Alpine mulies hide out in the timber during hot weather right?

Buddy and me went up to our favourite alpine spot for the weekend.

Aside from having to winch the land cruiser up out of an extremely steep water bar we got stuck in it was an awesome trip even though no animals died. We hiked hard up the hills and back for two days and yesterday planned to pack up and leave and just as we were packing my partner looked up on the mountainside we'd been scrutinizing for much of the past three days without seeing a thing suddenly yelled "deer."

That place runs hot and cold and some years we see nothing, other times there are deer present. So far all we had seen was a couple two points farther away from camp.

I've always been told that deer bed down in the timber during hot weather and you will rarely see them in mid-day unless you happen to be in a good vantage point to catch a glimpses of them when they get up briefly.

Anyway, this guy was about 1 1/2 to 2 kms away up on a ridge and walked into the middle of a plain steep gray scree at 8:30 in the morning and lay down flat on his side in the blazing early September sun and just basked there for two hours.

Even with the 60 power Swarovski scope the best we could put on his head was a solid three points or maybe an iffy 4-point so we didn't make a play for him.

It was a lesson for sure. And if we hadn't seen him leave the trees and lay down in the scree, if you had just happened on that spot and glassed those hills, unless you knew he was there it would take superior spotting skills to pick out a gray deer laying down in the gray scree.

We just got back from a great Mnt. Goat hunt and we were very surprised to see the Bills in the south facing hot Lillioett sun too.

When you think you have game figured out, something always can surprise you. Thats what makes the great out doors so terrific.

Better tone your buddy down. Next time the deer maybe closer and will react when he shouts deer.

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Originally Posted by Jagermeister

Better tone your buddy down. Next time the deer maybe closer and will react when he shouts deer.

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Haha, yeah, sometimes he can get enthusiastic.

I was up in lillooet last weekend for bow buck season and only seen does and fawns during the day out in the open during the hot sun( was in the high 20s maybe 30s) stayed out till dark and seen two nice 4 points making there way down to me. By that time was black out so no go. The next day was the same thing. Didn’t come till dark like 8:30pm. Same with the two black bears I saw. Got up at 4:30am both days and bears were making there way back up to bed but still too dark to shoot my bow and managed to lose him. Heading back up this weekend fingers crossed

Nope. They bed where they are comfortable. And sometimes they are comfortable in 30+ degree heat right in the open. Right in the sun. Seen it many times. Got videos of them through the sun waves so bad you can hardly make out the details.

In my experience, they dont really drop way back down into the timber. They bed in the shade parts of any small trees and bushes that are up there. A mule deer only needs a 5-6 foot tree to provide more than enough shade.

The general pattern is most action at first and last light ... but I have no shortage of videos of bucks feeding in the middle of the day in the hot August sun

I used to do the sept 1 deer hunt pretty regularly. I have always hunted and found bucks right where the treeline ends below the alpine. They seem fine with these little 6-8ft tall trees for shade

my experience is lots of beds under whitebark pine trees/scrub at the treeline. Also in very hot weather don't hesitate to spend some time looking for them waaay up in the goat beds. They like ridgetop goat beds where they can escape bugs in the afternoon winds, even though they're exposed to the hot sun.

Also, 2pm seems to be a popular time for them to get up and stretch during periods of hot weather. Unbelieveably, between 1:45 and 2:15 is when I've had 75% of my deer sightings when they get up for a quick afternoon stretch (early season alpine hunts in SW BC)...

TJ

When I lived in Squamish and was golfing a lot I used to see crows doing the opposite of what would make sense in the heat. Sitting in sand traps in the afternoon with the sun blazing down and 30+ temps. Sitting there in the hot sand with their wings out and mouths open in obvious distress. I could never figure out why a jet black bird wouldn't fly into the shade or up a mountain into to cooler air. I think we need to be aware that animals do not share our common sense and we shouldn't be surprised to see them to be where we don't expect them to be.