Blacktail Deer-Learn More About Them
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
FOOD PLOTS-Blacktail Deer
One of the more commonly hunted deer species is the blacktail deer.Their name comes from the black tip found on their tails. They are smaller than their cousins the whitetail deer, but blacktail deer do grow to trophy sizes.There are hunters that do not believe blacktail deer can produce trophy size racks, but there have been blacktail spreads that reach up to thirty inches – easily the size of a trophy deer.
Blacktail deer were first classified as a subspecies of mule deer, though experts have recently declared them an entirely different species.As relatives of whitetail and mule deer, there are some similarities, but also definite differences.
One such difference is that blacktail horn size doesn’t appear to directly relate with the body mass of the blacktail deer, whereas mule deer and whitetail deer’s horns are usually found to be related to their body size. Additionally, larger whitetail and mule deer are found further north, whereas larger blacktail deer are found by travelling south.
British Columbia, Western Oregon, Washington and Northern California are home to the blacktail deer, with a few found north in the Alaskan panhandle.Boone and Crockett limits the boundaries of the Columbian blacktail however, with its territory extending from central British Columbia, south to Monterey Bay in California.Blacktails have obviously been found elsewhere, but Boone and Crockett applied the limitations to recognize the possibilities of cross breeding of blacktails with mule deer in the places that they overlap.
Blacktail hunters all agree that hunting blacktail deer can be quite difficult. Blacktails are even considered by some hunters to be more challenging to hunt when compared to whitetails; this is usually not regarded as because blacktail are inherently more intelligent.
The problem most veteran hunters commonly state is that the hunting season for blacktails occurs through the hotter months of July to October. Because it is so hot, blacktail deer won’t usually be found during the day; instead they hide where it is cool. They also prefer to move during the night, which makes them harder to detect.
The heat will also affect the hunters, and you have to be pretty determined to take down a blacktail deer.
Blacktail deer are one of the more commonly hunted game animals in North America. If you require more tips about hunting blacktailed deer, have a look at Deer-HuntingTips.com. You will find free tips and guides available there, suitable for deer hunting novice and veteran alike, for all species of deer as well as other game animals.
