Chelan county migration corridors

[tbrady]

Hey Guys,

I have been doing tons of research on deer migration in Chelan county but I still have a lot of questions (I've read some very lengthy studies written about it and every newspaper article I could find online, plus a lot of pouring over Google Earth and Garmin Basecamp).  The areas I'm mainly focused on are from the upper Entiat river drainage (e.g. Entiat meadows, cool creek) toward Mud Creek to the SE and Miners which is a little more directly south.

I have lots of questions and realize some of these may be a little more specific than you would like to answer publicly.  I'm just trying to learn all I can, I moved here from NC and am pretty much on my own trying to learn how to hunt these blasted things.  I guess what I could really use is some sort of mentor.

1- Once the deer start moving towards their winter grounds do they move fairly quickly or just feed their way based on the weather/forage etc?
2- Do they (bucks) typically stay high on the available ridges moving to the S and SE or do they do a lot of up and down through the thicker areas? (whitetails don't really migrate on the east coast but when they do travel they usually take the path of least resistance)
3- For you guys that are successful well above average, would you say it's because you have found a localized area that consistently has bucks during modern rifle or do you tend to cover an insane amount of ground based on the weather etc? When I say insane I mean like there could be 20 nautical miles difference in where you hunt in a given year. 
4- Do the deer have pretty well established routes they like to take year after year? (if so, could you just PM me the exact routes )
5- I'm much more interested in catching a large muley than just tagging out, are there areas, types of terrain, elevation etc that I should focus on?

Sorry for all the questions but at the moment I'm feeling like I need to ask for help and not keep trying to do this all on my own.

tim

[jackelope]

http://www.amazon.com/Public-Land-Mulies-Bottom-Line/dp/097788371X

Read that book, although my opinion is you're not really getting much activity as far as migration during general season aside from some areas in a late season, and they're pretty much all archery hunts.
 

[tbrady]

Ordered!  Thanks a bunch.

[norsepete]

Try to find where some big ones are summering and go get one. The season here usually ends before we get a good snow to bring the better bucks out. I scout after the first good snow to find their trails,Does and young bucks will come down Frost.The better bucks will parallel their routes staying tighter to cover.

[coachcw]

look for bones honey holes !

[adictd2hunting]

You could also spend so time in your hunting boots also.  Not to be an a@#, but thats how ive found the best places.  Im sure it was the same way in NC.  I dont hunt that far south but a few guys i work with do and they have shot some pretty nice bucks during archery season.  It sounds like your on the right track.  good luck.

[Skyvalhunter]

You want to see the migration then go over there during the late permit time frame. The area you mentioned is a popular are with hunters and outfitters. The big boys won't move thru during the regular season time frame hunt

[tbrady]

You could also spend so time in your hunting boots also.  Not to be an a@#, but thats how ive found the best places.  Im sure it was the same way in NC.  I dont hunt that far south but a few guys i work with do and they have shot some pretty nice bucks during archery season.  It sounds like your on the right track.  good luck.

Most of my on the boots time seems to occur during the actual season.  I have a few young kids at home and it's tough to spend much time out there so I spend a lot of time staring at maps and aerial photos.  Plus, my wife gets a day off of her choosing for everyday I hunt.  Last year she went to mexico with a friend, this years she's going on a cruise so this hunting stuff is getting pretty costly!!

Thanks for the input guys...  If I understand what's been said so far it sounds like once they start moving out of the summer range they move rather quickly as opposed to a gradual shift from summer to winter range.

[Skillet]

 
Sounds like you are getting the short end of that stick!  For that trade, I'd be taking my hunting days up in AK, CO, etc... 

The bulk of the migration seems to happen pretty quick - the snow typically pushes them out of the high country.  If it never snowed, I'm sure they'd still come down do the does during the rut, but it is usually the snow that is the initial motivator.  There are some early arrivals who come down ahead of it, and there are some stragglers who leave belly marks in the snow as they come down, but for the most part you can plan on not getting to hunt the migration during the general. 

[muleracks]

About 80% of the Chelan County mule deer are migratory so discovering their favorite routes are a good idea.  On years when we get heavy snow that sticks for a few days the big bucks will move to near the snowline.  Does and fawns start down as soon as there is a hint of winter.  Most years the more mature bucks don't get to areas with road access before the General Season ends.  The Special Permit holders are the ones that get to road hunt mature muleys in November.

It has been our experience that the deer tend to summer and winter in almost exactly the same spot every year.  Certain winter range canyons have antler growth that is typical of that spot; presumably because a dominant buck had produced offspring with does that winter there.

Bruce Wick is a lifetime resident of the Entiat Valley and owns Icicle Outfitters & Guides.  He is probably the best authority on mule deer movements in the area you mentioned.

[rickomatic]

For you younguns who never got to experience it, general modern rifle season used to run through the first week of November in E WA. You'd often get migratory bucks in the mix back then.