Summer movement patterns vs October

[khart_6882]

After years of minimal success I’ve decided to get serious about scouting before the opener. This spring I happened to find a fantastic drainage, littered with sign from last fall, everything a mule deer could ask for, and best of all; it’s a real miserable hike to get into.
I went back this weekend with 10 trail cameras and tried to get one on all the major trails all the way around the mountain/drainage so I can try to get a feel of which directions the deer are moving at different times of day so that I’ll be able to tell where they’re liking to feed and where they like to bed down during the day.
This spot is at 5,500 feet so I don’t need to worry about the deer starting to migrate to lower elevations in mid October when the season opens. I’m fully aware that come October the bucks will all be split off, holed up and living like ghosts. My question is, even though the bucks will not be out nearly as much during daylight hours in the late fall, will they still roughly be moving in the same directions and bedding/feeding areas in the fall as they will be this summer?
The area is thicker than the majority of muley country so spot and stalk hunting is about impossible, I’ll be trying to use the scouting info gathered this summer to try and set up good ambush points for fall hunting.

Thanks!!

 

[Porkchop]

I normally just get on this site and read. I noticed you didn't get an answer to a great question so I'll give you my 2 cents. My post count is low but I usually spend between 30 and 40 nights in the mountains scouting before the season to give you a reference.
You're doing the right thing. Keep asking yourself questions. You obviously figured out, like all of us, that human presence changes deer movement, but they still have a pattern which you may be able to figure out. It may be daily or monthly as every animal is different. So the next thing your need to ask yourself is concerning food and water. They are obviously moving between bedding areas to those areas. Is the water drying up or snow /rain in the fall so they don't need to travel for it. The food is changing also from the forbs to more browse. Is that still in the same area? I don't know where you are planning to hunt or the season, so it's hard to answer specifics. You are on an exciting path and figuring out is the fun part. Every one of your "secret" spots will have nuances and learning and adapting will make you successful.
Good luck

 

[kota]

As mentioned above, food, water and weather will all impact how much they move from summer home areas.

As an example, a few years ago we killed 3 of the top 4 bucks we found in July and August. I blew an opportunity on #2 otherwise it would have been all 4. This was in open desert country 5-8000 feet. The bucks basically switched from forbs to bitterbrush, and holed up in out of the way places that had good browse within their home range. In other words, they had moved a little bit and were harder to find in October, but they were still there in the same general area as July.

 

[Fatcamp]

Episode 296: Hunting Big Mule Deer with Robby Denning

Play Episode 296: Hunting Big Mule Deer with Robby Denning by Eastmans Elevated on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.

m.soundcloud.com

Well worth the listen.

 

[huntngolf]

If it’s in a spot that gets pressure from hunting in September then by October they will likely be off their summer patterns. If the pressure is low they could still be in the same areas and possibly the same feeding/bedding patterns unless there is a major food or water difference than the summer. For what it’s worth the biggest muley I’ve ever taken was October 16 and he was still in his same bachelor group of 8 bucks that he was all summer, but this was private ground with not much other hunting pressure

 

[khart_6882]

Thanks for the all the replies guys, I really appreciate it.
As far as food and water go, there are grassy hillsides with scattered big timber that I’ll assume they’ll be feeding on this summer, and a creek in the bottom of the drainage for water. I have to assume that this creek will be mostly dry by fall but I’m not positive. However this is far Eastern Washington, very near Northern Idaho, so lots of fall rain and brush that I’d assume would hold the deer through the fall.
There is some high country (7,000+ft) a few miles from my spot so I have to assume that in June/July I will get pictures of deer migrating to higher ground.
What I’m getting from you guys is that, barring hunting pressure, the deer I’m getting pictures of in August and September are deer that have set up shop and are making a home in this area?

 

[TrinityAlps]

Episode 296: Hunting Big Mule Deer with Robby Denning

Play Episode 296: Hunting Big Mule Deer with Robby Denning by Eastmans Elevated on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.

m.soundcloud.com

Well worth the listen.

Any other podcasts like this you would recommend?