We moved eight deer out of cover during the recent cold snow snap here on the west side at low elevation since Friday 28 November to December 1 including the one I shot on Friday. We found them in the margins along thick thermal cover traversing out to the more open timber to browse, thick thermal cover being jack firs. All of them were later in the morning around 8 to 11 when things warmed up a bit and later in the day around 2 to 4.
All were shooters excluding one which I pushed too hard, and never had eyes on, I was not going to shoot as I was tagged out and hunting elk. It was just a training tactic to see how it would react and it did as expected bounding off in five jumps and then the rapid exit stage right walk over a pre-selected route into the jack firs.
I find that when it gets bitter cold like it has been recently that the blackies hole up in jack firs and then move as it warms up into the food sources later in the morning to gorge browse two times a day once in the morning and once before bedding. After that it is lights out in the jack firs expending as little energy as possible waiting out the cold to start up again the next morning.
This rain warming trend we are moving into will put them back on their regular pattern making them more active, btw the ones we have observed recently between feeding times were still very much rutty bucks following does. I have seen plenty of areas where the action has taken place as the ground is all tore up from their amorous activity along their travel routes. Now we have a full moon starting so get ready for some night feeding and how that will affect their patterns at first and last light as well as through the day.
