Muley Migration: Myths or Facts

[NOCK NOCK]

So another thread got me thinking. There is discussion about Folks perception of what, where, when the migratory Bucks appear.
Some folks say that people just aren’t seeing the bucks even though they’re there, yet lots of folks say that the big bucks won’t come down until the snow forces them to.
I believe it could be one the other or both, and can vary from one area to the next, even down to varying by different drainages.
Any given day, some areas the bucks could be rutting hard, but the next ridge, canyon, drainage, unit, etc away they are not rutty at all.
I feel this could inpart  be due to the fact of where these deer were born and raised, ie; Methow, Entiat, Okanogan herds could all be on different timelines. 

[2MANY]

Rut?
I think it all comes down to where the hot chicks are.
No more.
No less.

Migration?
Is about survival.
Sure a sweet thang that creates a hard lip may be migrating and ole fat neck will appear to be  migrating too.
However he is really migrating to her hind end.

[Rainier10]

Rut?
I think it all comes down to where the hot chicks are.
No more.
No less.

Migration?
Is about survival.
Sure a sweet thang that creates a hard lip may be migrating and ole fat neck will appear to be  migrating too.
However he is really migrating to her hind end.

I know that one of the areas I am most familiar with has does all the time.  Then all of a sudden without snow there are twice as many does and suddenly bucks everywhere.  Some of the bucks I have had all year on camera at night and others just appear but they all have the same thing on their minds, the hot does.

I think once the migration happens, deeper snow, you really see deer numbers spike.

I think it is a combo.  I think deer move into some of those areas because the does are there.  I think some of the bucks have been there the whole time and just haven't shown themselves during daylight and I think deer move into an area because they are pushed down by heavy snow.

[7mmfan]

Yes.  All of the above. You are right I believe that some migratory bucks come down following does, some stay high, some end up somewhere in between. Some probably never come down, but winter on some god forsaken windblown face at 6000'. It's been said that some will come down for the rut and then head back up to higher elevations until forced back down by snow. That seems like a extreme waste of calories to me, but I'm far from a biology or migration expert.

My guess is that migration of bucks is triggered by some combination of weather, rut, forage quality, distance of migration, and what his mom did. Whatever combination of those that clicks for that particular buck is what sets him off on his adventure.

I do believe as well that certain herds have different triggers based on their particular habitats. Entiat deer are going to act differently than Chewuch deer that might migrate 40 or more miles, and they're all going to act differently than an Alta deer that might only migrate 10-15 miles.

[2MANY]

The question is then is his mom still hot?

[NOCK NOCK]

The question is then is his mom still hot?

Prolly. One of our labs sons has tried to mount his mom 

[7mmfan]

The question is then is his mom still hot?

A DILF? Probably not if she was alive in 2015.

[KFhunter]

bucks stay in predator zones longer than does,  forkies and young bucks come down sooner,  mature bucks stay higher longer in cat infested areas.

myth or fact?


 

[7mmfan]

I would think the predators would follow the food, which is the bulk of the herd. I think that's why you hear of small groups of bucks/bulls wintering at crazy high elevations. No predators to bother them.

However, during the bulk of the year, I think you're right. Bucks hang out in areas that predators, especially cats, like to hang out. That is a huge part of why buck to doe ratios are what they are, even in lightly hunted areas.

[Skyvalhunter]

Fact

[Wunderlich33]

Absolute FACT

[Ironhead]

The Doe's usually begin the migration and the Bucks will follow eventually. Some migrations begin in late Sept and early Oct. with weather not being a factor just timing, The Book Cliffs and unit 44 in ID  come to mind. Others such as the Chiwawa take weather to get the bulk of herd to start its migration.

The Primary Rut in my neck of the woods is all about hot Doe's and begins about the first week in November and ends a couple weeks later . This year I have been watching (new to me) Bucks filter through every couple days checking the roughly 20 Doe's that live in my backyard. It began here on Nov.4th.

[bigmacc]

Over the years we have also seen significant changes or re-routing(I guess you could say) in some of the migration routes at least in the Methow that seem to be in correlation with the predator boom in the valley. My family was doing their own "counts" dating back to the early 1900,s in the Methow, for the most part using the 7-10 corridors that they/we know of. In the last 20 years or so a few of those routes have all but dried up and the first few years we were noticing it we were also finding a huge amount of cougar kills in those routes, my brother found over 22 cached kills in one small corridor one year recently, after a few years there are no sign of deer moving through there anymore, a few lone tracks here and there where 25 years ago we would see 1000 deer move through in a 4 day period, no matter what the weather, always around the 8th-12 of November. Now, that herd has taken a huge hit of coarse with the majority of that hit coming from a total mismanagement of predators along with expanding numbers and territory of a new one(wolf). This herd is pretty much under attack year round from bears, yotes, cats and now wolves, no matter the elevation. Cougars will follow their food source for sure but there is also a healthy cat population now that lives down in the valley and at intermediate elevations also, year round. There are still deer in the valley but I think at least in the Methow because of the high numbers of predators, they have had to adjust and adapt to survive, examples are deer living closer to towns or people, and even adjusting their traveling/migration routes.....just my  and opinion.

[2MANY]

Well said and true.