Late season tips?

[MazeNBlu3]

It's looking like I won't fill my early bow season tag. Any tips or tricks that work here in Oregon for late season blacktails? I've been told there rut is right around the start of late season bow here. I'm from the mid-west and normally bow hunting from a stand, is this a good route to take a will they respond to a whitetail grunt?

 

[Terrapin]

Blacktail late season is an odd hunt. You can hunt 10 days and see little, then the rut kicks in and you'll see 10 pope and young bucks. No real way to predict when those 5-6 days will occur, but you are in the right timeframe. If you are baiting (yes it's legal and ethical in that brush jungle a treestand might work. I have also seen treestands work on ridge top/ travel corridors. By and large I cruise the gated roads and glass clearcuts. Find a doe and watch her. I'll take some heat for this, but blacktail bucks can get pretty stupid during the rut. I have had luck with grunt tubes and rattling. One last note... The worse the weather the better the hunting. Mist, rain, wind, snow, cold snaps, all seem to get the bucks moving. Buy the best rain gear you can afford (I like the semi quiet Sitka rain gear) and relish in the rain. It means the bucks will be moving.

 

[NWHunter]

treestands and apples work great. I've shot my last three bucks from mine. I've also killed them out hiking and have rattled a few in. Grunts will work to it just depends on the rut. The best bet is a treestand though. My stand is on a main trail that goes from a feeding to bedding area. They will stop and eat a few apples but it's not their main food source. They're just there to slow them down for a bit. Food really is the key for the late hunt. Either the does are eating and the bucks are with them because they are rutting. Or the bucks are between the initial rut and the secondary rut and are refueling. In the area I hunt the rut tends to be the middle of November. At least that's what my trailcams have shown the past 3 years. Using the camera and treestand I've been able to pattern deer movement times and fill my tag on good bucks. Though I did get to my stand late last year on one day. Only to check the camera when I got down and realize I had missed a nice 4pt by 20 minutes!