From: Stick in TN
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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So I'm piled up on the couch watching hunting shows and a common statement is "well it's hot so the deer aren't moving..." I get that they move more when it's cold but when the guy making the statement is wearing a jacket it got me to wondering what temps do these guys think is too hot for deer movement?
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From: Sawtooth (Original)
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Deer move. Even when it's hot. I saw close to fifty standing in a peanut field yesterday as I rode my bike. Heat index was close to 100deg with high humidity.
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From: Skeets
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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It's true! It depends on the deer. Keep in mind- deer are nocturnal animals.
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From: Bud B.
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Deer move when deer are hungry, thirsty, or have been bumped from their beds. If deer didn't move when it was hot they would die in the south and many other parts of the country. They will slow down, but to say they don't move is a myth. And on the flip side, they will bed down in the coldest of days and nights. Hunger and predation drives their movement.
I have never bought into that too hot belief. Early deer season here is pretty active. Temps can be in the 90s in Sept here in NC.
These are my observations only and for my area.
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From: RymanCat
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Deer are nocturnal that's some fake news they move around all the time any hour of the day and they lay down any any time during darkness. They yard up when its cold to conserve heat and energy when really cold.
Its amazing how little we really know about animals that study's reveal.
Best thing is you don't believe a word you hear and go out and spend time with the animals to find out whats really happening in your neck of the bush.
Animals can get pushed nocturnal by the pressure they get from pursuing them but are they nocturnal? No not really. Think about this how many times have you been out driving and seen the animals walking around at various times and wondered gee why are they up they should be sleeping.
They can eat at any hour and they can pee whenever they get up as well just like us.
They don't act a lot of times like we think they should and or have been taught to believe.
Just some thoughts to consider. Experience is your teacher not books or TY shows.
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From: Lost Arra
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Sawtooth: those deer were probably wondering why you were riding your bike in that heat :-)
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From: Salagi
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Deer are more active at dawn or dusk most times so they are technically crepuscular, (I think that's the right word). That said, anyone who's been among them (or in this day and age used a trail camera), knows they can and will move any time of the day or night.
I think they are less active in day light when it is real hot, come to think of it, so am I. That said earlier this week, I watched a doe grazing in our field at high noon when it was pushing 90.
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From: fdp
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Kind of depends on what's normal for your area as well.
Here in the Hill Country and in South Texas they don't pay much attention to weather unless it gets over 100 it seems like. I see them all the time, and you may see them any time of day.
Now. when we get those strethes of wether where it's 100 and above for several days, they become REALLY nocturnal and you would almost think the earth swallowed them up. They lay up in the shade.
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From: Mpdh
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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What fdp said. It's not the temp itself, it's the deviation in temp from what is normal at a certain location, during a certain time of year. Here in Michigan, you hear people sometimes say that we didn't have much of a rut this year. It's only because the deer have grown their winter coats, and it only has to get into the 60s or thereabouts, before it's too warm for them to run around in the daytime. They just wait for dark, when it cools down.
MP
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From: AK Pathfinder
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Here in N. Idaho the deer move all day and night. We have a good population in the valley I live in and they are moving all day, even when it's close to 100 as it has been for a week. They might be nocturnal in some areas but not here and temps.just don't seem to make any difference.
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From: Bowdoc
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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I was in the Cascade mtns last weekend checking on the muleis it was around 85/90 degrees we spotted over 15 of them mid day .I know they gotta go to water as we've had over 40 days without any rain bd
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From: Legato
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Deer move day or night depending on the moon. Since the have a 4 chamber stomach apparently they eat in accordance to the moon's phase.
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From: Stick in TN
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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Well I'm glad to hear that you guys have experienced deer activity when it's hot too. I see enough deer when it's hot that my freezer is typically full before those cold temps come around. I can understand why those grain fed horses that they hunt on tv might not like the heat. Not sure it bothers deer in the big woods where I live.
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From: Mpdh
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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A lot of the daytime activity right now, is due to the fact that nobody is bothering the deer. MP
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From: throwback
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Date: 29-Jul-17 |
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I have a couple buddies that don't even want to hunt if It's a little warm. "The deer won't be moving" It's true to an extent, they don't seem to be as active as they would if it was colder, but like some of you already stated, they still eat and drink. They may not travel as much and maybe not during the middle of the day, but I'm not going to let a little warm weather keep me out of the woods.
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From: Wild Bill
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Date: 30-Jul-17 |
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"but when the guy making the statement is wearing a jacket it got me to wondering what temps do these guys think is too hot for deer movement? "
The guy has a jacket on, but the deer probably have shed their summer coat for the winter version, which is considerably warmer than the guy's jacket. IMHO, I suspect the October lull in deer movement(Connecticut) is due to an increase of hunters in the woods and high daytime temperatures, relative to cool nights.
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From: JusPassin
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Date: 30-Jul-17 |
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I have a small cabin built up on piling on a hillside in the timber. I went down to check on it the other day and found a small fork horn bedded down under it in the dust. He had to crawl in there. He knew how to beat the heat.
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From: IslandSnapShooter
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Date: 11-Aug-17 |
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Wild Bill I like that theory, I live in Rhode Island and I would say that makes a lot of sense. We had a September season here for a few years (before they took it away) and it was a lot better than October and to be honest I thought it was better than November. Most people like November because of rut but I have had more encounters in September, December and January than October andNovember, probably more jokers in the woods in November and October too
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From: r-man
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Date: 11-Aug-17 |
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90 deg in august wont stop them from moving or feeding in the south , yet 75 deg in late November in the north east and forget it. Often here in SC I only hunt the AM hours to the first of OCT due to poor movement in the EVS .
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From: limbwalker
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Date: 11-Aug-17 |
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Here in SE Texas, we routinely hunt in the upper 80's and 90's. Sweating and swatting (mosquitoes) is the order of the day. They still move. Sure, they move more during the rut on a cold morning, but they always move.
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