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Deer activity when it’s Super cold


Northcountryman
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Guys;

inbagged hunting yesterday am cuz of the temps planning on going today w a friend. Right now it’s -1 out and the Doe we always see at my girlfriends house is still bedded down. It’s 7:08 right now when is usually magic time  on a normal day. Noticed the same behavior yesterday when it was equally cold. Then they started coming out well after 8 when the sun was out and was starting to warm up. Peak activity seemed to be around 1:30. I thought common wisdom is they have to move more when it’s cold to stay warm yet that is opposite of what I’m saying here . What do you think? 

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Yup I agree and she’s still there. I’m wondering if it’s all relative anyway. So, when temps have been consistently in the 50s and then drop to the mid 30s or so does that trigger increased movement? I’ll bet it does and that’s normally why normal wisdom dictates the sudden drop in temp and greater deer activity maxim. But when it’s this cold? Nope, I think they huddle up and wait for the sun to warm things up a bit before they move 

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When it gets really cold deer get very efficient about feeding. If they fed when it is the coldest they would burn more calories getting that food. So they tend to feed when it is warmest on frigid days. 

Being bedded keeps them fairly warm without exerting much energy/calories.

At least that is what i think,and i am no expert,only in my own mind,haha.

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15 minutes ago, BowmanMike said:

When it gets really cold deer get very efficient about feeding. If they fed when it is the coldest they would burn more calories getting that food. So they tend to feed when it is warmest on frigid days. 

Being bedded keeps them fairly warm without exerting much energy/calories.

At least that is what i think,and i am no expert,only in my own mind,haha.

X-2....... this is what I think too.

They are apt to move more during the warmest part of the day. To get the most benefit from feeding vs energy output. 

Just my observations. Every deer is different. Just like us.

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I think it depends a lot on other factors too...the wind, precipitation, etc.  On a cold snap like Thursdays, I would certainly be keeping a close watch on the sunny hillsides. the deer will move to those, and then probably earlier in the evening than normal to get to food sources. They will still need to drink, also.  

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On 11/23/2018 at 5:22 PM, Daveboone said:

 On a cold snap like Thursdays, I would certainly be keeping a close watch on the sunny hillsides.

On real cold days I know exactly where to find deer. Problem is I can no longer hunt there. Then the only thing worse than not knowing where the deer are, is knowing where the deer are. :( 

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I know when I used to hunt in Saskatchewan that the deer would always move later in the morning. Temps were typically below zero when I was there. I remember the outfitter telling the new guys that were getting agitated that they weren’t heading out in the dark to leave their NY hunting ways back in NY lol. 

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