Region 5 Deer activity

[willyqbc]

Living in Quesnel, we hunt everywhere from quesnel lake/horsefly area in the south, to the southern end of 7a (hixon) in the north, and well out east and west. Common thread we are seeing over the past number of years is that the few deer that we are seeing (other than on the farms and in town), are almost always right at the very back of the last blocks on impassible/de-activated roads...right on the back treelines, the best areas have steep drop off escape routes off the back of the block. Or....we see some deep in the heavy timber. In either case, they are more skittish than I have ever seen them before, and the numbers are as low as i can remember in the last 30 years. The moose and elk seem to be having a slight uptick, but the deer numbers seem to be getting worse.

just what we are seeing......

[100MileGord]

I live on the edge of a large burn from the summer of 2017. We are seeing fewer deer in the burn on a typical evening but that might be due to the newly constructed 4 lane highway that seems to average 10 dead deer a week over a 6 km stretch. Its November 19th and we havnt even had a hard frost yet. There are a lot of small bucks in the burn and on my trail cam (in the driveway) but the big boys are still hiding.

We saw more moose this year in 5-02 than the last 5 years combined , and less wolf sign. The big mulies have got to be in there though; we havnt had significant winters for years and the FN folk that I know refuse to eat mule deer.

[100MileGord]

I've been out the past few days. Seen lots of does/fawns and immature bucks. I've heard of a few 160 170ish bucks being taken and seen pictures.

Mule deer hunting is different around here: its relatively flat land that is difficult to pattern the bucks like one might in more mountainous terrian like the Okanagan or Kootenays. While I totally respect the skill level of the hunters who harvest a old mature buck around here, their efforts are often more a product of time (hours in the bush) rather than knowledge and preplanning.

[warnniklz]

Was windy Saturday, deer were in the thick timber on benchland. If you found 1 doe, there was probably more close by... which meant there was a buck of some class near by. Seen a big 3 point, two four points. Neither were shooters for me, although someone tried to shoot the one.

Even though I didn't find the deer spooky, did notice that they didn't hang out in the open. Was overlooking a flat, 2 deer came out of the tumber, motored across the open country back into a coulie. Watched them walk amongst some cover then burn across the opening again.

Ran into some guys out of maple ridge that got a decent deer on Friday and we're packing out Saturday. Pretty sure the one dude was packing bear spray?

Got to see the CO's... pretty good guys.

Also hunted some ranch land. Talked to the owner and hasn't seen much for deer this year on his property. Usually they're packed in pretty good by now.

[Bugle M In]

We all know depending where one hunts, that if wolves are active (and yes they do big loops so they can move quite a bit) that those areas still may deer, but those deer will be on high alert, very skittish and with those ears can move from ones line of sight and make one think not much
is around.
BUT, I have to ask, how is the snow level effecting peoples experiences?
I know where I hunt, the lack of it has definitely changed the hunting from years ago.
Without it, there certainly is a lack of bucks that I was once used to, especially mature ones.
I am speculating they are dispersed more and not concentrated like it should/would have been back in the day.

Also, I noticed most Does did have offspring, but I would have to say most only had 1 with them, not 2.
So, they are getting bred, and I think the feed/nutrition is there in many areas, so are the Does just young, or are the fawns getting picked
off?

[warnniklz]

Anecdotally I think lack of snow up high is a pretty big factor. Why come down out of the high country if you don't have to?

Just heard it's suppose to drop to negative 10's and then into -23 Thursday. It's been trying to snow in town here.

[SemperAurum]

Here is my observation about 2019 mule deer in region 5 and 3:

Feed is abundant due to rainy summer and steroidal grass growth in fire areas. The grass is taller than I have ever seen it. The deer are not desperate for a meal and have no reason to concentrate on winter ranges.

Does are young. I no longer see any old, mature does. Most of the visible bucks are young. Big bucks are around (I have seen their tracks) but they keep well hidden. I find it funny how some guys drive down a busy road and shoot a whopper. Damn things are unpredictable in the rut! I have seen some whoppers that were shot by road hunters this year.

If wolves or coyotes are active (they are) they deer will stay out of the open and stick to thick bush or steep terrain. Their habits and movements will change from day to day depending upon pressure. Lack of snow makes it hard to detect the presence of predators.

Some of the alfalfa ranches have decent resident deer numbers, but again, if predators are in the area, it can appear as if there is no deer.

NO SNOW up high. The top of Blackdome Mountain for instance is pretty much devoid of snow. Same goes for the Marbles and every other range in every direction. No need to leave the high country yet or at all.

The ground is now frozen. No new tracks to be seen even if they are there.

The does are also spread out into small groups. (3-5 does). No big herds concentrating in any one area.

If you hunt the burned areas be advised that the deer hear you and see you coming from a mile away. They will just move along and you will never see them.

Thankfully, almost every hunter continues to drive past some of the best hidey hole deer honey spots. Big bucks are rarely seen fom pickup truck windows mid day in areas with no snow. Also, Hunters and traffic have very little affect on deer.

I do firmly believe that deer numbers are way down from previous years.

Just a few of my observations.

[kitnayakwa77]

Just got back last night. We saw many deer in posted land, and actually saw more whitetails than we did mule deer. Less big herds and certainly not the concentrations I have seen before. We had a 4 point MD beside the road that was too close to a residential area to harvest, and another mature buck in the big firs that didn't stick around long enough to allow us to count points. We hunted edges, still hunted big firs, and sat on agricultural property where we watched does. We saw less bucks than other years, but the sign was there, leading me to believe that they are not being pushed out by the snow, and have readily available cover/food/water and no need to expose themselves to predators by wandering too far from the thick stuff. I suspect numbers are down slightly given the fires/over-harvest of winter range old growth firs, but there are still deer around. The post above about there being a lack of snow changing things really makes sense to me, but maybe that is confirmation bias!

[Bugle M In]

Here is my observation about 2019 mule deer in region 5 and 3:

Feed is abundant due to rainy summer and steroidal grass growth in fire areas. The grass is taller than I have ever seen it. The deer are not desperate for a meal and have no reason to concentrate on winter ranges.

Does are young. I no longer see any old, mature does. Most of the visible bucks are young. Big bucks are around (I have seen their tracks) but they keep well hidden. I find it funny how some guys drive down a busy road and shoot a whopper. Damn things are unpredictable in the rut! I have seen some whoppers that were shot by road hunters this year.

If wolves or coyotes are active (they are) they deer will stay out of the open and stick to thick bush or steep terrain. Their habits and movements will change from day to day depending upon pressure. Lack of snow makes it hard to detect the presence of predators.

Some of the alfalfa ranches have decent resident deer numbers, but again, if predators are in the area, it can appear as if there is no deer.

NO SNOW up high. The top of Blackdome Mountain for instance is pretty much devoid of snow. Same goes for the Marbles and every other range in every direction. No need to leave the high country yet or at all.

The ground is now frozen. No new tracks to be seen even if they are there.

The does are also spread out into small groups. (3-5 does). No big herds concentrating in any one area.

If you hunt the burned areas be advised that the deer hear you and see you coming from a mile away. They will just move along and you will never see them.

Thankfully, almost every hunter continues to drive past some of the best hidey hole deer honey spots. Big bucks are rarely seen fom pickup truck windows mid day in areas with no snow. Also, Hunters and traffic have very little affect on deer.

I do firmly believe that deer numbers are way down from previous years.

Just a few of my observations.

Great post of "observation"!!
Yes, from frozen ground to age, I think you covered everything I am thinking as well.

And YES, BIG BUCKS TAKEN FROM ROAD"!!!!!
I have no clue why I bother to hike my ass all day, thru rain and icy fog, with feet soaked full of water and freezing (yes, my boots are done),
up early, come out a dark, with not enough water, only to hear someone took a nice one right on the road!
(I know, I like the challenge and the thought that big bucks are away from everyone!....lol)

Worst part is with those road bucks, they seem to just stand there broadside, and don't move with their Doe/s.
In the woods, they scream away in an instant.
I know of 4 bucks taken those few days we were out...all from the road.

Anyways, I am really curious to see the study from collared MD in several areas down south in BC.
It will hold some interesting things I believe.

[warnniklz]

A local kid pulled a stud out of the woods this week from (I'm assuming) around here. I'm sure someone is bound to post it up not on his behalf soon enough.