I'm not a blacktail expert and don't pretend to be.

Author Scott Haugen has tagged some of his best blacktails as they checked out trails. The pre-rut is the time to start focusing on trails for blacktails. Photo courtesy of Scott Haugen.

I've pursued Columbia blacktail deer for more than 30 years, have hunted them in an array of habitats in varied seasons and devoted more time to them than any other big-game animal. But it doesn't mean I've mastered them. In fact, I'm a long way from knowing all that I'd like to about these deer.

Because blacktails are so elusive, it will take a lifetime to learn all there is to know about them. I'm fortunate to make my living in the outdoors and hunt around the globe, and I honestly feel the toughest trophy to consistently obtain in North America is the Columbia blacktail.

Once you consider yourself an expert on trying to figure out these cagey deer, the learning stops, and once the learning stops, the deer gain the advantage.

I grew up in blacktail country. My family is made up of many generations of blacktail hunters in the southern Willamette Valley. My college degrees in geography, geology and science were earned, largely, because of my interest in blacktail deer.

As with many hard-core hunters in this part of the country, I'm addicted to blacktails, but I'm far from having all the answers. I routinely make scientific-based observations, however. And one that's been proving itself helpful to my hunts in recent years is how blacktails use their own scents as a form of communication.

Armed with this knowledge, I've been able to predict where bucks will show up, as well as where to place tree stands or ground blinds.

Once you figure out where big bucks live, dedicate time to observing how deer in the area use trails. By paying close attention to this one element, not only will you learn more about blacktail behavior, you'll also increase your chances of tagging that trophy buck.

Blacktails aren't like mule deer, which have a commanding view of their habitat and can see other deer. They're not like Eastern whitetails that might occupy small tracts of land with enriched food sources. Trophy blacktails live in a brushy environment and rely on pheromones to figure out what's going on.

Pheromones are chemicals that trigger innate responses within members of the same species. There are various forms of pheromones, including alarm pheromones, sex pheromones, trail pheromones and many others that influence both animal behavior and physiology.

For hunters, the most famous deer odor is that sweet smell of the rut. Bucks secrete it from their tarsal glands during the breeding season. Pre-orbital glands, forehead glands and salivary glands are also important later in the season.

However, there's a gland located between the toes of every deer. It's called the interdigital gland, and every time a deer takes a step, it lays down a scent with this gland.

To deer, this scent is their identifying mark, sort of like how humans recognize one another by sight. The scent from this gland is so strong that when it's fresh, even humans can detect it.

The scent from the interdigital gland is how does keep track of their fawns, and how mature bucks alert others of their presence in an area.