2012 Blacktail Deer Food Plot Results

So here are some results of the 2012 Blacktail deer food plot and attractant study.  During the month of August I put Swamp Donkey, C'Mere Deer, Buck Jam, Trophy Rock and Purina Deer blocks out to see which would be the most effective at bringing in deer.  To my surprise it only brought in bears.  The C'Mere deer is a very strong sweet smelling attractant and the buck jam was a apples concentrate.  Once the bears found the food source it was all theirs the deer never fed here.  I also had some apples and the food plots were alfalfa and outfitters blend.  I can't say that these results are conclusive because it depends on the time of year when you place the food out.  During the months of August the bears are searching far and wide to find food and store enough fat for hibernation.  The deer on the other hand stay out of the bear’s way.  Hopefully next year I will be able to place these deer attractants in the food plot area during the optimal time for deer.  I will keep everyone posted on the results.  Hope you had a successful year in the blacktail woods.  If you have suggestions that your curious to see if it attracts deer or have known recipes for attracting deer and would like to see if it works in different areas post a comment.  Next year I will be starting fresh and we'll be planting clover.  

2012 Washington Blacktail Buck

2012 has been a good year for blacktail hunting the weather was drier and had a few clear days to hunt intermixed with storms, which has made for excellent hunting. When the weather clears and the rut is going the blacktail woods is the place to be. I hunted two days all day in the area I had been scouting all year lots of nice deer but they were still locked down the rut hadn't kicked in. Moved locations and started walking into a clear cut when I spotted a doe. It was very overcast and dark so I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe so I waited for at least an hour finally it light enough to identify the animal as a doe. Moments later another deer appeared with his head low and grunting and began chasing the doe away. I didn't get my hopes up yet, but I felt confident it was a buck. I followed the pair of deer as they crossed a road and starting climbing a small rise. I was looking at the bigger of the two deer and had a hard time identifying antlers on his head. Looking at the photos you can see the background brush is the same color as his antlers. Finally he moved his head a little and I could see a glint of light coming of his antlers. I quickly took aim and shot and he dropped in his tracks. He's an old two point roughly 18" wide and close to that tall with one little eye guard. He weighed over 200 lbs. I weigh close to 200 lbs. and this deer is bigger than me. My Dad and I dragged him out after gutting him and by 9:00am we were at the truck with the buck.  Thanks dad for all the help and my wife for giving me the chance to fulfill a dream I have had as a young kid.  And I want to thank all my family and friends for all the advice and input to help make this possible.

Mule Deer Buck Removing Velvet

Big Mule Deer

This buck had already rubbed and was with another big buck but I wasn't fast enough on the camera.

After he just rubbed, notice how red his antlers are.

Rubbing to get rid of the velvet, he was also trying to eat the velvet hanging on his head.

The tree he destroyed

A piece of velvet.

Mule Deer Buck

 Found this Buck up in North Dakota after taking a break from work.  Sure is a wide buck, pushing probably 32'' wide but what do you think? I am not an expert on mule deer, sure would like to find a blacktail deer this wide.  After a couple hot days I figured the deer would be wanting to move around and I was lucky enough to find this bruiser again after bumping him. Enjoy the pics, he is a 4x4 with no eye guards still in velvet.

Blacktail Bucks

This is a special group of blacktail bucks, the three amigos.  This photo was given to me by a friend so I can't take credit for it.  It would be difficult to create a foot plot to attract a group such as this.  They find clear cuts and old growth edges home.  But you might be able to entice them a couple times which would give you an idea of what's in the area.  Deer have a good memory for old food sources and have an incredible sense of smell to guide them to new ones.                                                  

Wolves in Washington

Washington wants around 12 packs of wolves:
Each pack has between 7-15 members.
Each wolf will eat an estimated 15-19 deer per year.
Wolves will increase in population 10-34% each year.

Washington's Deer and Elk Populations:
Deer: 16,056, applied WSFW ratio 23,570
Elk: 24,615, applied WSFW ratio 36,135

*totals come from helicopter surveys, and WSFW ratio is the + or - factor error on the high side.

Elk counts in Montana between 1994-2008 dropped 67-87%

So if there is 12 packs of wolves and roughly 120 members 2040 deer will be eaten or roughly 840 full grown elk or 4080 calves will be eaten.  Idaho wanted 10 packs now they are up to 1000 wolves so that means in our state of Washington 20400 deer or 8400 full grown elk or 40800 calves or any combination will be eaten by wolves after a few years of getting established.  Now wolves don't normally take down a full grown elk but prey mostly on the young and old.  So if the calf numbers go down then the overall population down the road will go down when the healthy elk get old.  So do the research and do the math if we hunters want the ability to harvest an animal then actions need to be taken.  Please read Eastman's blog found at the bottom of the blog, then the reality of what's at stake will hit.

Now all my facts about deer and elk populations were gathered from:  http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01327/

Facts about wolves: http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/basic/faqs/faq.asp.,

http://westinstenv.org/wildpeop/2009/02/11/wolves-reducing-elk-populations-in-montana/,

http://blog.eastmans.com/the-predator-death-spiral/