Does, does and more does.

[COLD SMOKE]

they are nocturnal at lower elevations rn.
you might get Lucky and see one moving around. But for the most part 10-15 mins before full darkness is your window.

What I’ve seen is smaller bucks recently with 1-2 does in tow, and studs seem to be solitary and smart.

Even tame backyard bucks are lay low. If the weather shifts from this hot to a cooler or rainy pattern then it will change.
Good luck.

 

[kianmohaghegh]

In my experience with blacktail… if you are finding lots of does. You are probably in lower elevation, easier terrain, and too close to roads than where the bucks hang out. Where I hunt, I would say that 80% of the deer we find are bucks. Bucks have their very specific places they call home and don’t just roam around, unless it’s the rut and we can’t hunt that anyway.

That sounds like heaven to me! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. What was the sign from in that picture in your opinion?


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[kianmohaghegh]

they are nocturnal at lower elevations rn.
you might get Lucky and see one moving around. But for the most part 10-15 mins before full darkness is your window.

What I’ve seen is smaller bucks recently with 1-2 does in tow, and studs seem to be solitary and smart.

Even tame backyard bucks are lay low. If the weather shifts from this hot to a cooler or rainy pattern then it will change.
Good luck.

Thats great to know! I’ll keep that in mind for sure. I’ll probably stick to the area hoping for a forky or something then?


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[hoodb]

Thanks for telling us about your experience. It's a good idea to search for bucks in places that are harder to reach and not close to roads. Your knowledge about blacktail deer behavior is definitely helpful.

 

[PVHunter]

How's it going, OP?

 

[kianmohaghegh]

How's it going, OP?

Thank you all for all the help. I ended up hunting the area hard, ended up seeing more does. I’ve unfortunately left back to SoCal, so focusing on D15 now. Fingers crossed.


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[roosiebull]

I’m hunting Californias *** zone, I’ve heard these are blacktail/muley hybrids, so I really don’t know if I’m posting under the right subforum. I’m visiting NorCal to see some family and picked up a ***tag to spend a couple days hunting. I’ve spent around 6 days out there. Seen tons and tons of sign, spotted over 30 does, but not a single buck! I have no idea what I’m doing wrong, I’m just trying to harvest my first deer, having grown up hunting small game. I’ve also been seeing a lot of “unusual” sign, what seems to look like scrapes, I would love to hear from you experienced hunters what they are, and what I should be doing different to get my first legal buck. All help is greatly appreciated!

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Almost positive that’s a lion scrape, if you have more pics I can confirm