How to Hunt Blacktails with a Black-Powder Rifle

Muffling the loud snap of the sidelock hammer as it was moved into the firing position was the first step. Pulling the set trigger and deadening its similar deer-alerting click was next. Drips from the melting snow still hanging in the trees provided harmonic cover while the mature blacktail buck continued his nose-to-ground trot straight toward the popup blind I had set up a few weeks earlier.

Appearing in my peripheral vision 40 yards to my left, five minutes after the third rattling sequence of the morning, this buck was on the move. Thankfully, he veered away, offering a broadside shot at 21 paces. Raising the stock to my cheek, I settled the freshly scraped steel of the front sight, a bright spot my eye could quickly reference in the dark timber, over the center of the rear sight. With the buck’s vitals in focus just above the sight, I touched off the round I had loaded in my dry van a few hours earlier. Crawling from the blind, the smoke from the blast still drifted in the damp air. A tuft of hair signaled the hit, and I found the buck expired mid-stride within 50 yards.

FRONTIER FIREPOWER

You’ll need a replica black-powder rifle to channel your inner mountain man or woman this hunting season. The Hawken Rifle, as it is commonly known, originated in the mid-1800s during the fur trade, when several brothers of the Hawken family established a gun shop along the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Mo. The reputation of the Hawken as a reliable and accurate rifle made it the sought-after choice for big game hunters and westward travelers. Records indicate that at the time, Jacob Hawken sold his rifles for around $25, with a high-quality model costing approximately $35.

The Hawken Woodsman model I use from Traditions Performance Firearms currently retails for $600, which is roughly the entry point for new, stylish replica guns featuring hardwood stocks and brass plates. My wife has noted that even my well-used, 15-year-old model, purchased for $240, is worthy of hanging over the fireplace.

Modern black-powder rifles are designed to mount a scope and have an ignition system aligned with the charge and projectile, unlike sidelock-style guns, which have the hammer, cap and ignition located next to the main charge and projectile in the barrel.

Oregon and Washington, the two states I hunt the most, have the strictest black-powder regulations in the country, which prohibit scopes, magnifying sights, pelletized powders and sabot-style projectiles, essentially limiting hunters to 1800s technology. Modern synthetic loose powders are legal, along with fiber-optic sights. Ignition system regulations vary by state, with some allowing sealed primers, but ensuring they remain exposed to the elements is a common requirement.

Going full mountain man, I put aside my modern gun a few years ago and focused on the Hawken. I was intrigued by the patch-and-round-ball combination, commonly called a “patched round ball,” at the range. Through trial and error, I learned that it was essential to check the patch after firing to see if it had burned up during the ignition of the charge and discharge from the barrel. The patch is loaded after the powder and before the lead ball. Its purpose is to engage the rifling inside the barrel and cause the ball to spin, thereby improving accuracy. Accurate shooting typically leaves full patches with frayed edges, indicating that the patch adhered to the rifling along the entire barrel, which maximizes the spin of the round ball. Inaccurate shots usually leave behind remnant, burnt-up patches that did not engage the rifling.

The twist rate of the rifling differs between guns meant for shooting round balls versus conical projectiles. Round-ball barrels are set at a 1:60 twist, which means there is one full rotation of the rifling over a 60-inch length. Conical projectile guns have a 1:28 twist. My Hawken Woodsman has a 1:48 twist rate and can shoot both projectiles, but seems to prefer the round ball.

The preferred load begins with 85 grains of powder poured down the barrel, followed by the patch and ball. My rifle shoots best with a pre-lubed cotton patch that is .020 inches thick, on which I place a .495-inch-diameter lead round ball before driving it down the barrel to complete the loading process. When you do the math for a .50 caliber gun, it’s a tight fit. I use a .54-caliber patch because it wraps the ball slightly more than the smaller .50-caliber size. Due to the combined factors of the patch thickness, a tight fit in the barrel and lubrication, I am confident each shot will engage the rifling and be accurate. On wet days, I remove the nipple where the sidelock hammer strikes the percussion cap to sprinkle a healthy dose of powder, ensuring the gun goes boom when I ask it to.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Public land in western Oregon and Washington is dense, steep and intimidating. You’ll find the classic clear cuts on private timberlands; some are open to the public through agreements with state law enforcement, while other tracts of private timber are accessible through a fee permit. Either way, this is a big-woods hunt, so I use simple tactics to locate deer and get them within range.

Identify main trails that cross roads or creeks. Spend time driving or walking through drainage areas, looking for heavy trail crossings. They’re likely in steep terrain, so use your mapping tools to find benches or gentler slopes within this travel corridor to start your search. Bring a camera or two to confirm that deer are using the area, then use the cameras to track the deer back to their bedding spots during the day. I have several spots within a half mile of the road where I consistently catch blacktails on camera, and during hunting season, they move between the dense cover in the steeper terrain below and the benches and rolling timber that they seem to prefer after dark. Think of it as a stadium. You’re in the right spot for the show. Now you need to find the right seat.

Look for where the edges of the forest management treatments meet features in the terrain to form a funnel. If there’s a trail, find the best seat in the stadium. I like to be close to the edge of the bench, where the wind can carry my scent into the steeper terrain below. I place my blind where deer coming from behind will be forced to the sides rather than walk directly past it. When I’m not hunting, I cover it with a five-by-seven tarp for complete waterproofing and prop up the roof with an appropriately sized piece of deadfall for interior support against snow. Brush it in well while clearing some shooting lanes, and reposition your cameras.

BE A STORM CHASER

By mid-November, the deep snowpack in the Cascades should start pushing deer downhill. I rarely position my blinds above 3,500 feet because two feet of snow can fall overnight at such elevations. These conditions are much less common at 2,500 feet in November, and deer will gather just below the deep snowline. When such conditions coincide with the rut, you can boost your chances by calling, as deer are more concentrated and vocal during this period.

The start of winter in 2024 followed the pattern: An initial snowstorm closed the high country and opened the ski resorts, then another big Pacific front brought a second 4- to 8-inch coating to my lower blinds. As it arrived, I skipped an evening hunt to move a blind in higher terrain, knowing the ideal spot would be lower in a few days. After the storm, on a wet, drizzly morning, I had success using this knowledge.

WHERE TO GO

• Top PNW spots for a late-season black-powder blacktail.

Shutterstock photo

Pacific Northwest muzzleloader hunters seeking space to roam for blacktails encounter less hunting pressure than those who hunt during the more popular archery and rifle seasons.

Oregon offers eight limited-entry muzzleloader hunts for blacktails during the November and early-December rut. The Applegate unit, located in the southwest part of the state, and the McKenzie unit in the central Cascade Mountains, provide extensive public-land access and attract the most applicants. The Trask and Chetco units also include large public areas, giving hunters a chance to observe rut activity in the Coast Range mountains.

Washington offers both general and limited-entry, late-season hunts for blacktails across most hunt units in the western part of the state. Non-residents can use a general deer license to access many blacktail hunts. Similar to Oregon, the muzzleloader season in Washington overlaps with the late archery season for a few days. Units reaching into the higher terrain of the Olympic and western Cascade mountains can experience snowfall and seasonal migration from these elevations. Due to weather conditions, forest density and weapons restrictions, black-powder harvest rates are low, typically below 30 percent or just a few deer per unit across all hunts. Harvest statistics from archery and rifle hunts may help identify areas where deer densities are higher.

---

• This article was featured in the November 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

---