Fires and hunting

[cheeseheadinOHIO]

Do the fires out west affect any of you hunters? Are they burning your area? Is the wildlife moving or dying in it? Hope not and be safe.

 

[AHT]

A fire burned literally about 90% of the area we hunt last summer. I thought we were in for a bad year last year, but in reality, it turned out to be one our best years. I took my best buck to date and a descent bull as well all in the freshly burned area. It's only going to get better in the years to come.

 

[AndymanSavage]

A few years ago the whole area I had scouted for deer burned. It was on fire during the hunt. The helicopters were filling up at the lake we were going to camp at and we couldn't get within 10 miles of our spot. We explored a little and found a good looking canyon. I ended up shooting my best buck the next morning. It was weird to smell and see smoke the whole hunt. I think that it helped with scent control. I know that for a few year after a fire burn areas are great hunting spots.

Andy

 

[Icicleoutfitters]

I agree with you guys that fire creates improved wildlife habitat. Fires nearly always leave enough cover for game but creates much better browse and good borders while still opening up the country enough to glass and stalk. Twenty or thirty years later the pine thickets usually take over the burn and the good habitat is gone until the next burn.

We hate winter range fires for obvious reasons. Last year we had a lot of higher elevation fires that really messed up the High Hunts; should be fun up there this season.

 

[oakbrush]

A couple of years ago, our hunt area had a big fire in June. We decided to try the Aug archery hunt in there anyway and saw deer everywhere and had it pretty much to ourselves. The new growth was already starting to sprout about 2 inches and the deer were in there just muching away. This fire burned in a mosaic pattern, so there was still unburned areas with cover. The deer never left the area at all.

oakbrush