The blacktails have been working me over the last few years. Would appreciate any advice on effective scouting techniques and strategy to get away from the flood of people.
Scouting and getting away from people are two different things.
NW Oregon means tree farms, so you need to look for land that doesn't allow motorized access. In western Washington, anything within 1-2 miles of the road gets picked over by poachers and road hunters. Get 3-5 miles in, set up camp, then hunt deeper from there. A mountain bike is an excellent investment in your future as a blacktail hunter. If the land does offer motorized access, you have to get a lot farther from the road to find anything.
I've noodled them out of the brush and shot them with a revolver, but I'm starting to believe that just drives the good ones deeper and deeper. When I was hunting Roosevelts a couple of years ago, we found a hillside, set up with big glasses, and waited to see what moved. We saw a couple of really nice blacktail bucks but didn't go after them because they were out of season.
There used to be a pretty good forum called Blacktailforum.com but it's long gone. Look around for others like it.
Okie John
