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Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: jstone on August 13, 2019, 12:40:51 PM


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Title: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: jstone on August 13, 2019, 12:40:51 PM
Those of you out in the hills. Are you seeing a good crop of babies in the mountains this year? Young deer or elk? What are the herds liking like?
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Bango skank on August 13, 2019, 01:26:20 PM
Im seeing less whitetail fawns this year than ive ever seen. 
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: bowhunterforever on August 13, 2019, 01:30:00 PM
Im seeing less whitetail fawns this year than ive ever seen.
Not good :'(  Damn predators
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: nwwanderer on August 13, 2019, 01:59:54 PM
Ditto, WT fawn #'s way down, have not been good for several years and this year is a new low.  Several living close, no fawns.  I have seen a single and one set of twins.  Would sure like to look at a bunch of reproductive tracts to get some idea of what is going on.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: bigmacc on August 13, 2019, 02:03:09 PM
Not many in the Methow, I thought last year was bad for fawns, we've seen even less this year, at least up in the hills, there are some in town and in yards per usual but even those numbers seem way down. We all know whats going on and whats whacking them :bash:. We went into a couple spots back in April and May where just 10-15 years ago you would see 50 or more fawns at sunset, the moms would bring them out of the brush into a big meadow to run and play, my wife and I looked forward to hiking in every year, sitting on a ridge and eating supper while watching the fun. Each year the numbers have steadily decreased until this year we did not see any, very sad.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: vandeman17 on August 13, 2019, 02:07:05 PM
I actually saw a lot of fawns around Wenatchee this spring. I can't recall seeing more that a few does that didn't have at least one fawn by her side.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Karl Blanchard on August 13, 2019, 02:22:38 PM
Elk calves are off the charts this year. Can't ever remember seeing so many
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: buckfvr on August 13, 2019, 02:42:30 PM
The herds are looking like a bunch of predators need shot.  Under hunting predators is a mistake, guys need to spend more time on coyotes and then the rest when in season.  Yotes are hell on fawns.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: bigmacc on August 13, 2019, 02:51:32 PM
I actually saw a lot of fawns around Wenatchee this spring. I can't recall seeing more that a few does that didn't have at least one fawn by her side.

 :tup: I have a friend who lives in Cashmere who has spent some time scouting the Wenatchee/Chelan/Entiat areas and he said the same thing, lots of fawns, thats good to hear, at least those herds seem to be doing a little better than the herd up north in the Methow, that poor Valley is turning into a predator pit like some have said, I am reluctantly accepting that statement and fact.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Bango skank on August 13, 2019, 03:05:42 PM
Sucks seeing the deer numbers in the toilet around here.  Im really hoping that on top of our fall bear changes, we get a lot more spring opportunity.  Cougar reg revisions are in our near future too, which could help a lot if we get them.  And more guys out calling bears and cats will surely result in some incidental coyote take too.  Seems like were slowly but surely getting some more predator control opportunity.  We all just need to spend more time working at it, im sick of seeing the decline in our deer.  As for the wolves, well...  only one thing that can be done there.  Stopping all antlerless whitetail harvest in the ne was a good move, though a little late in coming imo.  And i personally dont think we should have any antlerless elk or moose hunting either.  We need as many calf factories as we can get.  If we dont shut it down now, it will surely get shut down a few years down the road, after numbers are low enough that recovery would be a very long road at best.  But if we can really start whacking more bears cats and dogs, hopefully we can at least slow down the decline a little by saving a few fawns, calves, does and cows.  Im going to step up my predator control efforts after deer season this year.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: CP on August 13, 2019, 05:02:56 PM
Not a good pic (video capture) but the doe has triplets -

The usual numbers of young ones on my cams this year.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: bigmacc on August 13, 2019, 08:37:58 PM
Just got off the phone with my buddy who lives in the Davis Lk area(Methow), he said he has seen less than 10 fawns all summer, that folks is just horrible!!(should be 10 times that amount in that area) He and his grandsons have killed 11 yotes though since the 1st of the year and have a cougar spotted.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: jstone on August 13, 2019, 08:59:31 PM
I was going to try to get up in the methow and shoot a bear but work keep getting in my way.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: bkaech on August 13, 2019, 09:14:44 PM
I’ve seen lots of fawns. Not many calves but I usually don’t see many elk till September.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: huntnnw on August 13, 2019, 10:29:03 PM
deer fawns have been dismal where i have been and live. We had 2 sets of twins and a single born at my house and it appears only 1 is left. Went bear hunting on the opener and saw lots of deer and very few fawns. Trail cams I have in 101 for muleys I have 2 fawns on cam with 7 does.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: RobinHoodlum on August 14, 2019, 02:18:57 PM
A good number of blacktail fawns in my area. Checked cams on the east side last weekend and elk calf numbers were about normal too. Not many spikes though
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: huntnnw on August 18, 2019, 10:39:40 PM
this weekend 12 does spotted in 105 muleys and whitetails and 0 fawns
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Bango skank on August 18, 2019, 10:45:32 PM
this weekend 12 does spotted in 105 muleys and whitetails and 0 fawns

Sounds about right
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: huntnnw on August 18, 2019, 10:53:27 PM
pretty crappy and thats why there is hardly any deer left up there in the mountains
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Bango skank on August 18, 2019, 10:56:26 PM
Yup.  We all need to do lots more predator hunting.  I intend to hit it hard after im done deer hunting this year.  And everybody should try to get out after bears now while the berries are still going good, the clock is ticking on that.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: huntnnw on August 18, 2019, 11:35:31 PM
Ive been out 2 weekends and its been super slow, nothing like it should be. Berries look almost done and some are not ripe yet. Usually these hills I am hunting when they are ripe its nothing to see 5-8 bears a day
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: zwickeyman on August 19, 2019, 05:43:21 AM
High up yesterday in the Taneum. 14 cows had only 2 calves. Blacktails and Elk around Northbend are normal
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: E35alex on August 20, 2019, 09:02:27 AM
Lots of calves on cameras this year. Most of the cows seemed to have a calf with her.


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Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: CP on August 20, 2019, 10:33:14 AM
Now there's one less.  Don't know what happen to this little guy.  There were coyote tracks but I don't know if they were scavenging or if they did the killing.

Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on August 20, 2019, 03:23:28 PM
I actually saw a lot of fawns around Wenatchee this spring. I can't recall seeing more that a few does that didn't have at least one fawn by her side.
Same here, looks like a good fawn crop in Chelan County - at least the Wenatchee River drainage.  Hopefully enough survive a year to boost the breeding population.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: doubletall on August 21, 2019, 11:13:45 AM
Not many in the Methow, I thought last year was bad for fawns, we've seen even less this year, at least up in the hills, there are some in town and in yards per usual but even those numbers seem way down. We all know whats going on and whats whacking them :bash:. We went into a couple spots back in April and May where just 10-15 years ago you would see 50 or more fawns at sunset, the moms would bring them out of the brush into a big meadow to run and play, my wife and I looked forward to hiking in every year, sitting on a ridge and eating supper while watching the fun. Each year the numbers have steadily decreased until this year we did not see any, very sad.


I was at my property in Twisp the past two weekends.  Checking the cams for one week showed a sow with two cubs, a single bear thats definitely bigger than the sow,  two coyotes, two different cougars and the same doe with two fawns I've been seeing all summer.  Not a good predator/prey ration.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: jstone on August 31, 2019, 09:17:27 PM
Scouting elk today. Saw lots. Lots of young ones where I was. I also saw a small calf with light spots. Must have been born early summer?
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: TNTwestern on September 08, 2019, 09:42:07 AM
Fathers day we seen over 20 calves with a group of about 50-60 cows and some mixed bulls, mostly little ones. I hope they get a chance, lots of coyotes and wolves in that area. Meanwhile, I have a cabin north of Ellensburg and was scouting Labor Day weekend and seen 1 doe with a fawn, and a loose older fawn alone.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Bango skank on September 08, 2019, 10:59:12 AM
This is one of only 2 successful moms at my place this year.  The only other doe with surviving offspring has a single fawn.
Title: Re: Deer and or elk babies
Post by: Tracker0721 on September 08, 2019, 03:04:01 PM
Saw 1 whitetail buck, 3 whitetail does, 4 fawns with spots, 1 mulie doe with a yearling. This was around Empire lakes in ferry county. We’ve seen tons of fawns this year.
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