I am thinking about an Oregon blacktail hunt this fall,,, my son wants to go hunt with his grandpa, his grandpa lives in baker city, but I am thinking we shold go to the west or south west as late as the season is open to look for a good to great buck,,

I spent lot of time in northern California , shot lots of bucks, but never a buck better than 16in wide spindly 4 point,

any one have advice , where I might start some map scouting and google earth scouting,, thanks

The population is in decline due to the hair loss mites and reduced habitat with our logging shutdowns. South west Oregon, about as far from Baker as one can get, would be the best choice for a trophy. The Mt Hood foothills are also some good habitat.

Meshing with the rut will help foster success. Everyone's out early and then suddenly one weekend, near everyone scores a buck when the rut kicks in.

Good luck,

My idea of a great blacktail would be a 20" wide 4x4. Not sure what you're after though.

I shot the one below on Halloween 2013, coast buck chasing a doe. 2012 buck was just a fork. Just about any blacktail is a trophy to me, if you're hunting the coastrange and not someone's backyard . That said, there are some bruisers in the metro area .

Hunting the coast can be brutal. Its steep and deep, but if you're willing to do it you probably won't see anyone else. I don't see a single person off the road. A lot of guys just drive the ridges late in the season. Areas that are super steep with roads running knife edges are popular. I'm not much of a road hunter but admit that it can be highly effective in these specific areas.

Or, get out and chase the grey ghost. Without scouting a specific area its really a needle in a haystack. You could hike a lot of miles without seeing a single deer.

I like your idea of hunting late. And use google earth to find saddles and funnels. Have fun! I love hunting blacktail in the coastrange.

Jason

that buck would do, i hunted the coast range from from eureka to the oregon border alot,, tough public land hunting, went farther inland and hunted forks of salmon i believe, seen lots of bucks, only one like your picture, did see a few other guys shot that were bigger,,,

I can't speak about the entire coast, but have seen a decent number of bucks from roughly Salem on up (near coast, not that far inland though). Decent numbers of does and young bucks too. I wouldn't say they are plentiful, but they seem to be doing ok given the habitat. Not sure about further inland since I don't hunt there.

Saw a couple wide antlered bucks taken last year from the areas I normally hunt. Definitely good bucks, and bigger than the Halloween buck, but not monsters.

Jason

Good bucks in the SW region, is where I'd start looking

Yeah, I'm thinking the SW region is all hunted out by the local rednecks. No deer (t)here.

BIG blacktails are usually easy to find if you go where there are no people. It can be a triangle of ground next to the interstate, but if there's no hunting pressure, there'll probably be deer. *no hunting next to the interstate BTW

You may have to literally step on the deer to get him out of his bed, so your best bet is to use your brain, not your legs.

SW sucks.

They are here but if you do expect to be successful down here your odds are not good.



The old man's from this year.

Try HWY 20, near the Pacific Crest Trail, nice Bucks in that area.

One block from my house, 2 miles from downtown Portland.

I want to do this hunt too but since I live on the other side of the country I'll book it through an outfitter.

If your looking for a good buck with an outfitter, you won't find better than Mike Lee. Southern Oregon Blacktails
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Thanks Rogue!

Ive been foaming at the mouth to get on some blacktails. Ive never done it and I need some new hunts, my usual travels are getting stagnet. Anyone else game?