Any blacktail hunters in here ?

[tim adair]

I have been shooting my compound and recurve all year and many years prior and have decided that I'm switching full traditional or eating a tag for the Oregon late season! So excited !!! Any other blacktail hunters and howmany of you guys have made the switch ? And how has it affected your success?? thanks---T

[elkken]

There will be times that you will question the switch       :knot head: but that goes away in time and you will never look back. I have never shot a blacktail at more than twenty yards anyway. I have killed far more critters with my trad gear than I ever did with wheels and I actually believe hunting trad made me a better hunter. Good luck to ya along the journey !

[Rogue Hammer]

I hung up the wheels years ago, How's my sucess? I guess that depends on how you measure sucess. By going trad it has made me more patient and a better hunter. Last year I actually touched a little forked horn with the limb tip of my bow. That in itself was a sucess. I probably dont kill as much as i used to but the hunt is more satisfying.
Good luck
Bill

[Tree Killer]

Originally posted by tim adair:
I have been shooting my compound and recurve all year and many years prior and have decided that I'm switching full traditional or eating a tag for the Oregon late season! So excited !!! Any other blacktail hunters and howmany of you guys have made the switch ? And how has it affected your success?? thanks---T

Howdy Tim! Nice to see you leaving the darkside behind. Made the switch in 1985, but been killing blacktail deer since 1967.

I've been fairly consistent with whatever weapon was in my hands. But once you hunt with your recurve you'll come to appreciate the simplicity of the hunt.

Ron

[bearsfeet]

You will have a blast and I bet come next early season you will be sticking with the recurve ... Once you get your shooting down I don't think your success should change much.

Good luck ... Only a month to go! This will be my first late season in awhile so I'm pretty excited to get back out there!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

i don't think I've ever taken a blacktail over 25 yards myself even using wheels....so yardage isn't a factor at all to me.  

it's shooting through those vine maple windows that is a bit more challenging..... i just wish our season was longer.

The late season is kinda fun rattling and grunting the bucks in.... getting a shot at them is another thing all together.      

good sport!

[wapitirod]

I've been hunting blacktails in general for 30yrs and even with a guns I don't think I've taken more than a couple shots at over 100yds and most have been within 50.  I've been within a foot of a doe, I stalked a small herd just to see if I could do it up on mount Ashland.  I slipped down to within 10yds and one got curious as I was behind a christmas tree sized fir.  She came around and was face to face with me but I had the thermals in my favor and was well camo'd.  I could have slapped her on top the head but she just backed out as she knew something was wrong.  I had lost alot of those skills when I went back to wheels and guns.  I also missed the buck of a lifetime up there it was probably a 160 class blacktail and I got to within 10 to 15 yards.  I had spotted the antler tips on the far side of a knoll.  I stalked to the crest of the knoll and slowly stood up.  I immediately dropped to the ground and was sure the buck would hear my heart pounding as it felt like it was coming out of my chest.  The only problem was there was a hedge of manzanita between myself and the monster.  I had a softball sized window to make the shot through but it wasn't meant to be.  The arrow clipped the smallest of limbs and deflected harmlessly over the bucks back.  I was initially heartbroken but I wouldn't give that experience away for anything.  I've had alot of missed opportunities but my stalking skills were never sharper than when I was strictly hunting with traditional equipment and now I'm just starting to regain them and I'm having more fun than I've had in years even with dozens of blacktails to my credit.  As a side note, elk season just ended and I could have killed at least two bulls and a few cows with wheels and more with a gun but I had more fun than I could have imagined.

[tim adair]

Yeah I have been on the fence I have killed a few doe's in the past with my recurve on the  willamette tag but this year I told myself that after elk season successful or not I was going to do it for late season ,. Luckly I was succesful with the so called wheels:) And made the choice really easy! I have put a ton of time in on my curve an confidence is high !!! But to say I'm not nervous would be a lie and Also know that its been a constint thought make the full switch Thanks all!

[fujimo]

so all you black tail hunters- lets compare notes here- wehave the smaller sitka blacktail deer here, and our principal way of calling all season-in fact all year , is with a fawn bleat/squeal. that brings the does in, and in the rut a buck will sometimes follow her in- never tried rattling or grunting- tell us a bit more about that, when where and how.
we make our own fawn bleat calls.
wayne

[snag]

Here in Oregon if you use a fawn bleat you better be looking around for a bear or cougar. We have a real predator problem. I have rattled antlers during out late hunt that starts in Nov. and been successful getting bucks to come in. Tree Killer is "the man" when it comes to rattling blacktails in.

When I was shooting a compound yrs ago I never was one to take long shots. Most all the animals I've killed have been within 30 yrs. So picking up a recurve was not a hard decision for me.

[fujimo]

thanks snag,
yup our shots are all close range too.
lucky for us there are no griz or cougar on island. and very occaisonaly a black may come in- but these are classy bears here- they dont really hassle people- never been a recorded bear attack here on this island. and with the mild climate and abundance of food all year round they have been recorded as some of the biggest bears in n. amereica

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by tim adair:
Yeah I have been on the fence I have killed a few doe's in the past with my recurve on the  willamette tag but this year I told myself that after elk season successful or not I was going to do it for late season ,. Luckly I was succesful with the so called wheels:) And made the choice really easy! I have put a ton of time in on my curve an confidence is high !!! But to say I'm not nervous would be a lie and Also know that its been a constint thought make the full switch Thanks all!

Those Willamette tags are getting tough to draw anymore. I've gone 3 years now unsuccessful. Next year i should pull one. i hope so anyway... that is getting to be an expensive tag.   :mad:

[BrownA5]

I hung up the wheels a number of years ago and went back to my roots.  Have never looked back!  You probably will not either.  It really gets under your skin!

[Tree Killer]

Originally posted by tim adair:
Yeah I have been on the fence I have killed a few doe's in the past with my recurve on the  willamette tag but this year I told myself that after elk season successful or not I was going to do it for late season ,. Luckly I was succesful with the so called wheels:) And made the choice really easy! I have put a ton of time in on my curve an confidence is high !!! But to say I'm not nervous would be a lie and Also know that its been a constint thought make the full switch Thanks all!

Tim...don't put pressure on yourself feeling that you HAVE to kill a deer to have a successful hunt. The only person you need to impress is yourself!  Go out and have fun, limit your shots to your comfort zone, success will come.

All my hunting shots are under 25 yards. Could I kill more animals with a compound...probably. Would I enjoy my time in the woods as much hunting with a compound...probably. But for myself, it's about getting close and personal, using a simple weapon, and having confidence to take an animal with one well placed shot when the time is right.

Good luck and have fun!    

[Tree Killer]

Originally posted by fujimo:
so all you black tail hunters- lets compare notes here- wehave the smaller sitka blacktail deer here, and our principal way of calling all season-in fact all year , is with a fawn bleat/squeal. that brings the does in, and in the rut a buck will sometimes follow her in- never tried rattling or grunting- tell us a bit more about that, when where and how.
we make our own fawn bleat calls.
wayne

Wayne...a friend up in Washington gave me a deer call that they use in Alaska to bring in deer. It's made out of yellow cedar and makes a high pitched squeal. I intend on giving it a try on the local deer pretty soon. But I'll always have my rattlers with me just in case!    

[fujimo]

yup thats what we use- we make the reed out of flagging tape-kinda like clamping  a grass blade between your thumbs and blowing through it.
it imitates a distress call of a fawn- man it sure brings the does in a-stomping and a-snorting. and a buck following.
sometimes it will just bring the bucks straight in. the theory is that when the does are being courted by the bucks, they will chase the fawns off, and the fawns will distress call after their dams. so i geuss other bucks in the area figure there is something going on, and they come on over to investigate.
seems to work both ways- but i sure would be on the look out in predator country.
maybe use in a treestand - with morning sessions only- so that i didnt have to hike out in the night.
keep us posted
would love to hear how it works for you.