Mule deer and forest fire

[Css1113]

A good 10,000 acres of the unit has been on fire and I have a tag in September. The fire is almost contained and went on for about a week. I guess I’m just curious if it will affect a hunt two months out

 

[Hnthrdr]

A good 10,000 acres of the unit has been on fire and I have a tag in September. The fire is almost contained and went on for about a week. I guess I’m just curious if it will affect a hunt two months out

With how dry it is probably not… if we get heavy rain there might be some fresh growth in there… wouldn’t bank on it for much though

 

[king402]

It might concentrate the elk a little more than usual but you probably won't notice too much difference. Unless you are hunting a really small unit, 10,000 acres isn't all that much.

 

[Css1113]

It might concentrate the elk a little more than usual but you probably won't notice too much difference. Unless you are hunting a really small unit, 10,000 acres isn't all that much.

Okay thanks yeah it was on the corner of unit so I was just curious. Same with deer or did you mean deer

 

[king402]

Okay thanks yeah it was on the corner of unit so I was just curious. Same with deer or did you mean deer

Oh yes, I meant deer. I had elk on the brain once I saw "September".

 

[Css1113]

With how dry it is probably not… if we get heavy rain there might be some fresh growth in there… wouldn’t bank on it for much though. Yeah I was just like shit man let’s see how this plays out

With how dry it is probably not… if we get heavy rain there might be some fresh growth in there… wouldn’t bank on it for much though

Thank

With how dry it is probably not… if we get heavy rain there might be some fresh growth in there… wouldn’t bank on it for much though

thank you for the info !

 

[270Hunter]

In 2020 the unit I had had a big fire roll through I think like 40k acres. Once the fire was out I spotted deer in the fresh burn 5 days later. I ended up killing one of my biggest bucks to date in the burn 3 months later in October

 

[roadhntr]

I love hunting burns. In the past, I've seen big bucks walking inside of an active fire zone with no concerns at all.

 

[Flazyj]

I think the burn seems to really help the habit for mule deer. Especially when some of the brush survives.

 

[AHayes111]

With over 2/3 of the Custer burning in the last 25 years. I have a bit of burn hunting experience. The burns have greatly improved the feed for the deer. That is the good part. The bad part is the burns have also eliminated most of the cover deer need to hide. The result has been lots of deer getting shot and few if any bucks living long if they have a nice set of antlers. I would definitely want to hunt a burn if I am hunting a LE unit, but you need to think long and hard about hunting burns in a popular OTC unit if your goal is to shoot a buck older than two or three.

 

[Css1113]

In 2020 the unit I had had a big fire roll through I think like 40k acres. Once the fire was out I spotted deer in the fresh burn 5 days later. I ended up killing one of my biggest bucks to date in the burn 3 months later in October

Love to hear it

 

[berretsteve]

Even in very HOT fires that nuke the ground, in a matter of just a few weeks, you see new green growth.
I have seen deer and elk move back in, in less than two weeks. Bear and coyotes will be back in days to feast on slow animal carcasses.
Sometimes the stumps are still soldering.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Even in very HOT fires that nuke the ground, in a matter of just a few weeks, you see new green growth.
I have seen deer and elk move back in, in less than two weeks. Bear and coyotes will be back in days to feast on slow animal carcasses.
Sometimes the stumps are still soldering.

Eh… Ive been around fires where almost nothing as grown for the better part of decade, fires rarely burn even though, there will be drainages that they miss, some that knock down the the understory and some that salt the earth. Have to get boots on the ground to evaluate what happened, burns can be good, but not all of them are magical or will hold loads of game…