Deer territory

[ZEN]

I guess I'm concerned with patterning deer in a way.  DO groups of deer dwell in the same area through out the year?  Settle down, make it home.  Do generations of deer group in the same area for many years?  How migratory is their behavior.  Elk follow a predictible path year to year don't they?   

[high country]

pertaining to deer-which spicies?

as for elk, if you want to know the truth, when it comes to washington elk, forget everything you have ever read or watched in a video. wa elk are a different breed, they get way more pressure in the hunting season. we have more hunters, less land and less days to hunt then any other state.

elk are creatures of habit, but every single one has its own personality. I know of a stragler that lives near a local shooting range and really seems to not mind gun fire. I can tell you this, elk are where you find em'

[Guy]

Some mule deer are migratory - they'll come down from the high country with the winter snow, to a lowland wintering/feeding area. Then they'll follow the receding snowline back into the high country in the spring. Often using the same winter & summer areas as well as the same migration routes year after year. Other mulies just hang around in the same general area year round.

Dunno too much about whitetail... They don't seem to migrate much, but I seldom hunt them and don't know much about 'em.

Regards, Guy

[ZEN]

THNX for the mulie tip Guy.  I knew there was a species/behavioral difference that was similar to Elk.  Any how, I'm always stirring for more information.  Plus, If they're not at all migatory and relatively predictable, then I should ignore the sign I've seen in some spots that I've probably scouted too early for next season OverZealous?  Always, but I have issues hunt plaqnning constantly. This is the first year I've decided to be picky.  And from now on.  The hunt becomes more one-on-one then too.  Find my buck, follow him, what ever it takes.  That's the next level for me.

[jackelope]

the area i hunt has whiteys and muleys. the muleys migrate down to the low country every winter. the whitetails are there year round. whiteys tend to be more "patternable" but the muleys have characteristics and patterns that they tend to stick with IMO as far as where they bed in what kind of brush/grass/etc. just a little more random as far as how they get where they're going, crossing fences,etc.