5-14 mulies

[CanuckShooter]

We just returned from our annual mulie hunt in the Meldrum area....a little dissappointed to say the least. It seems that the extended 'anybuck' season and all the doe draws are having a significant impact on the number of deer in the area. In years past we could sit in a tree and watch deer moving all day long. This year we were blessed to see a couple of does in the morning!! Just for the sake of knowing we uprooted our camp tuesday morning after it quit snowing and drove over 30 miles north toward Makin Creek and saw only two deer tracks crossing the road!

So, I was wondering if we just hit a slow week or if this is now the norm for this area?? Anyone care to share their experience in this area?

[mark]

Ive found that to be the norm for just about everywhere this year! Its been the slowest season for deer sightings ive ever seen. i was up near there recently and deer no.s were way less than normal!

[MattB]

Just because you saw 2 sets of tracks doesnt mean that there is few deer in the area. Deer movement can depend on a lot of different factors. Maybe the weather had them laying low while you were up there.

[dana]

You've got to consider that deer adapt pretty easily to hunting pressure. If even the does are being pursued endlessly they will hit the thick timber and hole up. Just because you aren't seeing any doesn't mean they aren't there.

[Schmaus]

We just got back from the meldrum creek area and we saw about 10 deer per day. We were on Grouse Road

[Fisher-Dude]

When we were up on the long weekend, everyone we met was cryin' that there were no deer around. There were no deer around the roads...but lots in the thick crap. The increased hunting pressure we found in our "honey hole" bumped the deer into the ESSF. We found them, but only because we pushed the thickets. I was lucky enough to shoot a buck in a cut, but he was going from one sh*thole to the next.

[Schmaus]

Oh yeah forgot to say, when we were driving on the West Fraser Road we seen a whole bunch of bighorn sheep one of them looked like a full curl. That was pretty cool and unexpected.

[CanuckShooter]

Just because you saw 2 sets of tracks doesnt mean that there is few deer in the area. Deer movement can depend on a lot of different factors. Maybe the weather had them laying low while you were up there.

That was one of my prime reasons for starting this thread, as that has been my experience. But we are not road hunters and usually the bucks are roaming looking for does...so the lack of movement seemed strange. While we did manage to find pockets of does, there seemed to be an almost eerie lack of 'buck' sign ? While normally we can see several bucks of different stature each day...we saw only three the entire week, a spike, a fork, and a scrub 4by that ran across the road in front of us while driving out. It was really really slow...and I was half thinking that perhaps the extended anybuck and excessive doe draws were having this much effect? Or was it just a matter of wrong place..wrong time? lol

[ursus]

Was up there too twice this november, we saw lots of small bucks, and does. I believe the good ol' days for seeing lots of bucks in region 5 are gone. The any buck season until the 20th of nov, and the ability to take 2 bucks in region 5 is definately haviing an impact.If a guy wants a deer for meat then a leh doe should be taken or even better a short GOS on antlerless should be considered.

[tufferthandug]

I would totally agree that 5-14 is steadily losing it's trophy potential. There's a lot of woodlots being opened up due to the beetle, and farm access for hunters on the rise due to a high doe population.

A lot of times I think a hunter with a doe LEH, will head out to the bush and opt to shoot the 2 or 3 point buck standing beside the doe. (This is just my opinion based on comments made by people I've talked to with doe draws, and their hunting stories I've heard.)

By shortening the any buck season, we could see things turn around to a positive outlook for our buck population.