Any help with CO migration/3rd season info

gundog2 said:

The CPW website has some really good info on the deer and elk migration corridors. I can’t remember exactly where I found it, but I think it was in the hunt planner / mapping tools, and you can download shape files to Google Earth or OnX. I heard that some of the deer migrations start when the oak leaves drop or something like that.

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The_Coloradoboy said:

Snow trumps everything when it comes to migration

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WHT_MTNMAN said:

I'm looking for some general info on migration patterns and trying to find more mature bucks in this 3rd season
I have spent very little time in any states or units that have migration so I'm pretty new at the concept. I bought a unit wide tag for CO this year that is a migration unit on the western side of the state. I had the tag last year and found some decent bucks but nothing very mature at all. A few really pretty thin horned 4x4's and 3x4s I'm hoping maybe some of them made it through and will come back a year older.
1. Do bucks usually come back to the same areas during migration and the rut year after year?
2. Would it be worth sitting on isolated pockets of does waiting for a buck to show up? Or is the rut not heavy enough to waste a few days in that 3rd season.
3. If I'm lucky enough to find some deer away from some of the hunters will the rut/migration keep them moving or is there a good chance they will stay in those pockets for safety?
4. Would you find heavy migration areas and wait for the right buck? or would you search outside of the migration areas to find deer that are not as pressured?
5. Is the migration weather dependent at all? or just the time of year and rut starting?

I hope those questions make sense.
Thanks for any ideas. Thanks,

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Founder said:

In my experience in Colorado, deep snow is what will get them moving. Does and fawns will get moving after just a few inches, but typically it would take a good 10-12+ inches to begin seeing older bucks show up where I'd be hunting. Many of those old bucks that live up high spend a lot of time in the pines, and once 10-12 inches of snow falls, getting to feed is more difficult and they'll move into aspens and sage for feed and to soak in some of that sun when it comes out.
The day and a half after the big storm is the absolute best time, and you have to be prepared to hunt all day and cover lots of ground glassing everything you can see. Those are no days for rest!!!
Once the sun shines for a day or two and those old buck find hunters everywhere, many of them will head right back into the dark timber. Most storms in October and November will melt off pretty quickly once the sun shines.

That day or two after the big storms sometimes looks like a panic for the deer, sometimes running to lower ground. It's always fun!

Not all storms do it though in my experience. It takes a lot of snow to move old timber bucks out of that dark stuff.

Also, most of the deer won't go all the way to where they spend Dec, Jan, and Feb. In my experience, old bucks usually just show up in the first aspen stands and sage brush along their migration route and that's it. It would take huge amounts of snow to push them all the way to deep winter areas.

If you notice real rutting action going, then even after the snow burns off, those old bucks will be dumb and stand out in the open with a hot doe. I've never really seen that action on a 3rd season hunt. I definitely have on 4th season hunts. Young bucks might chase does around, but the old ones won't until the does are really in heat. Plus the human activity during most 3rd season hunts will disrupt old bucks from showing themselves too much. They know when people are in the hills, whether hunting deer or elk.

I would not sit on any group of does. Keep moving, looking at as many deer as possible, then circle back and repeat.

In most areas, there are lots of migration routes that different deer use and the real good ones are hard to identify until you have a lot of experience in a unit. It took me years to figure out one that I had a lot of success on. Once I found it, I was always there after a big storm. Always! It was the best spot in the unit. Of course eventually someone see's you there and after that you're sharing the spot with other people.

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Founder said:

In my experience in Colorado, deep snow is what will get them moving. Does and fawns will get moving after just a few inches, but typically it would take a good 10-12+ inches to begin seeing older bucks show up where I'd be hunting. Many of those old bucks that live up high spend a lot of time in the pines, and once 10-12 inches of snow falls, getting to feed is more difficult and they'll move into aspens and sage for feed and to soak in some of that sun when it comes out.
The day and a half after the big storm is the absolute best time, and you have to be prepared to hunt all day and cover lots of ground glassing everything you can see. Those are no days for rest!!!
Once the sun shines for a day or two and those old buck find hunters everywhere, many of them will head right back into the dark timber. Most storms in October and November will melt off pretty quickly once the sun shines.

That day or two after the big storms sometimes looks like a panic for the deer, sometimes running to lower ground. It's always fun!

Not all storms do it though in my experience. It takes a lot of snow to move old timber bucks out of that dark stuff.

Also, most of the deer won't go all the way to where they spend Dec, Jan, and Feb. In my experience, old bucks usually just show up in the first aspen stands and sage brush along their migration route and that's it. It would take huge amounts of snow to push them all the way to deep winter areas.

If you notice real rutting action going, then even after the snow burns off, those old bucks will be dumb and stand out in the open with a hot doe. I've never really seen that action on a 3rd season hunt. I definitely have on 4th season hunts. Young bucks might chase does around, but the old ones won't until the does are really in heat. Plus the human activity during most 3rd season hunts will disrupt old bucks from showing themselves too much. They know when people are in the hills, whether hunting deer or elk.

I would not sit on any group of does. Keep moving, looking at as many deer as possible, then circle back and repeat.

In most areas, there are lots of migration routes that different deer use and the real good ones are hard to identify until you have a lot of experience in a unit. It took me years to figure out one that I had a lot of success on. Once I found it, I was always there after a big storm. Always! It was the best spot in the unit. Of course eventually someone see's you there and after that you're sharing the spot with other people.

Click to expand...

Founder said:

In my experience in Colorado, deep snow is what will get them moving. Does and fawns will get moving after just a few inches, but typically it would take a good 10-12+ inches to begin seeing older bucks show up where I'd be hunting. Many of those old bucks that live up high spend a lot of time in the pines, and once 10-12 inches of snow falls, getting to feed is more difficult and they'll move into aspens and sage for feed and to soak in some of that sun when it comes out.
The day and a half after the big storm is the absolute best time, and you have to be prepared to hunt all day and cover lots of ground glassing everything you can see. Those are no days for rest!!!
Once the sun shines for a day or two and those old buck find hunters everywhere, many of them will head right back into the dark timber. Most storms in October and November will melt off pretty quickly once the sun shines.

That day or two after the big storms sometimes looks like a panic for the deer, sometimes running to lower ground. It's always fun!

Not all storms do it though in my experience. It takes a lot of snow to move old timber bucks out of that dark stuff.

Also, most of the deer won't go all the way to where they spend Dec, Jan, and Feb. In my experience, old bucks usually just show up in the first aspen stands and sage brush along their migration route and that's it. It would take huge amounts of snow to push them all the way to deep winter areas.

If you notice real rutting action going, then even after the snow burns off, those old bucks will be dumb and stand out in the open with a hot doe. I've never really seen that action on a 3rd season hunt. I definitely have on 4th season hunts. Young bucks might chase does around, but the old ones won't until the does are really in heat. Plus the human activity during most 3rd season hunts will disrupt old bucks from showing themselves too much. They know when people are in the hills, whether hunting deer or elk.

I would not sit on any group of does. Keep moving, looking at as many deer as possible, then circle back and repeat.

In most areas, there are lots of migration routes that different deer use and the real good ones are hard to identify until you have a lot of experience in a unit. It took me years to figure out one that I had a lot of success on. Once I found it, I was always there after a big storm. Always! It was the best spot in the unit. Of course eventually someone see's you there and after that you're sharing the spot with other people.

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The_Coloradoboy said:

Agreed, but I would say hang tough until those last 2 or 3 days of season after a lot of hunters have packed up and went home and the woods get quieter. That’s when those larger bucks will slip up late into the 3rd season. Seen it all time and time again in units all over the state

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WHT_MTNMAN said:

So I have hunted the unit a couple of times, and so I know some of the migration patterns. I guess I'm just trying to pick out places for mature bucks, not just big migration numbers.

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tracker12 said:

Well during the 3rd season rut and weather is starting. Doe will head to the migration areas and bucks will follow. Just need to know where the deer go in your unit once this starts.

Last year I hunted CO Unit 67 3rd. There was no snow, really no rut activity and the results were very few mature bucks seen. I talked to several experienced local hunters and a couple guides all searching for something to shoot with little results.

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Gadjet said:

Yep! It really sucks that we no longer have that second weekend in the third season.

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WHT_MTNMAN said:

So to piggy back on this issue. Let’s say you saw 10 bucks last year on the 3rd season that were not quite what you were looking for. On an average or normal year How many of those bucks make it through predation/winter and 1st and 2nd season this year and you may get to see 3rd season this year??

My guess would be probably 20-30% so maybe 2 or 3 would be back. Is that a fair assumption? Or am I way overestimating??

Couple bucks from last year.

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Founder said:

Buck survival depends on a few key factors. Tag numbers in the unit are crucial—fewer tags mean less hunting pressure and better odds for survival. The severity of winter also plays a role, with harsh winters leading to higher mortality.

Another important factor is where the bucks are during each hunt. Bucks that stay on private land or in hard-to-hunt areas are more likely to survive, especially if they move to private land later in the season. Those that spend more time in accessible areas face higher risks throughout the hunting seasons.

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