D3 Closing weekend elevation

[Banded_spooney]

Well I don’t like to shoot Mule deer and since apparently there are no blacktail in D3 I just stayed home and shoot ducks instead

 

[Banded_spooney]

I thought we were going to have a bigger system moving through, but that one dropped off of the near-term forecast. The only difference as I see it between right now and two weeks back is that there are even more acorns dropping and we're closer to rut. Well, that isn't entirely true. We also had a new moon yesterday.

At any rate, if you'd have hunted the 4,000 - 6,000 foot stuff a few weeks back, there's no sense in changing that plan now. Similarly, if you were going to head up high, I don't think that there's been enough snow yet to push them down to lower elevations. I'll be out there, too (but in a different zone). Good luck.

Assuming you had a G1 tag? How did you end up?

 

[JNDEER]

If these deer mostly look like blacktail, behave like blacktail, and thereby provide a blacktail hunting experience, why does it matter if someone calls them blacktail deer instead of mule deer (except for when entering for B&C/P&Y of course)? I find it interesting that people would refer to them as straight up mule deer instead of blacktail crosses, especially since it’s apparent that they look and behave more like blacktail than mule deer.

It’s like when my wife spends $164.85 at the store and I ask how much she spent. She could say $150 and not care to much for being exact or say $165 rounding up like we were taught throughout our education.

In this example those that say $150 would be more like the people who claim D zone deer are blacktail and those that would answer $165 would be ones that know D zone deer are not columbian blacktail and is factually wrong.

Hope this explains why some care about it so much.

Also- if you have spent a lot of time in both areas hunting B and D zone bucks I don’t think you would say they act the same- speaking of public land deer.

 

[Banded_spooney]

It’s like when my wife spends $164.85 at the store and I ask how much she spent. She could say $150 and not care to much for being exact or say $165 rounding up like we were taught throughout our education.

In this example those that say $150 would be more like the people who claim D zone deer are blacktail and those that would answer $165 would be ones that know D zone deer are not columbian blacktail and is factually wrong.

Hope this explains why some care about it so much.

Also- if you have spent a lot of time in both areas hunting B and D zone bucks I don’t think you would say they act the same- speaking of public land deer.

I've spent a lot of time hunting C/D and a little time hunting B/A. You are right, they don't act the same as B/A, but I've spent more time hunting mule deer than anything and I can say with full confidence they don't act the same as Mule deer.

Kinda interesting that you bring it up. I'm clearly no expert but I've seen enough to notice a few subtle things worth pointing out. Early in the year and in the rain they act very much like blacktail. Way more than they do during the rut. -- They seem to start pushing does a little earlier than most rocky mountain mule deer I've hunted but when November comes, they start acting very much like muley's do during the rut. I've never seen B zone bucks in the rut other than on I5 but I've seen lots of A zone bucks rutting and the bucks around Lake Oroville or in Cohasset during November tend to get a little more careless than whitetail and blacktail in the rut. I've been on PLM hunts in C zone around thanks giving (as a spectator only) and seen them challenge a quad. They can be oblivious.

 

[JNDEER]

I've spent a lot of time hunting C/D and a little time hunting B/A. You are right, they don't act the same as B/A, but I've spent more time hunting mule deer than anything and I can say with full confidence they don't act the same as Mule deer.

Kinda interesting that you bring it up. I'm clearly no expert but I've seen enough to notice a few subtle things worth pointing out. Early in the year and in the rain they act very much like blacktail. Way more than they do during the rut. -- They seem to start pushing does a little earlier than most rocky mountain mule deer I've hunted but when November comes, they start acting very much like muley's do during the rut. I've never seen B zone bucks in the rut other than on I5 but I've seen lots of A zone bucks rutting and the bucks around Lake Oroville or in Cohasset during November tend to get a little more careless than whitetail and blacktail in the rut. I've been on PLM hunts in C zone around thanks giving (as a spectator only) and seen them challenge a quad. They can be oblivious.

They are all “deer” so they will for sure have many of the same characteristics and tendencies. A blacktail living in heavy timber will “act” like a mule deer living in heavy timber because they both live in heavy timber and to survive they will ultimately act similar. The difference comes down to genetics which create difference in body composition, antlers, etc.

Like with most any animals in the rut- they are as dumb as bricks and act accordingly.

 

[PHo]

It’s like when my wife spends $164.85 at the store and I ask how much she spent. She could say $150 and not care to much for being exact or say $165 rounding up like we were taught throughout our education.

In this example those that say $150 would be more like the people who claim D zone deer are blacktail and those that would answer $165 would be ones that know D zone deer are not columbian blacktail and is factually wrong.

Hope this explains why some care about it so much.

Also- if you have spent a lot of time in both areas hunting B and D zone bucks I don’t think you would say they act the same- speaking of public land deer.

I can see your logic, but I disagree with people who say that they are straight up mule deer because they are clearly not. I suppose I mis-phrased my question when I ask why people care so much. What I meant to ask was why are people calling them mule deer?

On another note since we’re on the subject, how would you describe the behavioral differences between B and D zone bucks?

 

[JNDEER]

I can see your logic, but I disagree with people who say that they are straight up mule deer because they are clearly not. I suppose I mis-phrased my question when I ask why people care so much. What I meant to ask was why are people calling them mule deer?

On another note since we’re on the subject, how would you describe the behavioral differences between B and D zone bucks?

That I don’t know- I don’t believe them to be a “true” mule deer that one would think of.

A deer is a deer and they will behave as such given the environmental conditions they are in (hunting, predators, natural landscape, etc etc).

Although genetics would play a role in their ability to learn behaviors- I don’t believe it is as much of a determining factor as what there environment forces them to learn and adapt to survive.

When comparing B to D these are genetic traits that differentiate them.

I always love seeing the “tail” pics. It reminds me of a comparison of a coues and whitetail pic side by side. Genetically not even close to the same- although both have the great white flag.

For the record- I am not an ES for the state. These are my opinions, although I am educated in the general subject.

 

[Banded_spooney]

Although genetics would play a role in their ability to learn behaviors- I don’t believe it is as much of a determining factor as what there environment forces them to learn and adapt to survive.

When comparing B to D these are genetic traits that differentiate them.

I always love seeing the “tail” pics. It reminds me of a comparison of a coues and whitetail pic side by side. Genetically not even close to the same- although both have the great white flag.

That's a poor comparison. These aren't isolated populations. D zone bucks and b zone bucks are very close genetically. A lot of times there is a river or highway separating them. I get it, they are mutts, but they are so close even fish and wildlife call them Blacktail.