The Blacktail Coach Podcast

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Deer don’t read your calendar, but they do react to patterns and this week is loaded with them. We’re Aaron and Dave, and we’re back with our Five Factors forecast for Oct 26 through Nov 1 to help you plan blacktail deer hunting sits across Washington, Oregon, and California with less guesswork and more purpose. We talk through real conditions we’re seeing on the ground, including a surprise heat wave, a sharp temperature drop, and what happens when extra human traffic floods your area with scent. 

We break down the week using the same framework we rely on every season: the temperature window that keeps blacktails moving in daylight, barometric pressure trends that often precede feeding bursts, weather fronts and the “rain just ended” effect, and moon guide timing when magnetic pull lines up with normal movement windows. We also add the reality check that matters most: pressure changes deer behavior fast, so edges, transition zones, skid roads, and thick cover become even more important than wide-open glassing. 

Because we’re in peak rut timing, we also get specific about tactics: when to go full throttle on buck urine and doe-in-estrus scents, how doe bleats can stop a cruising buck, and how to ramp rattling into louder, more realistic sparring with brush thrashing and patience between sequences. Then we wrap with listener success stories, including a truly giant blacktail, plus a reminder you can’t tag one from the couch. 

Subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s forecast, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a review if the Five Factors help you put more deer in front of your stand.

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Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
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Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

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A blacktail season can feel random until you start stacking the odds. We’re Aaron and Dave, and this week’s Five Factors Weather Report for October 19 through 26 focuses on what actually moves deer: meaningful temperature changes, light rain that creates short feeding windows, and a barometric pressure jump that can flip the switch from bedded down to on their feet. If you’re heading into Washington modern firearm season, or you’re already grinding in Oregon or California general season, we lay out where the best opportunities are shaping up and why morning hunts deserve extra attention this week.

We also get into the rut without the hype. Bucks are not fully in the heart of it yet, but the sparring, pushing, and inventory-taking is happening, and that changes how we call and rattle. We break down timing and intensity for rattling sequences, then clear up one of the biggest misunderstandings in deer hunting: estrus is not the same as standing estrus. That 72-hour window is the reason bucks throw caution to the wind, lock down does, and show up where you can finally kill them.

Then we talk scent strategy as a complete story. Bedding pheromone to signal safety, dominant buck urine to trigger competition, doe estrus to suggest the right time of year, and why we generally wait until late October to bring in standing estrus. We answer a listener question about whether a daylighting buck will “lose interest” if you can’t hunt for a few days, and we share practical tips for using drippers correctly so the illusion keeps working while you’re gone.

If this helps you plan your sits, share it with a hunting buddy, subscribe so you don’t miss next week’s update, and leave us a review so more blacktail hunters can find the show.

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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The calendar says mid-October, but the woods say “things are starting to happen.” We lay out our five-factor weather report for October 12 through 18 and explain how we’d hunt it across blacktail country in Washington, Oregon, and California. If you’re trying to turn random sits into a real strategy, this is the kind of weekly forecast that helps you choose days with higher odds of deer movement, not just nicer weather.

We talk through the red moon timing and why afternoon and early evening movement can line up especially well this week, then bring it back to the simplest location truth we know: blacktail love edges. Field edges, swamp edges, clearcut edges, and the transition zones between bedding and feeding are where movement becomes predictable. We also flag the week’s weather fronts and get blunt about rain. A steady drizzle can shut things down, while the best action often pops right after the rain stops, even if the break is short.

From there we dig into temperature windows, layering for long sits, and why barometric pressure trends matter so much. When pressure rises after a front, we’re paying attention. We also answer listener questions on what calls we like (including fawn in distress, doe bleats, and grunt calls), how to time synthetic scents through Washington modern season, and what it means when your trail cameras show does and young bucks but not the mature buck you’re hoping for. We wrap with a trail-cam story about finding a buck’s core area and why it can feel like cheating when you finally get it right.

If this helped you think clearer about your next sit, subscribe, share it with a hunting buddy, and leave a quick review so more blacktail hunters can find the show.

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Get The Deliberate Pursuit of Trophy Blacktail by Dave Riley

https://a.co/d/08y7xFCr

You can feel it in early October: bucks are getting ruddy, does are syncing cycles, and blacktail are sliding out of summer patterns into thicker, safer cover. That’s exactly when most hunters start second-guessing their sits. We don’t guess. We build a weekly plan using the Five Factors that drive deer movement in the Pacific Northwest: rut phase, moon timing, temperature drops, barometric pressure, and weather fronts.

We also get practical about what to do on stand right now. After comparing notes with trusted voices like Tom Ryle and trail camera expert John Nicholson, we break down a simple, repeatable pre-rut calling approach. The big theme is curiosity over aggression: let the woods settle for 30 to 45 minutes, mix soft doe bleats with light antler tinkling, and give a buck time to commit. We also talk fawn distress calling, why it works even when you make mistakes, and why you should be ready for unexpected visitors like bears.

Then we answer a question every busy hunter feels in their bones: if you only have 6 to 10 total days for Oregon general season, where do you start? We share a high-percentage strategy built around bedding proximity when you’ve scouted, and edge-focused run-and-gun tactics when you haven’t. Finally, we shift into tree stands and saddle hunting, covering stand height, shot angle, scent control tools like nose jammer and Ozonics, and the underrated rule that what’s behind you matters more than what’s in front of you.

Subscribe for the weekly Five Factors forecast, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a review that tells us what topic you want next. What’s your biggest challenge right now: finding bedding, calling confidence, or picking the right day to hunt?

Tom Ryle: www.pnwbowhunting.com

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

The forecast is only useful if it helps you pick a sit and actually see deer, so we break down our five factor weather report for Sept 28 through Oct 4 with the stuff that moves the needle: moon guide timing, temperature trends, weather fronts, rut phase, and especially barometric pressure. Up here in the Pacific Northwest, fronts stall, conditions change fast, and pressure swings can show up bigger than expected, so we talk through how to keep your plan flexible without guessing.

Then we zoom out to the bigger seasonal picture and clean up a few rut myths that keep showing up every fall. We explain what we mean by pre-rut, why hormone buildup is gradual after velvet shed, how doe estrus cycles really work, and why trying to “pattern” a mature buck during the first rut can drive you crazy. If you’ve ever watched a target buck disappear off cameras right when you expected the most action, this will click.

We also answer listener questions that stretch from Oregon to Southern California. For Oregon muzzleloader and late-season pressure, we talk about hunting where the deer actually are: tight to bedding, along travel corridors, and in the thick stuff. For California hunters wondering why rut timing feels different, we share the most reliable move you can make: call a local game biologist and anchor your strategy to real regional data. We wrap with practical ground blind tactics, including why commercial camo can “glow” to deer due to UV and brighteners, how to brush a blind like a slash pile, and how to manage scent with Nose Jammer and smarter Ozonix placement.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with a hunting buddy, and leave a review so more blacktail hunters find the show. What’s the one weather signal or rut belief you’re most willing to rethink this season?

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

You can waste a whole season hunting “good looking” days, or you can stack the odds with a repeatable plan. We run our weekly high-factor forecast for September 21 through 27 using the five factors we rely on for blacktail deer hunting in the Pacific Northwest: rut phase, moon phase and lunar activity, weather fronts, barometric pressure, and temperature drops. The goal is simple: help you choose the sits that give you the best chance of daylight movement when you only have a few windows to hunt.

The biggest teaching moment is the Moon Guide. We dug into what the gold star actually signals, why the strongest lunar pull isn’t always the most huntable, and how a “white” time can beat a “red” time if it overlaps normal morning or evening movement. We also translate the app’s whitetail-style location labels into blacktail reality where “field edge” and “bedding” can blur, and why we keep coming back to the transition right outside bedding.

From there, we compare rain timing and pressure swings across Bellingham, Woodland, and Eugene to show how a front can hit your area differently than the general forecast. We wrap with two practical tools: using AI to score mornings and afternoons (with verification), and a detailed breakdown of leapfrogging trail cameras to track a buck back to where he finally daylight’s. If you like concrete picks, we give them, including our top hunt windows for the week.

Subscribe for weekly forecasts, share this with a hunting buddy who’s trying to plan time off, and leave a review so more PNW hunters can find the show.

https://pnwbowhunting.com/

https://patreon.com/blacktailcoachpodcast.com/

https://podscan.fm/podcasts/the-fall-podcast/episodes/ep-483-the-red-moon-explained-with-adam-hays?utm_source=chatgpt.com

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Hunting blacktail can feel like roulette if you’re picking hunt days at random, especially when you only have one evening a week to get out. We’re changing that. Aaron and Dave lay out our new in-season format: a weekly Five Factors Weather Report built to help you decide when to hunt, where to sit, and what kind of movement to expect based on conditions you can actually track.

We break down each factor in plain language: the rut phase (and why bucks can spar well before the “real rut” kicks in), weather fronts in the Pacific Northwest (including those micro shower systems), barometric pressure trends (why rising pressure during hunting hours matters), temperature drops (sudden vs gradual), and moon phase timing using a deer hunter’s moon guide. You’ll hear how terms like transition zone and field edge translate into real blacktail setups near bedding and feeding, plus how to use moon overhead and underfoot windows and that gold star timing to tighten your plan.

We also zoom out to season prep that pays off fast: moving trail cameras from summer patterns into thicker cover near bedding, cutting access trails early so the woods settles, and staying flexible as bucks shift behavior after velvet shed. Along the way we talk gear and experimentation, including decoys, scent strategy, and why minerals and protein can matter for herd health and antler growth where legal. We also challenge the “just in case” mindset around cougar, bear, and coyote tags and share how Hunters Gathering helps turn predator hunting into a planned, purposeful season.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the weekly reports, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a quick review if the show helps. Got a timely question you want answered on the next drop? Email us by Thursday at blacktailcoach at gmail.com.

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Send us Fan Mail

Rattling for blacktail isn’t magic and it isn’t random. It’s a story you’re telling in the woods, and the buck decides whether he believes it.

We’re joined again by Tom Ryle and Kelly Riordan for a deep, practical breakdown of blacktail deer calling and rattling, from first principles to field-ready sequences. We start with the why: bucks fight over breeding rights, but a lot of the deer that respond are coming in out of curiosity, sizing up the scene, or looking for an opening. From there, we lay out a clear rut timeline you can actually plan around, including the long seasonal build after velvet-off, the more aggressive late-October window, peak breeding behavior, and why rattling can still shine in December when does cycle again and tired bucks still can’t ignore opportunity.

Then we get tactical. Tom walks through how he layers sounds the way real deer interactions build: soft doe bleats, natural movement in the brush, subtle grunts, and only then escalating into antlers. We talk duration, patience, and the real risk of getting busted when you go too long or get too aggressive. We also get into gear choices like shed antlers versus rattle bags in wet weather, how to tune grunt calls for a softer blacktail tone, and a simple cold-weather trick to help prevent reeds from freezing.

We close with setup and strategy: wind, topography, expecting the downwind circle, and how a partner can call while the shooter waits where the buck wants to verify the sound. If you want to call in blacktail more consistently, this is the playbook to build from. Subscribe, share this with a hunting partner, and leave a review so more blacktail hunters can find the show.

Learn more at https://pnwbowhunting.com/

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

The woods are full of clues, but most hunters only see noise. We sit down and translate the signs that actually matter when you’re scouting for a mature blacktail buck: tracks, game trails, bedding edges, scat, and rubs, plus what each one can and can’t prove about daylight movement.

We start on the ground with tracks, including the small shape differences between buck and doe prints, how size can hint at age, and why genetics and habitat can make “rules” bend. From there we get practical about direction of travel and how it helps you decide whether a trail is a morning route into bedding or an evening exit to feed. If you’ve ever watched a buck creep closer to daylight on camera, you’ll like how we connect those patterns to where you hang a stand.

Next we move to terrain and strategy: finding the nastiest thick cover that bucks use for security, walking the edge, and picking the high-traffic trail that leads to a real bottleneck. We also talk about tight canopy and shooting light, why pushing too far into bedding can turn a spot into a one-hunt mistake, and why smart exits after dark keep deer from learning to look up.

We wrap with scat and predator pressure, then rubs and rub lines, including why rubs in open clear cuts can be nighttime dominance displays. If you want more consistent big buck decisions, not just more opinions, this one will sharpen your eye. Subscribe, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave a quick review with the sign you rely on most.

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Deer don’t move at random, even when it feels that way from the stand. We’re Aaron and Dave, and we lay out the five factors we watch for when we’re trying to predict blacktail deer movement and pick the highest-odds days to hunt. Each factor can help on its own, but when they stack together, the difference is real: more daylight activity, better timing, and fewer wasted sits when you’re short on time. 

We start with barometric pressure and the threshold Dave keeps coming back to: around 30.2 and rising. Then we get practical about how to check pressure trends days in advance using the weather app on your phone or common hunting tools. From there, we dig into moon phase and why Adam Hayes’ Deer Hunter’s Moon Guide makes it simple to spot red moon week and the strongest daily pull windows, including how that can steer you toward a morning hunt or an afternoon hunt without overthinking the science. 

We also cover a temperature drop of about 20 degrees between daily highs, how weather fronts can trigger feeding before a storm and right after it, and how deer often move in those short breaks between showers. Finally, we talk rut phases, why “the rut” isn’t one long blur, and how tactics like rattling change depending on whether bucks are seeking, locked down, or sliding into post-rut patterns. 

To tie it all together, we share the story of our pro staffer Chris and a monster blacktail he calls Bambino. The conditions lined up, the plan held, and the buck showed up close before dark. If you want more consistent success in blacktail deer hunting, subscribe, share this with a hunting buddy, and leave us a review where you listen.

Nilch'i Wind Checks
Nilch’i Wind Checks - An easy to use, must have gear addition to our hunts

Dead Down Wind
Scent Elimination Products

Tinks
Tinks Scents

Blacktail Solution
Blacktail feed supplements. Use code BTCoach for 15% through March 31 2026

Bonded Outdoors
Personalized leather tags to remember your hunts

SkullCraft Collective
skull mounting systems

Ghost Hook Sale until March 31, 2026

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Support the show