Quote:
Originally Posted by The moose
Depending where you are but, In fields I have seen deer year after year during the winter were empty this year. Too much snow and not enough shelter from the elements. Instead all the deer are in a river bottom feeding on willow and sheltering out of the elements. Find the shelter and you likely find your deer,when the snow is deep and the winter harsh they wont expend the energy to travel to feed. Other thing here is the elk heard easily could have pushed them off the fields and into a different location. Happens all the time in my hunting area.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbuck
I agree that it is a good possibility the elk may have pushed them out. Like mentioned, the mule deer are more likely to feed in the bush than whitetail when needed. But With this being said try to expand your area, there is likely another food source somewhere in the general area. I think you will be surprised how far the deer will travel for good food. Either way I would be checking those bales in the next few weeks, sound like you may find some elk sheds!!
Good luck
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Thank you for the responses, guys. I really appreciate it. It does make sense. Also, half of the fields border the river valley, quite steep all the way down to the river. Others are just a quarter or two away from it. I guess I will have to wait until more snow melts and it dries up a little to go down and see what I can find. So far in the past couple of years I had only found an old moose shed there and that is it. I am not that great at it though and have only done it a couple of years now, so the fields was my easy way out
As for the other food sources, I drove around to look for them and there a few grain bins here and there. I saw some deer tracks there and a couple of mulies. Other than that, all fields are just cover with untouched snow and practically no deer sign for miles.
I hope to find some elk sheds there, but I doubt that is going to happen because it is mostly cows that are feeding on the bales with a few spikes. I actually have not seen a bull there since mid- or end of October, spikes excluded.
If someone who knows what they are doing in terms of shed hunting in Peace River area wants to take me out and teach me a thing or two about it, I would not mind tagging along at all