eyes of
most blacktail hunters.
No matter where you choose
to hunt one thing is for cer-
tain: It’s hard to find a more
gorgeous deer than a blacktail
buck. Since I was young I’ve al-
ways been captivated with their
dark rich skull cap contrasting
against its snow-white muzzle
and its milk chocolate hide.
Throw in a single or double
throat patch and you can’t find
a more handsome deer. Absolutes in hunting black-
tails are few, but the one abso-
lute that transcends all rules is
that not all ground is created
equal.
In Oregon and Washington
more bucks are taken in log-
ging cuts than anywhere else.
An area that has recently been
logged provides an excellent
food source with cover close by.
The best habitat includes clear-
cuts that are surrounded by tim-
ber and older cuts where deer
can vanish into once disturbed.
As is the case with most mature
bucks, that’s before daylight.
Hunt Where They Live
To consistently kill good mature
bucks you have to hunt where
they live. I realize I just stated
the obvious, but consider this:
Blacktails are true homebod-
ies and live within a very small
home range. They spend their
entire lives inside 600 acres;
and more likely an area half
that size. There are certain con-
ditions that will play into your
success. Weather is a major fac-
tor, as is the moon phase, and
of course, rut timing. My ideal
hunting day is a cold, rainy, no-
moon day in November with
the rut in full swing. Combine
those conditions with an area of
known big bucks and I feel like I
have a chance. Scout in the Summer
Scouting plays an important
role prior to the season and it’s
often overlooked. Summer time
scouting can be very valuable
time spent in the field. This is
a time when bucks are often
together and out in the open.
While in velvet their antlers are
soft and growing so they avoid
the thick heavy cover. Remem-
ber the two bucks I hunted ev-
ery day of the season? I found
those bucks while scouting in
the summer. It’s easy to put off
scouting with the busy lives we
lead, but it’s a key component
in helping you kill a mature
buck in the fall.
During the season, the use
of trail cameras play a big role
in finding deer. Most of a buck’s
activity takes place at night.
Using a trail camera is a great
way to find where a trophy
buck calls home. Finding well
used trail systems and/or rubs
will help direct you in proper
camera placement. Again, in
order to kill big bucks you have
to hunt where they live and the
only way to know where they
live is to scout them out.
One other important ele-
ment but often overlooked in
the blacktail world is available
food source. Blacktail deer
have a wide variety of food
sources, but the primary diet
is browse — the growing tips of
trees and shrubs. Personally, I
like areas that have wild forms
of berries growing in them such
as blackberries, thimbleberries
serviceberries and wild huckle-
berries. Find these sources of
food in a clear-cut and there’s
a good chance you’ll find good
numbers of deer. Find good
numbers of deer and eventual-
ly a good buck will show up.
Hunting Re-Prod
My favorite ground to hunt is a
cut with several years of growth
often called re-prod. After an
area has been logged, it is soon
replanted and the growing cy-
cle starts over. While logging
serves its obvious purpose, it
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