Mule Deer Movement Sept. - Nov.

prm

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I’m looking to add to my knowledge of how deer move down as the weather changes and how it might influence the strategies for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Rifle. Assuming Colorado and in an area with mountains to ~12k and valleys at about 8k. Some deer stay down year round. For those deer that are up high, they will remain so through Sept. At some point they will start down. Is this due to snow, or cold temps and it’s impact on food? At what time are Muley’s nearly always down to their winter range?
 

Jimss

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Alpine bucks tend to hang out around timberline all summer long while in velvet. Once they shed their velvet things dramatically change. They often head into the timber where they are a lot tougher to find and keep track of until the rut kicks in towards the later part of November. The first early fall snowstorms also tend to push bucks into the timber and sometimes to different slopes.

To top things off....if you are in an area with OTC elk tags, archery and muzzy elk hunters come out in full force towards the middle to later part of Sept when the elk rut kicks in. This often pushes deer deeper into seclusion.

Elevation where bucks are found can vary from 1 unit to the next depending upon amount of snow and hunting pressure. I would say most bucks tend to be on the winter ranges in Colo towards the first or 2nd weeks in December. Mature bucks are often nocturnal in October and November.
 
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prm

prm

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I’ve definitely found that as the temps drop and the first snowfalls hit the elk move from the dark North facing slopes to the South facing slopes in search of better food. I assume deer would do the same. With different food sources, that may not be true. I find myself scratching my head in November (4th Rifle) when it comes to piecing together the puzzle for bigger Muleys.
 

Jimss

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Some winter ranges have relatively few deer in them until deep snow drives them 15 to 50 miles towards their winter ranges. Some years this may or may not happen until after the 3rd or 4th seasons. Some of the biggest bucks in some of those units may tend to hang out in deep, dark timber on the fringes of winter range or private land until after all the OTC elk and deer hunters are gone and the bucks sense there is little hunting pressure.
 
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