When to hunt velvet mule deer

[BS2022]

Last year I did my first archery mule deer hunt, I’m hunting in Southern California. I was expecting them to still be in velvet but all the bucks I saw in the lower elevation I was hunting had already shed their velvet. My question is do mule deer shed their velvet later at higher elevations? I was at 2000ft where I shot my buck, but the range peaks at about 11k. Will I have better luck up there? Thanks

 

[Jason Snyder]

As early as you can. They’ll typically be hard horned and rubbed around Labor Day or shortly after.

 

[huntnful]

Not necessarily. Hunt the earliest season dates as possible. That's the best chance at a velvet buck.

 

[BS2022]

As early as you can. They’ll typically be hard horned and rubbed around Labor Day or shortly after.

Not necessarily. Hunt the earliest season dates as possible. That's the best chance at a velvet buck.

Rog, I saw bucks hard horned the eve of opening day. You think looking higher up is a lost cause?

 

[Jason Snyder]

Rog, I saw bucks hard horned the eve of opening day. You think looking higher up is a lost cause?

I doubt higher elevations are going to help your cause.

 

[huntnful]

Rog, I saw bucks hard horned the eve of opening day. You think looking higher up is a lost cause?

Not necessarily a lost cause at all. But also no guarantee. If I was personally hunting velvet bucks, and I already tried down low, but they were hard horned, I were certainly go to the higher elevations and find out for myself though.

 

[huntnful]

The reason I say that is because I'm not sure of your unit. Our units can be MASSIVE. Where bucks "down low" can actually be 100 miles from the bucks in the mountains. In that case, absolutely go to the other end of the unit and go up high. But if you're just talking about the direct base of a mountain range as "down low" it probably won't make a difference if you go up high.

 

[BS2022]

The reason I say that is because I'm not sure of your unit. Our units can be MASSIVE. Where bucks "down low" can actually be 100 miles from the bucks in the mountains. In that case, absolutely go to the other end of the unit and go up high. But if you're just talking about the direct base of a mountain range as "down low" it probably won't make a difference if you go up high.

Yeah that makes sense, the two places I looked at are about 40 miles apart. So I might give it a whirl. Thanks for the info!

 

[Jason Snyder]

Just keep in mind, this process is driven by photoperiod.

 

[LongWayAround]

Like they said, hunt them as early as you can. California has the earliest deer seasons I have ever heard of. Don't some of your units open in July?

I have never thought about higher versus lower elevation in regards to shedding time. Where I hunt, the lower areas are still pretty high. It seems that I see velvet bucks up to about September 10.

I have to wonder if the higher temperature in the California low country could contribute to shedding earlier as the velvet "skin" dries out. ???

I only have one velvet buck, shot on August 25, he was getting dried out and close to shedding at that time.

 

[Marble]

Just keep in mind, this process is driven by photoperiod.

I was just going to say that. In layman's terms, the amount of sunlight per day (length of day) determines things like this, as well as the rut cycle.

 

[owtuvdorz]

as others have said, hunt as early as your unit will let you. I've had the most luck spotting deer in the higher elevations, but units may differ depending on topography, available water/feed, etc.

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[69thokayestshooter]

Ill be interested to see what you find!

 

[cjdewese]

If you want a velvet buck in California, hunt the early A-zone. I think it starts mid July each year.