Favorite time to hunt?

Time to prep up for Blacktail!!

I supose if you have all day to hunt, you might hunt all day. Lots of guys prefer to hunt the mornings until the sun is high in the sky or others prefer to hunt the evenings after work or a nap back at camp.

If you been hunting Blacktails long enough, you then allready know that many fine bucks get taken between 11am and 1pm, seems they like to move during this time, either to water or to just change locations. Most of these wonderful little deer though, are hunted and killed early or late.

When do you "prefer to hunt them", what time of day, these most wonderful, even if not as big as muley's, game animals? If there a story to go along with your pick/reason, so much the better!

Joey

december.....

JB

The first answer that comes to mind is "Whenever I can go". In reality I have been hunting them since I was 10 (44 years ago), with a success rate of 95%+ and I have gotten them at all times of the day. Obviously early and late is the best and as I hauled logs in the woods for over 25 years that is when they were most active all year around too. The best days to hunt really are those days that are POURING down rain....the blackies really Love the rain especially if there has been any amount of dry time leading up to that. They come out of the woodwork with the rain and in reverse mode they are very unactive with warm dry weather...they kind of go on the night shift. They are a great deer to hunt and I maintain they are really under-rated at how hard it is to get a really good buck. Usually you only see the Big Guys in the rut...they are pretty much creatures of night and you might see them in the road heading back into the thickest stuff possible an hour before daylight.......Les

LAST EDITED ON Jul-05-08 AT 12:57PM (MST)[p]Wow Moosestock, you really hit the nail on the head. That's some VERY insightful advice. First off, i too am 54 and been seriously hunting Blackies since i was a kid. You're right on the mark about rain after a hot spell, good bucks just love it and seem to want to be out in the open where you might never have seen a decent buck before, soaking up every drop. Great Call!! Thanks!

D13er, always the wise guy!! lol

No problem. As a Logger/hunter and spending so much time in the woods for so many years I have learned a great deal about them...and I Love hunting them probably even more then Elk and I have probably been about 50% on them over the years. They are a great animal to match wits with...........Les

Jul. till Oct.


Kyle
"If it moves shoot it again"

Deadred7o7, Well, at least your hunting when you're allowed. D13r, he seems to think December has it's advantages. lol

Come on guys! somebody gotta like to get up early and be sitting on a special ridge, watching the sun come up and the fog roll out.

I myself, used to like hunting early but as the years have passed, I seem to more and more enjoy the nice comfort of my blankets early in the morning. During the season though, more than likely, i'll be up and after them.

My favorite time a day to hunt is that last 15 minutes before dark. I have killed more good mature Blacktails at that time, than any other. love it when a good plan comes together!

In A zone the last week of the season was always the beginning of the rut. I usually passed on a lot of bucks and took friends to help them fill their tags just so i could still be hunting. I planned to have a tag left to be able to take advantage of the "new" bucks finally showing themselves because of the rut. Usually always killed the best buck of the year in those last few days.

Joey

WHEN THEY NEED ME MOST AT WORK.....seems that way every year!!
I like it after or during a fire... Yolla Bolly wilderness is still closed!
and scouting my son's antelope was smoked out so I can't do much yet as far as scouting (I know my X Zone like my back yard!)!
as long as no fires I will want it cold very cold under 20 at night!
rm

Depends on time of year for me, generally early has always been better for me. I have taken six four points in the last five years and the latest I killed any of them was about an hour after sunrise. I dont have any real honey holes as they have all been different spots and different times of season, but I beleive they feed in the dark and I catch most of them heading back to bed for the day. Most of the big bucks I see dont move untill almost dark not allowing much time to kill them.

It all depends on the style of hunting you plan on doing. Those of you hunting the clearcuts and medows will probably like the late and early times however I like to still hunt the dark timber. I've probably killed more mature bucks in the 10:00 to 3:00 time frame than early and late, mabey it's because of the lack of visibility in the timber early and late and has nothing to do with deer movement?

My moto is be in the woods daylight till dark, don't gip yourself out of a single minute of hunting time.

Coon

Rackmaster said;
"I like it after or during a fire... "

During a fire? That's a new one on me but i supose you would certainly have good deer movement.lol I have yet to get a buck out of that bolly country but i have passed on a few South East of there up top, on public above Twin Rocks. Last time i hunted that country, i had 2 decent three points at 20 feet, one was a pretty nice 18-20 incher but for some reason, i let them walk off. Still scratching my head over that one but there has been some really huge bucks come from that country...the bigger of those three's, still needed another year or two.

Buckmster28 said;
"generally early has always been better for me. I have taken six four points in the last five years and the latest I killed any of them was about an hour after sunrise."

Nothing like a good plan, eh? There's no doubt that they do feed mostly at night and feel much safer at that time. Your results speak for themselves. Can't beat success, being consistant on that quality of deer tells me that; You, ma man, have got it Down! Thanks for your comments!!

Coonhound40 said,
"I've probably killed more mature bucks in the 10:00 to 3:00 time frame than early and late, mabey it's because of the lack of visibility in the timber early and late and has nothing to do with deer movement?"

Pretty astute of you. In any event, it's a fun way to hunt. I believe that Blackies move only when they feel safe, that they actually pattern us hunters. Many hunters don't hunt much during those times that you have been successful. I've seen mature bucks leave perfectly safe hidie holes to make major moves across open country in the middle of the day. They had to figure that nobody was around! The guys, like you, that hit it hard and hunt all day, all else being equal, is gonna get more chances at good Blacktails. Thanks for the reply.

Some of you newer, or otherwise, guys got any pictures of decent Blacktails killed during your favorite time.? i need Blackie fix!

Joey

My favorite time is early and late. The best time is 10:00 to 2:00 when it is a 100 degrees out! I have a good sized place to hunt and I have been hunting it for forty years. I saw two smokers on Friday afternoon and I bet I never see them again. I see does in the alfala plots in early evening but the trail cameras show the the good bucks at 11:00PM. All that said, I hunt early because of the heat and always have a tag in my pocket for the last week of the season. I would also add this obsevation. I used to love to seek through the oaks in the heat of the day; however they don't seem to lay out in the open like they used too because of the cats. They have really been jungled up the last few years.

Blueoak said;
". I saw two smokers on Friday afternoon and I bet I never see them again."

Ain't it the pits! We used to always take a ride up to the ranch after Thanksgiving Dinner. The same route through the ranch that during the season, might yield 100 deer but few bucks and maybe a forkie or two, we would always see a few huge mature Blackies hanging close to the does. We never saw them during the season, any of them.

...and again said;
"All that said, I hunt early because of the heat and always have a tag in my pocket for the last week of the season."

Yep, after the first weekend, i always found that my best chance at a big one were those last few days of the season. Girls!, get a guy in trouble every time. lol

The country that i hunted as a little blond kid through my 30's had sameesh brush, what we called it, a iron stemmed bush somewhat similar to manzinita. The stuff could grow over your head in places and other than a nightmare in retrieving a buck, you didn't really want to go in there. Miles of it. Thank God it was mostly on other ranches, instead of ours, but was close enough. Mature bucks got in there, lived in there, stayed in there. Thanksgiving, long after the season closed, they'd come out to be with the does.

Joey