The past month it has been close to 100 degrees everyday where I hunt. In the past few years (thanks to trail cameras) I have noticed that deer do become more active in the cooler months.
Could it really be as simple as that? I mean, deer obviously get hot, so theylay in theshade inthe afternoon and forageforfood when it's cooler. I could be way off base though.
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When I hunted in FL and GA the temps in early season definitely had an effect on the hunting. We had been hunting a peanut farm in GA thathad been seeing a ton of activity the week before we hunted it when the daytime temps were in the low to mid 70s. The week we were there the temps were in the 90s and we saw very few deer. It was some tough hunting.
If it is hot for long periods of time they will move more eventually, but if it is a heat wave that will pass they'll wait until later to move a lot of times.
In the area where I live that is not the case. I see more deer during daylight hours during the summer than I do at any other time of the year. I see more deer during the day during summer than I do at night during other times of the year. Now keep in mind that the area I hunt/live does not have a very high deer population and it's not real common to see a deer cross the road or see a deer on side of the road even at night. Now that being said, I live at the end of a 3/4 mile dead end gravel road. There is a bean field in front of my house and 2 more that I pass by coming in and out to my house. I see deer at 12-1 as often as I do at any other time during the summer and I also see them a lot around 5:00 p.m. Which is the hottest part of the day. It's not uncommon to leave around 5 and deer be in the fields and come back in just before dark and the deer not be there anymore. It's not just like that at my house but this whole area. I don't know why, but it's just that way around here. The hotter it is, the more likely you'll see them out in the middle of the day and it's not common to see deer in the fields at all around here. I think hot temperatures have a huge effect on deer movement during the season when they have their winter coats etc. But I think during the summer, it's hot and they are use to it and maybe there are less bugs to bother them. I really have no idea. Not to far from here (10 miles)they grow a lot of rice and they pump those rice fields up with naturally cool well water and the deer will come from all around to bed/lay down in them at night.
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I see more deer during daylight hours during the summer than I do at any other time of the year.
I agree....but I also just assumed that this was due to the beans being in the fields in the summer....and the fields being by the roads......hence they're more visible.
But I have to think......these deer need water. Hotter temps would seem to make that more of a requirement, or, at least....a want(though I don't know this).
Interesting......I'm hoping one of the bio guys that knows chimes in.
Every time I've went out to check trail cams during the middle of the day, I encounter deer up and moving around in the middle of the fields... Do deer wait until it cools off to come out? Nope, not at all.
Yes, heat will keep them down for the most part until it cools off in the evening. Va and Nc see some really hot days during bow season and they are usually slow unless the rut is in full swing and it picks up a little even if it's hot. I have seen bucks roaming and chasing when it's 85 out.
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Does the heat make deer nocturnal?
