Oregon Blacktail Advice

[jw710]

Hey Everyone,

Beginner hunter thinking of doing a 3 day backpacking hunt in Oregon this season on public land. Totally new and ignorant on areas. Any specific zones/units you guys can recommend?

I heard I should be looking at Trask, Wilson, McKenzie & Indigo, Rogue & Evans Creek Units?

Any help or more specific direction greatly appreciated for a newbie outdoorsman.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[Steve300xcw]

Any areas of those units that you are interested in?

 

[jw710]

I was looking at Evans and Rogue units. Looking for an area that is scenic, not extreme terrain. Though the goal is to get a buck, I'm also focused on the beauty and terrain difficulty of the area. Thx in advance if you have any imput.

 

[CaseyRyback]

What weapon? Rifle, bow, muzzleloader?

 

[jw710]

General rifle season.

 

[Thoytfish]

There are a few units in SW Oregon that have relatively recent burns. That’s where I would start. In my experience it’s actually pretty similar to hunting mule deer where you can spot and stalk them.

A scouting trip this summer but would beneficial. The rifle season goes until November 6th. The last week is the closest to the rut and is when I will personally be spending my time down there.

 

[jw710]

Thank you sir! Imput very much appreciated! Good luck this season.

 

[BlacktailTracker]

SW Oregon will be your' best bet. Look for areas with high levels of habitat diversity.

 

[CaseyRyback]

Many of the burns in the Dixon and Rogue Units were around 2017. They can be very brushy and past what I’d consider prime
hunting due to visibility. I’d really get boots on the ground before going blind.

 

[FishDaddy10]

I would hunt October 30th - Nov 6th for gen rifle. Glass clear cuts and/or burns. For clear cuts I focus on transition areas - you can find movement they really like to work the edges. If you want to sit I recommend a tree stand in timber stands just off of clear cuts. Good luck

 

[jw710]

Thank you sir! Appreciate the help. Good luck this hunting season!

 

[RockAndSage]

In general, especially as there's no mention if you're a seasoned backpacker or not, you'd kill 2 birds with one stone by doing at least one pre-season scouting trip, mimicking your intended 3-day backpack hunting trip.

A scouting trip without the complications of a hunt will help break you in, but more importantly, it'll mentally prepare you for the actual hunt, and give you a game-plan that will have you executing during the hunt, not trying to figure out what to do on the fly.

The key thing with deer is food - that's why people are suggesting burns and cuts above. Dense forest is often pretty poor for deer food due to the canopy crowding out the sunlight. But recent burns and clear-cuts leave large areas of the forest floor to sunlight, which brings up lots of deer food. That brings deer. And deer are habitual - they typically follow the same set of trails over and over.

E-scout with OnX to find cuts and burns in those areas of interest you want to explore, then spend 1 or 2 of those three-day trips to scout out those places on the ground. First trip is largely scouting access for your vehicle to best set you up for going on foot, and scouting out your promising sites for deer sign.

It's literally this simple: walk along the treelines of cuts until you find deer trails with clear deer sign, mark that spot on OnX, and continue on to the next one, following that tree line. Gather that data to start formulating a game plan, based on highest traffic and finding a spot for you to glass that location from. Pay very close attention to the prevailing wind in these areas - always, always be downwind of your target site. You can fool a buck's eyes and ears sometimes, but you'll never, ever fool their nose.

You can easily spend a day or two on just a couple of cuts doing this. But each morning before sunup, be in-place glassing over your more interesting trails entering and exiting that treeline. Never skyline yourself, and try to break up your outline by being in a hide of some kind, even just behind a bit of brush or rock.

 

[Steve300xcw]

In general, especially as there's no mention if you're a seasoned backpacker or not, you'd kill 2 birds with one stone by doing at least one pre-season scouting trip, mimicking your intended 3-day backpack hunting trip.

A scouting trip without the complications of a hunt will help break you in, but more importantly, it'll mentally prepare you for the actual hunt, and give you a game-plan that will have you executing during the hunt, not trying to figure out what to do on the fly.


E-scout with OnX to find cuts and burns in those areas of interest you want to explore, then spend 1 or 2 of those three-day trips to scout out those places on the ground. First trip is largely scouting access for your vehicle to best set you up for going on foot, and scouting out your promising sites for deer sign.

Past few years there have been some changes with gates. Some that have never been closed have been locked up just before season opens. Some that have never been open are now open year round.

Also theres always the chance of finding a yarder parked ontop of your waypoint

I'd make sure to have a plan B,C and D

 

[jw710]

In general, especially as there's no mention if you're a seasoned backpacker or not, you'd kill 2 birds with one stone by doing at least one pre-season scouting trip, mimicking your intended 3-day backpack hunting trip.

A scouting trip without the complications of a hunt will help break you in, but more importantly, it'll mentally prepare you for the actual hunt, and give you a game-plan that will have you executing during the hunt, not trying to figure out what to do on the fly.

The key thing with deer is food - that's why people are suggesting burns and cuts above. Dense forest is often pretty poor for deer food due to the canopy crowding out the sunlight. But recent burns and clear-cuts leave large areas of the forest floor to sunlight, which brings up lots of deer food. That brings deer. And deer are habitual - they typically follow the same set of trails over and over.

E-scout with OnX to find cuts and burns in those areas of interest you want to explore, then spend 1 or 2 of those three-day trips to scout out those places on the ground. First trip is largely scouting access for your vehicle to best set you up for going on foot, and scouting out your promising sites for deer sign.

It's literally this simple: walk along the treelines of cuts until you find deer trails with clear deer sign, mark that spot on OnX, and continue on to the next one, following that tree line. Gather that data to start formulating a game plan, based on highest traffic and finding a spot for you to glass that location from. Pay very close attention to the prevailing wind in these areas - always, always be downwind of your target site. You can fool a buck's eyes and ears sometimes, but you'll never, ever fool their nose.

You can easily spend a day or two on just a couple of cuts doing this. But each morning before sunup, be in-place glassing over your more interesting trails entering and exiting that treeline. Never skyline yourself, and try to break up your outline by being in a hide of some kind, even just behind a bit of brush or rock.

Thank you sir. Will take a lot of your advice to heart. Not a seasoned backpacker but have done one long 500 mile hike on the PCT trail decades ago. Will be heading up to South Oregon to a couple spots. This year will be an inaguaral trip exploring, scouting.. Will keep expectation in check.

 

[jw710]

Past few years there have been some changes with gates. Some that have never been closed have been locked up just before season opens. Some that have never been open are now open year round.

Also theres always the chance of finding a yarder parked ontop of your waypoint

I'd make sure to have a plan B,C and D

Thanks for the tips. I'm sure there will be a few surprises, hopeful on the good side.. But will keep expectations low. Being in and enjoying the nature and hiking the hills is 65% of the hunt for me

 

[Steve300xcw]

I lost a neat spot for day hunts, and a long range shooting spot. One from a gate getting closed and one from it opening Oh well. Theres lotsa cool ground out there

 

[IdahoBeav]

I grew up hunting blacktails. In my opinion, they are the easiest deer to hunt. The only thing that can make it difficult is how thick and steep the pacific coast mountain range is, but if you find a burn or clear cut, you get around some of that. No other species of deer is less skittish than a blacktail. It's almost to a point where they are curious. They give you opportunities and 2nd chances that a whitetail would never and a mule deer often won't. Due to this, a ton of them, big bucks, too, are killed by road hunting. Combine this with the thick, steep terrain they inhabit, and there are a ton of road hunters, which means you usually don't have to hike in deep to get away from other hunters and into deer.