CA Blacktail Deer
Question:
Coastal hunting on private property is best. USFS forests, state and BLM land is also good but odds are lower due to hunting on public lands. Blacktails usually run smaller, companed to whitetails or muley’s. Good Luck. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
>I’m thinking of hunting blacktails this summer/fall with a friend of mine >who lives in Santa Rosa. >Trouble is I know nothing about blacktails — I just like the west (and the >idea of hunting without freezing my tail off). >Where do they live? What kind of cover? How long are the shots typically?
I’ve only killed one deer, but it was a blacktail, so here goes… They live in the Pacific NW, from northern (maybe central?) California to Alaska. They live on the western edge of the continent, in the dense, rain-forest stuff. They can be like ghosts; you might see all kinds of sign and go days without seeing anything at all. They are very sneaky and nocturnal. Your best bets are very early in the day and very late, although many many deer are killed during the day, particularly in areas with low pressure. I got mine right at dusk, in a brushy (growing-up) clearcut. I staked it out from the downwind side. It was at least my 5th night there. Many blacktail are taken by still-hunting through the areas that they use to get from food to bed, in the early part of the day particularly. This is a whole nuther deal and I’m not qualified to talk about competant still-hunting! Shots are typically under 100 yards, often under 50 (mine was maybe 40 yards). But if you find them browsing in a clearcut (the "classic" way to hunt blacktail, although becoming less successful since the idiotic forestry of the 80’s has been reigned in-see below), the shot could be much longer. For this reason, even though short shots are quite common, the bolt rifle is greatly preferred, usually in .270, 30-06, or .308. I took mine with a 30-06 and will hunt next year with that rifle and/or a 7mm-08 that I just bought, which is probably the ultimate blacktail caliber in that it’s short action, flat-shooting when it needs to be, and is PLENTY powerful without being ridiculous for a 100 to 175-lb deer. But anything from 30-30 to .338 would be fine. There is an EXCELLENT book that is sort of the Bible of Blacktail hunting, written by Eugene’s own Boyd Iverson and called "Blacktail Trophy Tactics II". It is simply great. Buy it; you won’t regret it! (Before I get reamed for my forestry comment. In the 80’s, this region was being cut at a much higher than sustainable level, and a LOT of timber was being shipped overseas without even being milled here. These factors, along with the fact that for all practical purposes all the old growth has been cut and many mills were only tooled for old growth, had much more to do with the "crises" than the spotted owl did, and Rush can screw himself on this issue. Wacko enviromentalists had nothing to do with most if not all of the mill closures. The resource was not managed in a sustainable fashion, the old growth ran out, and things had to change… it’s still a mess, FWIW) -jeff (AKA "enviromentalist with a chain saw" – two, actually <g>) Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
I’m thinking of hunting blacktails this summer/fall with a friend of mine who lives in Santa Rosa. Trouble is I know nothing about blacktails — I just like the west (and the idea of hunting without freezing my tail off). Where do they live? What kind of cover? How long are the shots typically? Any tips? Good places to go? Local guides? Thanks, — John Frazer Handgun Skills Mailing List: http://www.egroups.com/group/handgun-skills/info.html Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
