Sierra Nevada bucks spend their summer in bare granite?

[Jonny360]

First year hunter here. Been scouting a good bit and placed some trail cams. Only spotted a single buck so far and dozens of doe. A few folks have told me I need to go higher and the bucks spend their time as high as possible. I've been in the wooded zones around 11,000ft. Above this is pretty much all bare granite with little to no vegetation at all. Do bucks really spend their summers grazing and bedding in the bare granite above 11k?

 

[JohnnyB]

Even above the tree line there is shade. They won’t be sunbathing.

Yesterday between 8k and 9k saw several bedded in heavy timber.

 

[amassi]

No, you're high enough.
Only 10% of the sierras is good buck habitat, vaguely saying to "go higher" is ridiculous. They need food and security. Granite offers neither

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[willfrye027]

I’ve put in about 60 trail miles this summer scouting in central CA. The bucks I’ve seen have been tight to the timber. Elevations from 7500-9500. Have not seen a single deer up in the high basins despite lush forage.

After doing this for quite a few years, having some consistent producing spots and also looking for new spots every year....I think snow pack has a huge effect on where you’re going to find bucks in a given year. One year, great snowpack...one basin had 15 bucks feeding in the run off from a big snow bank. The next year there was no snow bank in that basin and I saw zero deer in there...but saw some lower in the trees in that same basin.

My running theory is that they follow the snow melt up, and then slowly retreat into the timber where shade makes new growth happen more slowly and there is more “fresh” things for them to eat.

I’m no expert, just passing along what I’ve observed...and would love to hear others experience with this subject.

 

[Jimmy]

Good questions! Bucks can be in the granite, but I believe few and far between. Just not enough food to support small groups. I was hiking a ridge last year at 10k, nothing but rocks up there. Glassing down into the lower ridges with water, feed and cover. Went round a boulder and there was two small gnarly pine bushes and out jumps a buck and runs 500 yards to the next closest trees. He had a small bed dug out with just enough shade to protect one deer. So obviously they can have little pockets and beds.

Old timers talk about 'granite bucks' and tell stories about jumping them and shooting them on the run.


I think most guys that hunt up high do it because you can see farther and its more scattered cover. Hard to hunt what you can't see.