Will there be any deer left in northern Montana???

[dvolmer]

I posted close to a month ago about how the cold weather was heading towards northern central and north eastern Montana.  I just talked to the rancher who owns the ranch I normally hunt on about 10 miles from the Canadian border.  They have had a February from Hell to say it nicely.  Week after week of temperatures at or around zero with many days of temps way below that and all the way to -40 and that doesn't take in account for the high winds and wind-chill factors.  They have lots of snow and it just keeps on coming!  This has went on long enough that it has probably decimated the entire fawn population and taking a heavy toll on the older deer too.  My hunting partner who lives in Hamilton (hour south of Missoula) says they are getting hit really hard also with super deep snow.  Might be a tough year for a lot of us heading over to hunt!  Over a month of cold cold weather accompanied with deep deep snow is a recipe for disaster.  I hope I am wrong on this but it doesn't look pretty!!!

[hunterofelk]

I've seen a lot of photos of hunters with big antlered whitetails taken in Alberta and I am sure Canada has a long history with cold winters, so good chance there will be deer to hunt in northern Montana.

[dvolmer]

I've seen a lot of photos of hunters with big antlered whitetails taken in Alberta and I am sure Canada has a long history with cold winters, so good chance there will be deer to hunt in northern Montana.

I sure hope you are right!  We hunted before and after the hard winter of 08/09 and it really took a toll on the animals.  Especially the young deer.  It literally wiped out the entire (and I mean every single one!) antelope herd in the area we hunt and there still hasn't been anymore since then for the last 10 years.  they can handle cold weather but accompany that with super deep snow and it can be a major killer!

[DOUBLELUNG]

This winter is likely to cause slim pickings for 2020 and 2021 across much of Rocky Mountain mule deer range, when last year's fawns would have comprised the bulk of 2 and 3 year old bucks. 

Fortunately for us, our adult bucks in Washington had 2 months to rebuild some reserves post-rut before the snow and cold came.  Bald eagles have been flying the winter range along the Cascades in Chelan and Okanogan County for about a month, indicating they have been able to scavenge deer carrion.  I wasn't too concerned a month ago when it was likely just the weakest fawns tipping over, I'm a bit concerned about more fawn losses a month into this heavy crusted snow and continued very cold weather.  However, all of the deer I've looked at the past month, including fawns, are still looking to be in pretty good condition.

[Karl Blanchard]

Difference between 08/09 and now is in 08 it started dumping snow before Thanksgiving and never stopped.  Deer are hearty critters.  They tuck into cuts and feed on wind blown slopes.  They were fat as heck going into this and those reserves will carry them a long ways.  Central idaho winter 2016/17 is a prime example of how these animals can pull through bad weather.  But I agree, this stuff needs to break and SOON!

[huntnfmly]

I've seen a lot of photos of hunters with big antlered whitetails taken in Alberta and I am sure Canada has a long history with cold winters, so good chance there will be deer to hunt in northern Montana.

The deer are bigger up north for a reason because it's cold that's why deer down south are smaller.it's called Bergmanns rule basically it has to do with smaller surface area compared to volume size of body that helps retain heat

[bearpaw]

If the winter will break and not last all March and into April I don't think damage will be too bad in most western states, depends what happens from now till spring finally breaks and how long that is.

[dvolmer]

Here is an article I just read on MFPW news releases.  Its a little bit more comforting to hear about.

by Bruce Auchly- Region 4

Friday, March 01, 2019

Winter will end. Trust me.

But what will we see when all that white stuff disappears? A landscape green from melting snow littered with dead deer?

Probably not.

Yes, February was brutal for much of the state, but let’s not lose our perspective. This is winter. This is Montana – a northern latitude state. And for the memory deprived last year was worse or at least longer.

This year, few ranchers so far have complained of deer in their haystacks. Nothing like last year.

That’s probably because the deer in much of the state went into the current winter in good shape. That is, as a herd, healthy and ready.

Then winter took a detour. While we had a few hits of cold and snow, the season was mild until February.

Both mule and white-tailed deer have evolved to survive northern winters; it’s not always pretty and some always die. But the two species have developed techniques to survive and even thrive.

All of Montana’s big game species survive winter through four main adaptations: wearing an insulated coat, reducing their metabolism (up to one-third of what they need to meet basic life functions), remaining bedded for long periods during bad weather and relying on stored body fat.

Up to 30 percent of a deer’s winter energy requirements can be met through body fat. By the way, don’t believe the old tale of predicting a winter’s severity by the amount of body fat on a deer or elk in the fall. The amount of fat says more about the animal’s ability to find adequate food in the late summer and fall than the upcoming winter.

Both mule deer and whitetails will move to find food, too, often to winter habitats the species has used for a millennium. When snow and cold hits the Rocky Mountain Front, for example, mule deer will move down in elevation to ridges and foothills.

The same holds true on the prairie, such as in the Missouri River Breaks, except deer will head to the lee side of a hill or into a coulee rather than moving down in elevation.

Although healthy mule deer on core winter range and habitat will do okay, they have evolved to lose weight in the winter.

A year in the life of a deer is like sledding on a brushy hill. Through summer and fall the animal climbs the hill, adding body fat. The winter and early spring are the downhill slide. Edible grass, shrubs and plants can slow the descent, but if the bottom of the hill is reached before spring plant growth starts, the animal dies.

Deer, elk and antelope die each winter. The culprits can be age, malnutrition and sometimes predators. More than likely, death comes from stress caused by a combination of factors rather than just weather.

An early winter may have little consequence on animals because most have fat reserves to draw on. But as an animal’s energy supply dwindles, usually later in winter, stress factors will start to kill the young, the old and the weak.

The real survival test will come in March and April.

So maybe pray for a Chinook wind to halt this cold, snowy spell.

Wait. Pray for wind? Did someone really say that?

[Bigshooter]

I've seen a lot of photos of hunters with big antlered whitetails taken in Alberta and I am sure Canada has a long history with cold winters, so good chance there will be deer to hunt in northern Montana.

The deer are bigger up north for a reason because it's cold that's why deer down south are smaller.it's called Bergmanns rule basically it has to do with smaller surface area compared to volume size of body that helps retain heat