Winterkill details for different areas/regions

gfontela · May 17, 2023

I've been trying to do some research to get a better idea of the winter kill in certain areas that I'm considering applying for deer, but can't seem to find any specific regional or unit wide information. Anyone know where I would be able to find more details on the winterkill in regions G and H? I know that most of the younger deer didn't make it, but I'm wondering if there is any information out there regarding what percentage of 3 to 6 year deer made it through.

elks96 · May 17, 2023

Look at the areas and see what the NR allocation cut was from last year. The areas with the worst kill have the highest cuts.

boomer · May 17, 2023

Not necessarily the most up to date info but you may find this an interesting read and could give you some insight to Wyoming range mule deer mortality.

Mule deer death rates deepen in western Wyoming - WyoFile

One of Wyoming’s flagship mule deer herds has lost more than half of its animals to an unusual inverted snowpack that’s still killing scores of animals

wyofile.com

quest · May 17, 2023

Bad year to put in. Everybody that I hunt with said there gonna wait to see how the deer herds are doing before they put in.

one_dryboot · May 17, 2023

quest said:
Bad year to put in. Everybody that I hunt with said there gonna wait to see how the deer herds are doing before they put in.

Better draw odds for me. ?

kickerbuck · May 17, 2023

I don't think the winter turned out to be near as hard as everyone kept saying. Wyo only cut a few Non-resident tags here and there and Residents are still OTC statewide and get to hunt 3 or 4 different openers. So what that tells me is it must not of been as bad of a winter as all the hype!

Okay now I'll get serious! It sounds like Wyo lost 60% of their MD heards in some areas and they're still dying. It's a joke that they only cut a few Non-resident tags and the Residents are still OTC. I hope people don't shoot it out this Fall, the deer and bucks just went through pure Hell this winter. In some articles I've read there are Biologist saying it could take 5 to 10 years to recover. "That alone is amazing, and sad to me."

What a great state I hope Wyo MD and Antelope can recover soon!!!

Founder · May 17, 2023

Here’s what Gary Fralick, biologist in Western Wyoming, sent me today.

Here's the most recent Wyoming Range collared deer survival data - 17/43 bucks still alive. 41/86 does still alive, and 1/92 fawns are still alive.

Hard to say if this is reflective of the entire herd. I don’t think it is. I believe if 73% of all deer died, there’d be a whole more dead deer on the winter range. But what do I know?

This is about the best data you’ll get until Fall counts. No one knows for sure. Gary only has this collared deer data to use, nothing more, except a hunch, which he doesn’t like to show. Ha ha

I sure wouldn’t blame anyone from not applying. Maybe I could draw a tag with 0 points!!

one_dryboot · May 17, 2023

Founder said:
Here’s what Gary Fralick, biologist in Western Wyoming, sent me today.

Here's the most recent Wyoming Range collared deer survival data - 17/43 bucks still alive. 41/86 does still alive, and 1/92 fawns are still alive.

Hard to say if this is reflective of the entire herd. I don’t think it is. I believe if 73% of all deer died, there’d be a whole more dead deer on the winter range. But what do I know?

This is about the best data you’ll get until Fall counts. No one knows for sure. Gary only has this collared deer data to use, nothing more, except a hunch, which he doesn’t like to show. Ha ha

I sure wouldn’t blame anyone from not applying. Maybe I could draw a tag with 0 points!!

Curious what age classes the collared bucks were that died, verses the ones that survived? Did 3-5 year olds fair better, or none had an advantage

heyjbales · May 18, 2023

Hey @one_dryboot here's a graph to answer your question specifically about 3 to 5-year-olds. Basically, if a guy was to bet on a deer making it, you'd want to put your money on a 2 to 5-year-old. Pretty much means if a hunter wants to take mature bucks, you have the same crop to choose from for the next few years, then there will be a big missing age class in years 2025 and 2026.

Screenshot 2023-05-18 at 11.42.18 AM.png

one_dryboot · May 18, 2023

heyjbales said:
Hey @one_dryboot here's a graph to answer your question specifically about 3 to 5-year-olds. Basically, if a guy was to bet on a deer making it, you'd want to put your money on a 2 to 5-year-old. Pretty much means if a hunter wants to take mature bucks, you have the same crop to choose from for the next few years, then there will be a big missing age class in years 2025 and 2026.

View attachment 110497

Awesome! Hopefully this graph is spot on for this year

BrowningRage · May 20, 2023

heyjbales said:
Hey @one_dryboot here's a graph to answer your question specifically about 3 to 5-year-olds. Basically, if a guy was to bet on a deer making it, you'd want to put your money on a 2 to 5-year-old. Pretty much means if a hunter wants to take mature bucks, you have the same crop to choose from for the next few years, then there will be a big missing age class in years 2025 and 2026.

View attachment 110497

16.? What wild animal lives to be 16.? A Muley or elk couldn't live to be 16 in my backyard. ??

Or could it..? ??

Cooper · May 20, 2023

The area that I shed hunt I expected to see lots of dead deer and elk, actually significantly less than what I saw in 2017. Hopefully it’s not as bad as what was feared considering the area had record snowfall.

Deerlove · May 21, 2023

BrowningRage said:
16.? What wild animal lives to be 16.? A Muley or elk couldn't live to be 16 in my backyard. ??

Or could it..? ??

Dwr supposedly pulled a 16-year-old dead bull off of echo this spring

Cooper · May 21, 2023

Deerlove said:
Dwr supposedly pulled a 16-year-old dead bull off of echo this spring

I heard there was some very nice bulls that died up there this winter

Deerlove · May 21, 2023

Cooper said:
I heard there was some very nice bulls that died up there this winter

Rumor says there was 40 plus Bulls taken out that you can purchase at auction

Ticks N Tines · May 22, 2023

I hiked around for the shed hunt on the 15th & 16th. Did about 30 miles of hiking. The deer situation around the Big Piney winter range area seemed to be about 50-60% survival if I had to guess. We saw several big groups of live deer running around that looked fairly healthy. Saw plenty of dead deer, but most seemed to be fawns. Only saw 5 or 6 dead shed bucks.

The Pronghorn on the other hand are a total loss. We literally saw 10 dead Pronghorn to every 1 dead deer. I must have seen 50-60 dead young prong bucks and several more does. It was pretty bad up there. I would venture to say at least 70-80% of the Pronghorn are gone (if I had to guess) and maybe more.

Take it for what it's worth, I'm just a Utard.

liecabucks · May 23, 2023

I agree with most on the deer losses in that they don’t seem to be as extensive as originally thought. Yes, it was an extremely heavy winter in G and H however they entered it in some of the best shape they ever have. Summer scouting and fall counts will tell the true story.

elks96 · May 23, 2023

liecabucks said:
I agree with most on the deer losses in that they don’t seem to be as extensive as originally thought. Yes, it was an extremely heavy winter in G and H however they entered it in some of the best shape they ever have. Summer scouting and fall counts will tell the true story.

It definitely seems to vary. I have seen some pictures and reports along the CO/WY border that show a different picture than what we had up here around Lander. Tons more dead deer. I was on Ferris south and saw more alive deer than I expected. Found several areas with a few dead deer but not in piles like further south.

Driving from Lander to Pinedale this last weekend the Lopes were stacked up pretty bad. A lot of dead lopes the entire way but the worst section was just out of Boulder.

sneakem · May 25, 2023

I think it varies greatly. There's places on the Colorado/Wyoming border that the elk died in droves, as well as deer and antelope. There were a few areas of refuge though and some areas had better survival.

But agreeable that the antelope did not fair well... at all.

30Hart · May 25, 2023

Drove all of I80 and back a week and a half ago between Evanston and Laramie...counted at least 300 dead on side of the road. Probably way more as I got tired of seeing them...shame.