What Do Mule Deer Do When There Are Fires?

[oreseur]

Hey guys. I am planning on hunting unit 39 in Idaho this year and I am at a loss with all of the fires happening. I have gone out scouting several times, all over the place and haven't seen any deer. With all of the fires around I'm not sure where the deer will be moving around. Will the deer be condensed more since there are fires? Will they move to different units? With unit 39 being a migration unit, will the deer that come through be taking different paths this year? Also, do the deer move significant distances away from the fires, or just kind of way of the outskirts and out of danger? Unfortunately some of the spots I was looking to hunt in have been nailed bad by the fires this year. Will the deer stay up as high as they can for longer this year because of the fires? A lot of questions, but any insight would be appreciated!

 

[Rotnguns]

Hey guys. I am planning on hunting unit 39 in Idaho this year and I am at a loss with all of the fires happening. I have gone out scouting several times, all over the place and haven't seen any deer. With all of the fires around I'm not sure where the deer will be moving around. Will the deer be condensed more since there are fires? Will they move to different units? With unit 39 being a migration unit, will the deer that come through be taking different paths this year? Also, do the deer move significant distances away from the fires, or just kind of way of the outskirts and out of danger? Unfortunately some of the spots I was looking to hunt in have been nailed bad by the fires this year. Will the deer stay up as high as they can for longer this year because of the fires? A lot of questions, but any insight would be appreciated!

Really, 39 hasn't been hit too badly this year by fires, especially compared with other areas. But 39 experiences intense hunter pressure - it's a big unit with lots of critters and also lots of people out and about. One strategy is to get one or two ridges off of any path open to vehicles, look for tracks and sign, and hang out before daybreak.

 

[Hunthigh1]

USFS tends to close very large areas around fires. IMO, you are probably not scouting close enough to the fires to be looking in areas that deer have been displaced. Deer just keep doing deer stuff unless actually pushed off the feed areas by fire or fire related activity. I suspect you are not seeing deer for other reasons. Maybe looking in the migration areas too early, missing deer due to them being timbered, or just haven’t looked in the right spots yet.