Elevation Bucks

egradyfire

Member
Messages
83
I wanted to bounce this off you all. When I'm scouting in june and july, I'm finding bucks up high in the 9000-10,000 ft levels. But, come archery season I'm starting to notice the deer are lower in elevation 0-8000 ft. Go easy on me, I haven't been backcountry hunting for 25 years, i'm a rookie.

Is it the feed that's drying up by then? I'm curious why
 
When you say archery season are you talking right when it opens when bucks are still in velvet or later in September when they're rubbed out.
 
I think as soon as they feel any pressure at all they drop into the timber. That is what they do here. I bet that is what is going on there. I think even in the Velvet and it's mid August when they feel pressure they drop
 
I think it is all going to be subjective to the unit you are in. Where I hunt there are people there all the time so the deer are used to human traffic. I do notice they change their patterns about mid September and start to spend more time in the timber. My theory is they lose their summer coat and when they have that winter coat the heat is just unbearable for them. I have noticed once they get hunting pressure from the top, which is where all the roads are on the unit that I hunt that the deer drop down to mid mountain and stay there until the rut. What the deer eat changes with the season as well like you stated. During June and July they will be eating more forbes, as fall progresses I have noticed they tend to focus more on brush like antelope bitter brush. For this reason I don't even start scouting until mid august I feel the deer are settled in better to where they will be come archery and rifle season. I also have noticed individual bucks seem to have their own personalities. I have seen some bucks that are as pattern-able as a white tail. And some that are so random you only see them twice and never see them again even though you hunt and scout the same area week in and week out. There was one group of bucks that crossed the same saddle every day around the same time of morning from august until the end of October one year....so to answer your question I think it depends.
 

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