By Scott Haugen 

Of all the hunting I've been fortunate to take part in around the globe, consistently scoring on a trophy-class Columbia blacktail deer is among the toughest.  The secretive ways and nocturnal lifestyle adopted by big bucks make them one of North America's ultimate big game challenges, and once you devote time to hunting them, you'll understand what makes them such an addictive trophy to pursue.

As if a blacktail's patterns aren't hard enough to figure out, the habitat in which they live makes getting to them even more of a  challenge.  From the rugged hills of the Coast Range and Cascades, across brush-choked valley fringes on down to river bottoms, the terrain these deer call home deserves as much respect as the deer that live there.

No matter where in the Pacific Northwest you hunt the Columbia blacktail deer, there are certain hunting strategies that can be applied at various times in the season.  Be it with rifle, muzzleloader or stick and string, the following tactical approaches can be made to fit your blacktail hunting repertoire, with the objective of increasing the odds of filling your tag.

Early Season Strategies

Early season blacktail hunts are typically in the form of archery and special draw rifle permits.  On these hot, dry summer days, the bucks are still in velvet, and their lifestyle at this time of year makes them quite 

accessible.  As the bucks shed their velvet and start adopting a nocturnal lifestyle, hunting strategies will change.  By preparing yourself in all realms, you'll be better versed at fitting your hunting strategy to the habits of the deer during that particular time of the season.

1.  Scouting

Due to the thick habitat blacktails call home, a low percentage of hunters spend time scouting for them.  Truth is, this is one of the better times to find a big buck, for they avoid brushy habitat due to the sensitivity of their velvety antlers.

Look along timbered edges, clear-cuts, meadows, powerline right-of-ways and any other open terrain.  Early morning and evening, when they are most likely up and feeding, are the best hours to find bucks this time of year.  During mid-day scouting sessions, look for bucks bedded in low lying brush.  Once a good buck is located, mark the spot, there's a good chance he'll be near, no matter what stage in the fall you hunt.

2.  Glassing

Quality optics are one of the most overlooked tools of the blacktail hunter.  Figuring dense terrain will inhibit the need for, or ability to use optics, many hunters skimp or go without.  Invest in the best pair of binoculars you can afford and put them to use.  Search for parts of deer: an antler tine, white throat or leg patch, a brown horizontal line indicating a back, anything that sets a deer apart from the terrain.  It requires time and patience but can save hours of leg work.

3.  Food Sources

Blacktails have a wide range of food sources, from berries to grasses to browse and lichens.  Finding these food sources early in the game, even prior to their maturation levels being reached, can pay off down the road.  Better yet, locate the food sources and bedding zones, then concentrate hunting efforts on the travel routes connecting the two.  Placing tree stands and ground blinds near known food sources can yield great results early in the season.

4.  Spot-and-Stalk

Finding deer and making a move to get within shooting range is one of the top hunting methods employed by blacktail hunters, but it's not easy.  First you have to find a deer.  Avoid stumbling through the woods haphazardly, hoping to jump a buck for a shot.  Instead, glass, find a buck and determine the best approach to stealth within range.

This approach requires time and patience.  Don't force the situation, and if the wind changes, come back and try again the next day, the buck likely won't be far.  The key here is spotting a buck and never letting him spot you, then playing it smart to close the deal.

5.  Open Units

Early in the season logged units can be a big buck's best friend.  Food, shelter, bedding grounds and even water exist in this open habitat, all of which can be magnets this time of year.  Where grasses and fireweed grow tall, bucks can be standing and remain difficult to locate.  This is where taking the time to thoroughly glass a unit can pay off.

Divide the unit into grids, then completely search each quadrant for any sign of a buck.  This may take a few hours, even more, but can result in a big buck that everyone else has overlooked.  Hit these habitats early and late in the day, when bucks are most likely to move.  Midday is also a good time to glass here, searching for bucks that reposition themselves so they are out of direct sunlight.

6.  Back Country

The further into the back country you go, the greater the likelihood of escaping fellow hunters and finding deer.  This may require throwing a pack on your back and putting some serious miles on, or at the very least, pedaling a bike into the hills.  This is the type of do-it-yourself effort it takes to find big bucks, especially early in the season.  By spending time in remote blacktail country, you increase the odds of finding that buck of a lifetime.

Mid-Season Tips

As wise bucks slip into that time of year between residing in open terrain, during the velvet stage, and growing active during the rut, they adopt a reclusive lifestyle.  Finding them can be tough; closing in for a shot even more challenging.  This is where hunters have to step it up a notch if they wish to score on a mid-season buck.

7.  Go Early, Stay Late

Because bucks retreat to thick habitat this time of year, they are very difficult to locate.  This is the time of season when the highest percentage of hunters are in the field, yet few of the biggest bucks are ever seen.  Because the older bucks are traveling and feeding at night, be in place well before daylight.  Determine where the primary travel routes of these bucks are, and get there early.  Beat the brush in other areas at mid-day, then return to the stand for the final hour of shooting light.  Hunting early and late is your best chance at finding a buck slithering along the trail.

8.  One Man Drives

In mid-season many blacktails like bedding in the thickest brush they can find.  This can be hands-and-knees hunting, especially when working reprod' areas.  But one hunter can root these deer out.  Once primary 

trails are located, work off them in semicircles, looping behind where anticipated bedding areas may be.  Better yet, if you can work these bedding areas along the edge of logged units, the buck will often wind you and kick out into the unit, offering an open shot.

9.  Party Drives

For rifle hunters, this is the most effective means of killing a blacktail during the middle of the season.  By this time bucks have been pressured and hold tight in thick habitat.  A party of hunters can space themselves 40 yards apart -- any closer will find bucks looping between -- and make the drives.  While the hunters awaiting at the other end, in an open unit or meadow or along a logging road, typically get the shot, this isn't always the case.  Every year there are big bucks killed by hunters making the drive, at very close range, so be ready and know your target.

10.  Move Slow

If desiring to hunt alone, consider stealthing your way through the woods in hopes of getting a shot at a buck.  Scouting will tell you deer are in the area, from there it's patience and persistence.  Depending on how brushy the terrain, slow hunting may find a hunter covering only a few hundred yards during the course of a morning.  The objective is to spot the deer before he sees you, allowing for a high percentage shot, versus jumping the deer and attempting a running shot through brush.  Work slow, pick apart the brush with your eyes and be ready for a close-range shot.

11.  Funnels

Like other deer, blacktails prefer taking the path of least resistance when traveling.  These can be river bottoms, along creek beds, swales, gullies and any low spots between or along ridgelines.  Finding funnels that concentrate deer movement is key, and once located, are worth devoting time to.  The most active funnels connect food sources to places of sanctuary.  The later in the season it gets, the more likely you are to find big 

bucks using these funnels during shooting hours, so never give up on such prime habitat, no matter how slow the action is early in the season.

12.  Timbered Strips

Wise bucks rarely travel in the open.  They prefer the safety of cover which means moving through brush or strips of timber.  It doesn't take much cover to hide a deer, and locating narrow stretches of timber, be it coniferous or deciduous, can be all it takes to getting a shot.  These zones are travel routes, not bedding areas, as they lack the cover.  But deer will move through them, and if such areas foster food, deer can be found nibbling as they move.  These are good habitats to sit and watch early in the morning and prior to dusk.

13.  Apply Rut Tactics

By the third week in October, many blacktail bucks are starting to think "rut."  Though they may not have active rub lines or be chasing does this early, many bucks are ready; it's the fact that the does aren't in heat that explains why the bucks haven't peaked.  But their interest is there, and knowing this, hunters can rattle and call to bring deer into range.  This works well in thick brush, where sneaking in tight is all but impossible.  The end of October marks what I consider to be prime rattling time, as by this time, bucks are fired-up and the ladies aren't quite ready.  At this time, hunters can move in and gain a buck's interest through rattling, an often overlooked tactic this time of year.

14.  Hit Storms

One of the best times to be in the blacktail woods is immediately following a storm.  Rain and wind storms cause mosses and lichens to fall from trees, and these can be prime food sources in many areas where blacktails roam.  Furthermore, the ground is wet, making for quiet going for hunters.  Slow hunting through wooded sections can be very productive after a storm, as deer can often be found feeding well into the morning.

Late Season Tactics

Halloween generally marks the start of late season blacktail hunting.  At this time most bucks have a devoted interest to the rut and as such, their behaviors change.  This means hunters can influence a deer's behavior or at least use their change in behavior to put themselves in a position to make a kill.  Late season hunts come in the form of rifle, special draw muzzleloader, youth and archery hunts; they run the gamut, but the techniques are the same.

15.  Rattling

Though it's been used for decades by some hunters, rattling is one of the most underutilized tactical approaches when it comes to blacktails.  The key here is persistence, and putting yourself in the right place to rattle in a buck.  Working atop knolls or ridges, where a buck must approach from below, has yielded the best results for me.

Don't be afraid to get aggressive with rattling.  Clash those antlers or rattle bag, kick the ground, snap sticks and rake leaves and trees, making all the sounds fighting bucks do.  When bucks fight, it's an aggressive, often fight-for-your-life affair.  Serious bucks are not timid when fighting, and neither should the hunter be.  I've rattled in multiple bucks to one spot over the course of a few hours, but typically like to move 

after 45 minutes.  Let the situation dictate how often and how far you move before starting the next sequence.

16.  Calling

Blacktails aren't the most vocal animals in the woods, but during the rut their level of communication does increase.  Buck grunts are an unmistakable sound, and one hunters can easily mimic.  There are several grunt t

ubes on the market, the key is not overusing them.  A few short grunts mixed in with a rattling sequence is a good bet, though grunts alone have brought in many big bucks for hunters.

Doe bleats are another call that works well alone, or when incorporated into the rattling scheme.  Hunters who like covering ground will find that walking ridgelines, into the wind, and occasionally using doe bleats is a good way to draw bucks in for a shot.

17.  Tree Stands

Situating tree stands along primary travel routes can pay big dividends to hunters who have done their homework.  But as with any tree stand hunting, they require a level of dedication, meaning they can take time to pay off.  It's not unusual to spend several days in a stand before getting a shot; then again, if in the right place at the right time, the shot can come quick.  They ticket is finding an area of high use, having confidence in your stand placement and waiting it out.

18.  Ground Blinds

Ground blinds can yield surprising results for blacktail hunters.  Their biggest benefit is that they allow you to move into a deer's habitat and set up in areas you might not be able to otherwise hunt -- this is especially true for archers and muzzleloader hunters.  Ideally, setting up a blind several days prior to hunting it is best, but not always possible.  When setting up a blind in brushy areas, brush-in the bottom and top, to break up the outline.  In the open, leaving the blind as is works well for blacktails.

19.  Hunt The Rain

Blacktails aren't bothered by rain, and neither should be the hunter.  Deer can often be found milling about at all hours on rainy days, even bedding in open areas.  It's amazing to me, the number of big bucks I've found over the years, bedded in the wide open in a driving rain.  Rain is the best cover for hunters as it muffles sound, knocks down scent and covers movement.  If you want to score on a big buck late in the season by way of spot-and-stalk or slow hunting, get out in the rain.

20.  Cover Ground

Noted as homebodies, blacktails do cover ground, especially late in the season.  This is when bucks go cruising for does and is the best time for hunters to also cover ground, hoping to intercept bucks on the move.  But this shouldn't be a "chance" deal.  Find where bucks are living and systematically work the surroundings to catch them on the move.  This may require moving, then sitting for a few hours, or continually but slowly working your way through the woods.  I once sat in a stand for 11 straight days, seeing only one buck.  After giving up hope late one afternoon, I decided to cover ground.  In less than an hour I covered a quarter-mile and saw five Pope & Young bucks.  Moving can pay off.

21.  Find The Does

Many blacktail does hang in the same area, year-round.  Late season hunters should continually check these does for bucks moving in.  At the same time, monitor does to see when they kick their yearlings out of the house, for this is a sign they are reaching breeding status, meaning bucks won't be far off.  If pockets of does can be found, and you know the rut is very near, it's worth checking on them a few times throughout the day.  This can happen fast, for several bucks can ascend upon a group of does at once, something you don't want to miss.

22.  Post Rut Zones

Following the rut, many big blacktails slip into their secretive lifestyle, making them tough to find.  However, at this time they also require a lot of food in an effort to prepare for winter and replenish what fat they lost during the rut.  This is where hunters can target food sources, situating themselves between these and bedding areas.  Hunting along trails can pay big here, especially in wooded areas.  Because it's late in the season, daylight hours are dwindling, so hunters should be in place by early afternoon, noting it quickly gets dark in the timber.

23.  River Bottoms

River bottoms, especially islands, are one of the most overlooked blacktail habitats.  Largely, this is due to private land and limited access, but if you have a boat, hunting river shores and brushy islands can be very productive.  There are good numbers of resident bucks in such habitats, but what's more, many bucks migrate down from surrounding foothills to check out the plentiful does inhabiting these zones.  Rattling and calling are effective for bringing bucks out of the thick cover commonly associated with this habitat.

24.  Migration Routes

If high country blacktail hunting is what peaks your interest, then concentrate late season efforts at around the 4,000 foot level.  Biologists have determined this to be a key elevation through which large numbers of blacktails migrate.  Heavy snow, waning photoperiods and doe estrous cycles all factor in to precisely when mountain bucks go on the move.  These hunts are great for spot-and-stalk, as bucks can be seen and stealthed in on.  At the same time, rattling and calling are highly productive.  As winter progresses, drop in elevation, with the deer.

Due to their reclusive lifestyle and dense habitats they occupy, blacktails are tough to hunt.  This is why the more versed hunters are at finding them, the better the odds of success.  Once you get inflicted with the rush of hunting these challenging deer, you'll understand why so many hunters are devoted to them, and rate them atop the list of most prized of all North American big game.

Signed copies of Scott Haugen's popular book, Trophy Blacktails: The Science Of The Hunt,  can be ordered at www.scotthaugen.com.

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