Many hunters believe the best opportunities for seeing deer on the move occur on crisp, cool mornings and evenings. But do weather patterns really have an effect on the animals? Research out of Mississippi State University shows the impact is not very great.
Researchers studied 32 deer across 3,000 acres within the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Wildlife Unit in Oklahoma. High-tech collars on the animals showed how the weather might affect movement.
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Big temperature drops and high barometer readings didn’t cause a big deer movement according to the research. According to this research study, deer movement revolved around the time of year, rather than changes in weather conditions.
There was little evidence that weather was having an influence on deer movements. “Deviations from normal seasonal weather conditions did not reveal consistent patterns or changes in movement.” Scientists also noted, “moon phase had no noticeable influence on the movement.”
While temperature variation slightly affected deer movements, barometric pressure, precipitation, and moon phase did not have any notable impacts.
The study claims: While female deer moved less during summer than other seasons, during the summer, they moved greater distances at times with normal to high temperatures and less when temperatures were coolest.
Males in the winter moved more when temperatures were lowest. Bucks may have moved more during winter evenings when temperatures were reduced, in preparation for further drops in temperature during the night
The perceived increase in activity during the colder month is likely due to the coincidence with the breeding cycle. During the breeding, period bucks increase their daily movement patterns 20%.
Most hunters in the field will disagree with the findings based on their experience of seeing more deer on the run after temperatures drop 10 or more degrees.