Tracker II

50 miles to be in more suitable winter weather? If you travel 50 miles in the Midwest, you're going to be in the same weather (cold and snowy). Maybe in some special geographical regions but even then, 50 miles is quite a stretch in my mind.

vl Whitetail Genereal lv

Yes I started to think that this wasn't also true because I wondered how people could get pictures of the same deer 5 years in a row. Last night I was doing some scouting on the land that I hunt on and there were still some deer tracks around. So my guess is there are sil deer in the area, but normally I think they do leave and go a few miles down the road to take cover in this area with alot of marshes and hills to take cover from storms. I put out the camera last night also while scouting so that will probably give me the answer as to what is hanging around yet during the winter.

freedomrules3

Most does live their whole lives within a 2 mile radius or less , some bucks will travel up to 5 miles once they breed the does in their area , they normally return to their home range once they get done with the rut if they make it.

mortalcare

Ive never heard of deer leaving in winter,but i hunt in cropfields so shortage of food is never a problem.But bucks do leave there home range during the rut,sometimes going as far as 30miles,and they always come back in the late season to feed and reclaim there home

UPHunter08

If you live in a warmer climate with little snow cover they probably don't move very far. Up north (MI and WI), I've observed them yarding up several miles away, at least 5 miles in one area where we have property. This time of year, the area where we hunt in November (with lots of deer sign then) has zero deer sign today, but a few miles down the road, it's wall-to-wall deer. The difference? Food and cover has changed since snowfall.

It all has to do with the snow cover and food availability. The yarding areas are usually swamp conifer type forests where there is winter forage and thermal cover (ie. trees to break the wind). They get hammered pretty hard in the winter...the browse line on the trees is readily evident in most deer yards. So by spring when the snow has melted, the deer will usually disperse and head back to their 'regular' territory in search of food. It's all about the snowpack, because the deer always hang around in November until the snow gets deep. Some years that means they head to the yard in December, others (if we're unlucky), it means they're already yarding at the latter part of deer season.

Gunplummer

I have to agree with UP Hunter 08 on this one. If you hunt rough, mountainous areas, you will see deer move out in large groups.
Even a drought is enough to move deer out of an area in large numbers. When it comes to regular deer movement for feeding purposes, 5 miles is not out of line. I know of some places where deer move to fields every night and it is at least a 6 mile round trip.

Valentine

is if the deer only moves a mile, he'll never see it again. A lot of hunters don't move a mile on foot.
Lots to be learned over the next five years from all those trail cams. I'm sure it'll be a mixed bag. Some success; some total failure.

Edcyclopedia

I hunt an area on the Candian border, up in the elevations, where the yearly snow fall is between 150-200". Literally once the snow gets crotch high the deer will move closer to town in the thicker areas for cover and food. About a 15 mile treck!

One spring I saw a spectacle I would have never believed if I didn't see it with my own eyes. No joke, I watched over 100 deer line up and march up an old logging road heading North to the elevations...

I asked the locals about what I had seen and one of the gentleman says it happens every year, as he explained what had happened that unique day. They just don't know when, but usually end of March - beginning of April. I guess I was at the right place at the right time - lucky for me!