lostinOregon
Very Active Member
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Greetings everyone,
I try to do something like his every year. I hunted he same general area during 3rd season in Colorado for the last 20 years or so. The areas I hunt are Grand Mesa, Gunnison, Paonia and Montrose depending on the year. I hit at least 2 seasons every year for deer with family and friends. This year 3rd season was very warm. No snow to speak of and the deer were scattered from high to low. A full moon didn't help things and I would say that the harvest was around normal, maybe below with some of the harvest being bigger deer than normal. I checked my deer in at the Montrose DOW for a CWD test and I spoke with the district biologist. He told me that the harvest was down, but mature bucks were up. The deer numbers seemed to be lower on mature deer, but I saw more fawns and forks this year than previous years. About half the does had fawns this year and the deer looked to be in good shape. This area has been hit very hard by drought. There were more summer rains than last year, but overall, the winter range isn't in that good of shape. I think it will take several years of above average moisture for the area to bounce back. All the moisture hits the ground and is soaked up in seconds. Looking at Gunnison's weather forecast for the next few weeks doesn't look promising. The area needs of tons of snow/water, but the deer will be on the ropes if they have a super bad winter due to the winter range being in such poor condition. Hoping for a huge snowpack up high and milder temps with moisture down low.
Rich
I try to do something like his every year. I hunted he same general area during 3rd season in Colorado for the last 20 years or so. The areas I hunt are Grand Mesa, Gunnison, Paonia and Montrose depending on the year. I hit at least 2 seasons every year for deer with family and friends. This year 3rd season was very warm. No snow to speak of and the deer were scattered from high to low. A full moon didn't help things and I would say that the harvest was around normal, maybe below with some of the harvest being bigger deer than normal. I checked my deer in at the Montrose DOW for a CWD test and I spoke with the district biologist. He told me that the harvest was down, but mature bucks were up. The deer numbers seemed to be lower on mature deer, but I saw more fawns and forks this year than previous years. About half the does had fawns this year and the deer looked to be in good shape. This area has been hit very hard by drought. There were more summer rains than last year, but overall, the winter range isn't in that good of shape. I think it will take several years of above average moisture for the area to bounce back. All the moisture hits the ground and is soaked up in seconds. Looking at Gunnison's weather forecast for the next few weeks doesn't look promising. The area needs of tons of snow/water, but the deer will be on the ropes if they have a super bad winter due to the winter range being in such poor condition. Hoping for a huge snowpack up high and milder temps with moisture down low.
Rich
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