These BT have me feeling beat

[oregoner]

Hoping to maybe get a pointer or two on finding a deer. Born and raised Oregonian. 40 years old (when did that happen?). Have hunted on and off since I was a kid, but feel like I must have got stuck in the 90s. I’ve taken three blacktail bucks in probably the last 20 years of hunting. All while walking/still hunting, all less than 100 yards. Grew up hunting with folks that just wore jeans and used lever 30/30s. We’d road hunt a bit, do low key drives through thick stuff if we had someone waiting. Sit at first and last light in small open areas.

Now I mostly read about guys glassing cuts. I’m getting on that bandwagon, but feel blind. I’ve been trying this the last couple days and have yet to pick a deer out of a cut. Have 10x42 binos, and a spotting scope.

I’m also new to Corvallis and hunting the coast range for the first time, so there’s that.

Sure has been nice to be in the woods though.

I guess beyond some kind of hack for seeing a deer in a cut my questions are - how fresh of reprod are we talking? Trees six feet tall? Fresh dirt?

If you were to split the coast range into thirds, would you pick the third closest to the valley, closest to the coast or in the middle for deer density?

I just found this forum and so far it’s been a wealth of information from folks that seem very friendly and solid. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

 

[FairWeatherFisher]

I’m pretty new to it, only 4 years in now, but fwiw I’ve seen way more deer in the timber than in clear cuts. It’s just something I haven’t figured out either. Even this year, I haven’t seen any deer in the cuts, but I’ve seen 3 bucks in the timber…just haven’t had a shot at any of them yet.

 

[oregoner]

Thanks, I appreciate that solidarity. That's my experience so far too. Enough folks seem to have it figured out that I keep trying.

I figure if I can spot one a couple times, I'll have a better sense of what I'm doing/looking for and more optimism.

I did get into some deer walking 20 year old reprod yesterday, but its was too thick to make a move.

 

[2-Stix]

Burns and reprod that you can see in. If you can't see dont wast your time. Burns that are 2-5 years told typically.

 

[Rogue Bay]

One of the biggest challenges hunting blacktails is spotting them. It always amazes me how I can glass a cut for so long then, when I’m convinced there are no deer present, spot one right in front of me that has been frozen still the whole time. They’re about as cryptic as any critter I’ve hunted. The only real advice I can give is once you think you’ve covered everything really well, glass it again even slower. I’m sure you’re well aware but don’t expect to see a whole deer standing in a cut. I’m always looking for movement, a face, an ear, the back line, or antlers. Pick every feature apart thoroughly. This can be challenging for me because patience isn’t my greatest virtue.

I’ve seen deer in really fresh cuts, but they definitely don’t use them as frequently during daylight hours. Here on the coast cuts of 3-6 years are my favorite. Deer will certainly use older cuts but visibility sucks.

As for where in the Coast Range to focus your efforts, I don’t know that there’s a correct answer to that. Where I hunt one can cover some seemingly great country and see few if any deer. Then the next cut or canyon may be full of them. They seem to be in pockets for reasons I can’t discern. I would look for areas with decent sign, even if I’m not seeing deer at the time.

I realize that probably isn’t super helpful. Have confidence in your strategy and don’t let it get in your head. I know that’s easier said than done sometimes.

I just helped a new hunter get her first buck yesterday. We hunted the same cut 8 or 9 times and had only seen one doe. I was explaining to her that blacktail hunting can be like that. The very next corner could reveal a buck. I’d no sooner said that and we rounded a bend and there was a buck standing in a spot we’d looked at 100 times. Don’t give up and best of luck!

 

[slvrslngr]

Hunt the edges and pockets, move until you find good sign then sit on it, hunt to the last minute of legal light, stay out hunting when it’s raining, hunt immediately after the wind stops blowing regardless of the time (within legal hours of course), hunt the does (bucks will likely be nearby, especially now) and be patient. Good luck!

 

[oregoner]

Thanks! Giving this the last try here today and tomorrow. Will report back if anything comes together.

 

[roosiebull]

Age of cuts is a fickle concept, anywhere from brown dead new cuts to grown up cuts you can only see into a couple pockets. The more grown up is my favorite to hunt, but I think I just enjoy glassing spots that can hold a lot of secrets

Tripod is big, and being as patient as possible knowing from any angle you can only see a small portion of what’s there, understand how little bit of cover it takes to hide a deer.

I usually cherry pick glassing (start close to you) and then move to a grid, then I will spend time (killing time if nothing else) looking for beds for future reference, they get easy to spot with practice

It’s very common to be glassing for a long time, then all of a sudden there is a deer in the wide open in the middle of where you have just been glassing forever (goes back to it not taking much to hide a deer)

Be patient, stay in the glass and look for any movement… you should be seeing birds and squirrels if you are effectively glassing

New areas I like to walk out, find sign, and figure out the places the deer use, it’s not all the same

Take a little effort to walk down a ridge and see the little pockets you can’t see, and take your time. If I see good sign, I have no problem glassing from the same place from first light to noon, but at that point I know what they are using and am confident there are deer in front of me

I try to plan out my approach and not expose myself or have my wind blow into where they are, that’s important if you want to hunt the spot again, deer will pattern you better than you will pattern them if you make your presence known

I like playing the long game, find sign that excites me and stay low impact on the spot. Strategy concerning hunting pressure is a big deal too, you have no clue what others are doing when you’re gone, so try to approach things differently than others and don’t be predictable to deer

 

[Warmsy]

I feel your pain! It's taken about 5 years but now I have a "feeling" of where I might find deer, gained by stumbling onto signs and sightings at random.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Post in thread 'slope preference for CA blacktails'
https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/slope-preference-for-ca-blacktails.319201/post-3185374

 

[oregoner]

Thanks all - this is really helpful.

Do ya’ll typically try to glass cuts from above or from below? I guess from across is most ideal., where possible.

Roosiebull - if you’re glassing from dawn til noon, are you sitting? On a stump? Ground? Camp chair?

That link on slope preference is real interesting. Makes sense.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Steve300xcw]

I glass across if possible. From above or below, hides way to much stuff IMO