Weatherless migration?

[fishunt247]

I went out in the teanaway last week just looking for deer, and saw over 75 deer, 12 were bucks, and 8 were legal. This was the same area I scouted hard twice in late september, and I only saw between 8 and 10 does each day. Now, there are deer everywhere. There hasn't been any weather to move them down, so do they migrate for the rut regardless of weather? Or would they all have been pushed into there by hunters during the rifle deer and elk seasons? This is only my second year in the area, and I saw the same patterns last fall/early winter. Just wondering, so any thoughts? I wish there were deer like that in there during the early season.

[jeepasaurusrex]

Thats why our great game department has the season during the summer... so there is no deer to be found. 

[CP]

I saw something similar in the Swakane area last week; three different herds of 20 or more animals each in areas where I had only seen one or two deer at a time before.  There was no snow to speak of so I’m guessing they just know that it’s on the way.

[wastickslinger]

I think instinct has them move eventually. Just my thought. We are suppose to have some nasty storms a brewing. I hear single digit central WA by weekend. 

[MuleyontheWall]

Love how the season ends and the deer are everywhere..   

[DOUBLELUNG]

Where you have long distance migrations (i.e., east cascades), mule deer does with fawns will do most of their traveling in late October, before snow, and stage on transitional ranges within a few miles of the winter range (in Chelan Co., the deer migrate an average of 30 miles summer to winter range).  Younger bucks begin to group up with those does around Halloween, the mature bucks tend to show up in the second week of November when the actual breeding starts. 

If the deer were that easy and accessible during the rifle season, we'd be killing almost exclusively 2-year old bucks under 3-point minimums.  I'm no archery purist, but I do hunt archery deer in WA because I'd rather see deer I can't harvest, than hunt deer I can't see.  I'm eating tag soup right now, but had a great season.

[fishunt247]

These deer were on what I would consider the winter range, or damn close to it. So maybe they were live with a few miles of there in the fall and the rut brought them down a little or just out of the timber. I wouldn't believe that they were deer that migrated out of the high country though, it is too far to move without snow I would think. But hell, I don't know, I'm not a deer biologist. Maybe it is just instinct that moves them down seemingly early.

[boneaddict]

Little of both Fish.  Most of the deer are down.  THere are some that never come down.  There are some that came down and went back a ways.  Remember its nothing for a deer to travel 30 miles.

[luvtohnt]

Almost everything in the deer world has to do with enviromental stimulation, moon phases affect the rut, weather triggers migration, and so on. So the rut will have brought the big guys down, but with warm weather they return to the high country. The does almost always stay were the food is best wich is probably at the lower elevations this timeof year. That is why it seems as if you are always seeing does. The have higher nutritional demands than the bucks do almost all year. The onset of cold weather coming is enough to get the big boys coming back down. This could be why you see more deer.

Brandon

[Squatch]

This year prior to the late hunt I talked with a biologist about this topic.  His comment was that it takes about 18" of snow to get the big guys moving.  I saw a lot of "average" 4 pts this season but not the real "bruisers" = not enough snow

[fishunt247]

I've been meaning to scout the high country up here for the big boys, but I truly enjoy hunting sagebrush the most, so I haven't really done it save a couple times. I'm not at a spot in my "hunting career" where a giant buck is all that matters. Just wish I could see two of those bucks that I saw the other day during the early season. I forgot to mention that I saw the same 4pt that I saw on opening day about a quarter mile from where I first saw him. He now has busted of his G2 and G3, so hopefully he survives the winter because next year he will be pretty nice. Wierd how some deer have moved in, some have moved out, and others have stayed. Thanks for all the input, a guy can never stop learning.