mule deer migration

[Freebird63]

What are the factors that cause mule deer to migrate to lower elevations?
Snow, how deep does it have to get for them to start heading down??
Does the rut have anything to do with it??
Does the weather effect mule deer differently then whitetails???

 

[ssliger]

What are the factors that cause mule deer to migrate to lower elevations?
Snow, how deep does it have to get for them to start heading down??
Does the rut have anything to do with it??
Does the weather effect mule deer differently then whitetails???

The rut is the end game, bucks will move off the high country when the pressure pushes them into the timber. They then hang out in the transition area until it gets close to the rut.

 

[HiMtnHnter]

What are the factors that cause mule deer to migrate to lower elevations?
Snow, how deep does it have to get for them to start heading down??
Does the rut have anything to do with it??
Does the weather effect mule deer differently then whitetails???

I think weather effects them essentially the same as far as basic needs of food, water, and shelter. Mule deer just happen to have a larger range typically.

Mule deer that migrate distances have 1. an innate sense of how to react to 2. The increasing lack of forage 3. Changes in weather and 4. The approaching rut. The wildcard is 5. human interference.

Mix all that together and you have an often incredibly hard nut to crack.

The only thing you can keep consistent is your ability to keep track of and read those changes. Guys who live in the area they hunt and have the ability to scout and know the area have an advantage. And, even they are surprised once in a while by what a buck will do. A guy who applies for a tag and hopes to jump in must get real lucky.

I'm assuming here you were referring to how to better hunt these critters. There are no hard and fast rules. Bucks will come down when the time is right and avoid danger at all costs.

 

[Freebird63]

There have been times here in Idaho where I hunt it was getting down to the end of the season, a big snow hits and nothing moves. I watch them a month after the season closes they start moving down from the high country to their wintering ground.
I have never hunted whitetails so don't even know what to expect there, have only hunted mule deer and blacktails.
But I think next year I am going to venture to Northern Idaho for whitetails.

 

[packmule]

Photoperiod starts it, weather can intensify it, some just won't come down, some never go up. Cattle can also alter things.

 

[Freebird63]

I do know one of the main units I hunt mule deer have sheep in the first part of the season. My father inlaw says mule deer don't like being in the same areas with sheep.

 

[HiMtnHnter]

I do know one of the main I hunt mule deer have sheep in the first part of the season. My father inlaw says mule deer don't like being in the same areas with sheep.

In my experience they don't like sheep. Sheep, cattle, what have you, all "human interference" . . . And, as was mentioned above, even the most migratory herds have deer that stay down . . .

 

[Hilltop]

Couple all of the above information with the fact that a good percentage of mule deer bucks are nomadic. They have been documented covering over 250 miles in their life span. They are extremely unpredictable to say the least. The only constant is good habitat. If you find an area that a big buck likes, you can bet that other big bucks will use that area in the future under similar conditions/time of year.

 

[Theist]

I have hunted migration patterns in southern Utah for the past five years and I haven't found the secret! I have killed two decent bucks 160 class and 135 class hunting it. Weather hasn't helped as much as human interference. I have finally started hunting the locals in the desert and have been seeing better and more deer. Oh but every once in a while u see a great migration for no apparent reason it seems and they are everywhere! You will have better success if u find the big locals and hunt it yr in and yr out. And a good migration yr is the time to explore the area.