Cold, VS. Too Cold-Does it make a difference?

[13BVET]

I've noticed, that where I hunt, if the weather dips below 20, that deer movement is severely limited as opposed to temps in the 20's & 30's. Usually in the afternoon, once it warms a little, is when I tend to see more activity. It seems as though they try to conserve energy on the really cold mornings. Has anybody else noticed this, or is it just me?

[nyantler]

too cold definitely makes a difference.. especially this late in the year... deer expel more energy in extremely cold weather just keeping their body warm and will go to great lengths to conserve fat resources for the coming winter... bucks will tend to hang tight in their beds sometimes letting hunters get dangerously close.. just to conserve energy... if you have ever notice beds in the middle of a cut field.. that is deer bedding at night in or very near their food source.. they will do less traveling even at night trying to save their fat reserves ...

[13BVET]

too cold definitely makes a difference.. especially this late in the year... deer expel more energy in extremely cold weather just keeping their body warm and will go to great lengths to conserve fat resources for the coming winter... bucks will tend to hang tight in their beds sometimes letting hunters get dangerously close.. just to conserve energy... if you have ever notice beds in the middle of a cut field.. that is deer bedding at night in or very near their food source.. they will do less traveling even at night trying to save their fat reserves ...

It's interesting you mention fields. I actually hunt a wide open field. There will be fresh beds there in the morning when I get there. If it's really cold, like this morning, I'll never see anything though. Needless to say, I didn't even go out this morning.

Edited December 11, 2011 by 13BVET

[BizCT]

Not sure how it works around here, but I shot a deer in Michigan and it was -18 degrees (without the wind chill), saw 4 bucks that day.

[bkln]

This morning was perfect 19 degrees, nice and crunchy you could hear for miles I kicked one large doe and almost got shot opportunity on another, I could see her every breath very well in the distance. We need couple more day of that cool weather and ML season will be awesome :-) I hope

[Dad 6424]

-20 or 75 deg. my big a$$ is out there I find after a night like last 7deg.here in 4o they take a little longer to get moving this morning had to leave stand by 8:30 am no movement but 10:00am the woods were alive my sons came out about then saw alot of movement well 5 deer so i geuss thats alot for here lol

[rong]

this morning was nice,but that full moon sucks,you can get quite close in extreme weather,as mentioned,nows the time to find any food source

[Doc]

Don't forget that when the temperatures drop to ridiculous levels a lot of hunter pressure also drops off. Guys either don't go out, or wimp-out early in the morning when they get froze out. That will also have an negative effect on deer movement.

[sits in trees]

in my experience deer tend to move alot more even in daylight in extreme cold to find more food. always liked cold weather hunting.

[nyantler]

I have killed a few good bucks in their beds during very cold weather... one even on crunchy snow.. they seem to be willing to take a chance that you won't see them rather than burn up valuable energy trying to flee.. I try to remember though that there are always exceptions to any general rule..

[Fantail]

Tell you what I about froze my nads Sat. morning closing weekend SZ reg. Steady wind when it's only 20 out will chill your jazz.

[phade]

in my experience deer tend to move alot more even in daylight in extreme cold to find more food. always liked cold weather hunting.

You are correct. They're caloric intake requirements increase as the temps drop - which forces deer to be more active (feeding wise) as the temps drop. They may not bed as far as usual from sources in periods of real incliment weather - largely because they need to eat every 4 hours at a minimum (year-round minimum) but that time reduced when it's that cold.

I think what Doc says is an impact...take the OP. He was saying he doesn't see deer when the temps drops to a certain degree, etc. Note he ended that by saying HE DIDN'T GO OUT.

That particular issue may be due to another separate factor that is being misapplied to temps. It could be food sources, entry/exit disturbance, wind/scent control...noise (sound carries further in cold weather), and even movement on stand is more important in cold temps.

The colder it gets, usually the more deer will move. You just need to find where they are. Chances are when it is that cold, they may be bedding on a wind break, closer to the food, or yarding up somewhere where your stands are not.

[nyantler]

During cold weather deer move less, because cold temperatures cause them to lose body heat. However, when prolonged cold weather keeps deer from feeding regularly; or when low food sources and cold weather cause them to loose calories and weight, they are forced to search for food, and they often move during the warmest part of the day, usually in the late afternoon or early evening, especially if there is cloud cover that may keep heat from dissipating.

We are talking extreme cold weather here(cold vs too cold)... 20 degrees isn't necessarily cold to a deer.. but as the temps drop close to 0 or lower... deer restrict their movement to conserve body heat...

Edited December 13, 2011 by nyantler