Summer Scouting Question

[fattybinz]

I have my first mule deer buck tag for a general unit in my home state of Utah this year. Is it too early to start scouting? I know scouting is always helpful to learn an area (roads, access), but as far as trying find areas that hold deer, will bucks move much between now and mid October when the season opens? Thanks!

 

[mevertsen]

I am hunting an area in which I have seen deer from 5800 feet to 9000 feet this year.

The only way to find deer is to go and find them.

I started a thread today, and posted a pic of a nice buck. He was under 6000 feet and I expect to be there in August, and if I can't kill him then, into and through the winter.

I have learned over the years that deer are where you find them. There is only one way to find them. Go and hit the hills. Find as many deer as you can and enjoy the hunt.

 

[rtraverdavis]

will bucks move much between now and mid October when the season opens?

That really depends on the unit. More importantly, their behavior between now and then changes. Bucks that we’re bachelored up and feeding in the open into the late morning will become far more reclusive and crepuscular, even nocturnal. Scouting your unit for terrain and for animals in the summer will definitely not be a waste of time, but don’t necessarily count on the deer being in the same place you found them in July later in October.

 

[ntodwild]

Find Mule deer in an area, draw a 3 mile circle and they will be somewhere within that circle during season. The big mystery is where????? Depending on what time of season you hunt you need to figure out the basic needs of the deer during that time of year and figure out where those needs fall within your 3 mile circle. I personally have been scouting since May and although it can be difficult at that time to judge bucks because they are just starting in on antler growth. It is nice to figure out where they are at that time of year because they are coming off their late season range and it may give you a clue. Mule deer typically stick to a small area throughout their lifetime, bouncing from place to place within that area based on needs for time of year.

So yes they will move between now and Oct

 

[WyoDoug]

Deer are creatures of habit. However, keep in mind that snowpack is higher than normal and ski areas were open on July 4th. That may or may not affect your scouting depending on how deep it is when you go. Deer like easy access to food and know where to find it but usually stay within a mile or two of it's territory. I think you are likely to see deer but will they be there when you go hunting? My gut feeling is they will not be that far away.