Cold weather in CA going to start the migration early?

[yellowbeard]

D zone (6 for me) was kind of cold last weekend (~3" snow on Friday), sounds like it got about 6 inches of snow yesterday and very cold temperatures today and the next few days.

I would guess this cold will start the deer moving to lower elevations earlier than usual, and especially last year where there was virtually no bad weather at all during the season?

I found bucks at around 9.5k - 10k feet Oct 2-3 and 8.5-9k feet Oct 9-10. I guess I will find them at least 1k feet lower this weekend?

How does everyone else change their tactics due to cold weather / migration?

And yes, I know I suck, keep managing to find deer but can't get a good shot at one

 

[Moserkr]

Ive seen em go back up after an early storm once the skies clear as long as theres food still. Otherwise, yep, look a little lower and in thicker cover.

 

[yellowbeard]

Ive seen em go back up after an early storm once the skies clear as long as theres food still. Otherwise, yep, look a little lower and in thicker cover.

Good point. I saw deer heading higher on Saturday and Sunday. Really curious what this weekend will be like. Seems early for such protracted cold weather.

 

[JohnnyB]

I don’t think this weather will start the migration. Length of day is just as critical as weather.

For what it is worth, I have trail cam pictures of several bucks at between 8000 and 9000 feet the 7th thru 10th of November last year. My logs show hunting in the mid teens this time last year.

This is d5 for me, so the deer are tougher and smarter than the d6 bunch...

 

[yellowbeard]

Length of day is just as critical as weather.

Yeah, I'm super curious.

I was reading this study about mule deer further south in CA, which concludes that weather is a contributing factor, but according to it at least, this would certainly very early in the season for the migration to really get going.

I would love any other good resources people have to learn more about the migration.

 

[OneShot]

Used to hunt that wonderful zone a lot before moving. How low was the snow? Looking at the weather and temps of numerous towns in the zone, I don’t see them moving very far yet. Like mentioned above, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them head back up if they did come down a little during the storm. My favorite times in the D zones were during the snow storms. Good luck!
The last year I lived there, we had a couple great storms during the season. Had the deer moving really good.

 

[yellowbeard]

How low was the snow?

It had definitely melted some by the time I got up there Friday afternoon, lowest I saw any was around 7k feet. I think the Monday snow got a bit lower though, 108 was closed further west than on Friday. I also love being up there in (somewhat) inclement weather. Thanks for sending me the good luck, hopefully can find some more this weekend