Deer and snow/cold

From what I know about pemberton deer..... There are resident low land deer in the valley that stick it out for the winter but the vast majority of the deer that came down from the alpine surrounding that valley.... Vacated as soon as the first snows hit the alpine. Moving on to rutting grounds away from the deep snow.
Many deer herds migrate at different times of the year. For pemberton, think late september through to the end of oct. Varying slightly year to year.
A similar thing happens in my area where a pile of the deer migrate a few KM south into the upper bonaparte right around the time that temps here hit -20 LOL which by the way.... Is right now ;)
If I was lookin for a late season buck right now.... Region 3 ..... East above Boston bar , chasm thru to bonaparte.... And any lowermainland areas with recent fire/logging activity.... Chehalis lake, East harrison......
Go get em Suther, season is still open ;)
I still have a tag to fill in region 3 but so damn busy LOL
 
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Here in Ontario deer will go to yard ( a deer wintering area) which usually has food and shelter where they spend the winter. The yard may contain a few doz. deer to several hundred. Yarding up is determined mainly by snow depth and the degree of difficulty they have in getting around in it and finding adequate food. They also don't generally start to yard until the rut is over. With many deer in one area they establish paths which get packed down hard which they will travel for ease.
We have about 6" of snow on the ground here and the deer are still wondering about all over off there established trails. They have not yet started to yard here due to low snow amounts and the rut is not yet over.

I would imagine the deer in the mountain areas also do something similar.
 
I'll add this as it is specific to pemberton valley/upper lilooet deer.
On the west side of the lilooet, you have , for the most part, a genetically distinct "herd" of high alpine blacktails. These deer leave the alpine and migrate to the low areas , sunshine coast, squamish, ect where they commence the rut, mingling with deer from various herds in that corridor. Interupted only by large rivers and mountain terrain they can't cross.
On the East side of that valley, you have something interesting going on. Those deer are a mix of true black tails and hybrids that have been bred by interior, fraser basin Mule deer. These deer leave that valley altogether by beginning to mid november. And they do so with a purpose. They disperse south and east, rutting in various low land areas off of the lower lilooet basin and over the hurley pass towards the fraser.
I've spent a lot of time hunting those particular deer and while I will not claim to be an expert.... I'd go way out on a limb and urge you to strike pemberton off the list by this time of year.
 
Some great advice here.

My experiences hunting deer in BC are:

-this time of year I've had better luck down low in cover (heavy forest type stuff);
-if there is a farm / ranch in the area, hunt around it as deer come in for the good eats;
-during the cold I found deer move a lot during the day;

Oddly enough I have never shot a late season deer before 1000 hrs...

My .02 cents...
 
Deer, moose, caribou all move around when the wind changes... They have their bedding areas and their feeding areas. Sometimes they vacate an area due to lack of food sources, water, and pressure from predators and hunters. Talking to a few other hunters, farmers and others can add to what one needs to know about possible movements and numbers. It's always a good idea to walk different areas to get a sense of what might be going on in the world of the deer... Sometimes it takes a great deal of patience, time and effort to find the deer.
 
You still have time, so get back out there. Find some tracks that go into the timber, get in there and still hunt. Old growth fir is the best, both for you, because of less undergrowth you can see further and walk quieter, but also for the deer, because they can see further and walk quieter. Mind the wind.
 
You guys from out of province should google pemberton and have a look at those mountains... The deer leave altogether, trust me. Nothing can live up in that alpine come winter unless it flies or walks on snow hehehe
The valley floor around pemberton meadows will probably hold some resident deer that probably stay thru winter.
I'd look for access up the west side of the valley in the transition zone between the west side mountains and the valley floor, if I was dead set on hunting that area this late in the season.
 
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