Panhandle winter kill

[jthurs]

Looking for some info on whitetail winter kill in the panhandle. I was looking to hunt the priest River area this November for whitetails and wondering how bad the die off was this winter, also were any areas less impacted? I appreciate any info!

[eastfork]

Call the local biologists for the area your interested. They'll have better insight than any body.

[buglebrush]

Find nine deer killed by predators just in my parents property this Winter.  Found one killed by a cat that was still steaming.  Cat ran on top and the deer before through.   

[jthurs]

Thanks for the info!

[jthurs]

I called fish and game today and they tell me winter kill was minimal up in the priest area. I am hoping somebody that is familiar with that area can chime in. Just trying to make sure it has not been too severe before I line up a place to stay and things. Thanks again for any help!

[PolarBear]

My Brother in Law is with the DNR and in charge of the area from Sand Point to Priest Lake.  He says that the winter kill was not that bad.  A few areas were worse than others but on average nothing major.

[grundy53]

Good to hear.

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[jthurs]

Yes very good to hear and thanks for the help.

[buglebrush]

I called fish and game today and they tell me winter kill was minimal up in the priest area. I am hoping somebody that is familiar with that area can chime in. Just trying to make sure it has not been too severe before I line up a place to stay and things. Thanks again for any help!

See my comment above.  The snow was perfect for predators, and they did a lot more damage than "winterkill"

[Ridgeratt]

I heard today there is still close to a foot on the ground around Pack river and the roads are just a mud bog.

[WA hunter14]

A lot of the lions had to come down lower than usual

[jthurs]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Although the biologist I spoke with said the winter kill was mild I am still unsure. I spoke with a respected whitetail hunter from the area and he has found lots of dead bucks while shed hunting. He and others who shed hunt the area seem to think that the deer took a pretty bad beating this winter.

[WA hunter14]

They did, bucks got hit especially hard. They starve them selves during the rut so bad that some die from exhaustion anyway. This year snow was 3+feet deep in December when and where it is usually only around a foot.