A young blacktail buck in the Umpqua River drainage. The Western Oregon archery season runs Aug. 29 through September 27. The Western General Centerfire Season in the Cascades begins Oct. 3 and runs through Oct. 16, opening again from Oct. 24 through Nov. 6. The Coast Buck hunt runs Oct. 3 through Nov. 6.

Judging by the long faces, there are a few of you who didn’t draw mule deer tags. With eastside deer numbers in the doldrums, it is harder than ever to draw a tag. Hopefully, that will change as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife begins to rebuild herds in the Heppner, Murderers Creek, Maury, Steens and Warner units.

A deer hunter doesn’t have to stay home this year. One of the best options is blacktail hunting in western Oregon. Approximately 320,000 blacktails inhabit the western third of the state. The season is long and tags are available over the counter.

But the blacktail deer may be the most difficult quarry of all the deer of North America. Many mule deer hunters are at a loss when it comes time to hunt over on the wet side. It’s a challenge that makes a hunter better wherever he hunts.

Scott Haugen put it this way on page 1 of his new book: “The Columbia blacktail deer is an elusive creature that tests the skills of big game hunters like no other animal I know in North America. Combine the wise characteristics of a whitetail deer with the sharp-eyed alert instincts of a mule deer, toss it into an elk’s habitat and you get the most evasive deer of all, the blacktail.”

Haugen’s new book, “Trophy Blacktails — The Science of the Hunt” (2009, www.scotthaugen.com), synthesizes the latest research and a lifetime of observation. I finished an advance copy a couple of months ago and have been processing Haugen’s observations ever since.

The important thing is to focus on the deer and his habitat. Haugen believes that a hunter should categorize blacktails into one of six types, dependent on habitat, weather patterns and feed. “Each of these deer live in different habitats and their behaviors are unique to suit their lifestyle.”

Mountain-dwelling Cascade blacktails live at higher elevations throughout the spring, summer and early fall, then migrate to lower elevations. Mark Vargas, ODFW district biologist in the Rogue watershed, has been running a camera on one migration trail for 12 years. Last time we spoke, he related the statistics from 2007, when his camera recorded 300 deer: 142 does, 84 fawns and 74 bucks, all going one way. The recorded buck ratio was 52 bucks per 100 does; 26 percent were four-point or bigger. About 80 percent of the bucks were photographed at night.

The data shows that there are a lot more big bucks as a component of the herd than we previously believed. And most of them are never seen by hunters during the season.

Foothill blacktails live, according to Haugen, at elevations of 1,500 feet and lower, spread throughout from the tops of rugged hills, down the brush-choked creeks to the river bottoms. Generally, they are born, live and die within an area of about two square miles.

Lowland drainages are the province of valley floor deer. Here, the living is easy, with access to year-round food, whether wild or generated by agriculture. These animals know their small home areas so well that it is almost impossible to penetrate their brushy habitat without spooking them.

Non-migratory coastal blacktails may be the toughest hunt of all. Because food and water are available year-round, deer don’t have to travel far except during the rut.

Open-country blacktails inhabit open terrain starting from the Umpqua River valley south through central California. Non-migratory, they live in small core areas. These deer often bed on the edges of big oak savannahs and rely on their eyesight.

Haugen’s sixth subgroup are high-country blacktails, which make their home between the Coast Range and the Cascades in northern California.

So where does that leave a hunter looking for a place to hunt in Oregon? In the past, blacktail hunting was often tied to timber cutting and new growth. These days, public land hunters should take note of ground that burned in wildfires or was logged in recent timber operations.

When focusing on timber operations, look for newly logged units, adjacent to 5- to 10-year-old cuts. Deer tend to feed in the open during the night then move into the thicker, second growth during the day. Access may be restricted on private timberland to weekends and late afternoons.

For opportunity, the Indigo and McKenzie units offer a chance to look over more animals over the course of a season. In the Coast Range, prospects are best at higher elevations in the Trask, Stott Mountain, Alsea and Siuslaw units.

For the trophy hunter, the Dixon, Evans Creek, Applegate and Rogue units offer the best chances at a mature, trophy buck.

This is going to call for a scouting weekend. Successful blacktail hunts often hinge on two components: elevation and weather. For the best view, hang a tree stand or find a high spot and probe small openings with binoculars or a spotting scope.

And remember, bluebird days are for bluebirds. Watch the weather and time your hunt to coincide with the rainiest, snowiest days.

Blacktail hunting is better when it’s wetter.