Late Season South Facing Slopes

[BKMississippi]

My cousin and I are making our Midwest trip in December rather than November like we usually do. I've been mapping really hard trying to find possible bedding locations, then checking to see where they are in relation to the known food. I know deer like to bed on points with the wind blowing over their backs, but I've always heard about south facing slopes in the winter. If there's a steep ridge that runs east to west, will deer still bed there if the wind isn't blowing over their backs? Or is a case of when it's bitter cold outside and they are bedding on the south facing slope, is it because the wind is more than likely out of the north? Sorry for being so wordy.

It's a pretty big public tract that, to me, seems like there's a lot of opportunity for stand placement, but by the time you account for each wind direction and food, it narrows it down a good bit.

Thanks

[mauser06]

South facing slopes allow for a little bit of warmth/sunshine which also equates to less snow typically because the sun burns it off quicker. I find herds often on southern slopes especially when the snow is a lot lighter than the rest of the area.

I'm jogging my mind and I can't think of any mature bucks we've found in such scenarios. Bitter cold/windy winter days we often find the entire herd there or in a ditch out of the wind..but I don't recall ever finding mature bucks with the herd or in such places. Maybe a coincidence.

We do a lot of small pushes in rifle and flintlock season.

I don't ever recall seeing a mature buck running with the herd. Either other mature bucks or they are alone.

Last winter my buddy was circling a hill for me. Herd of doe came by from the bottom. I wasn't too interested in shooting a doe that day. I see deer coming back around from near the top. Interestingly enough I was right around top 1/3rd elevation....figured they were going to be the same doe coming back.

There I sit with a flintlock basically on my lap. A deer runs to about 20yds. I realize I'm a big dummy and that is a decent buck. I hear more coming and look behind him and 3 or 4 other buck are running right at me. I picked out what I saw as the biggest body and rack. He froze 30yds away and I killed him. He'd been a 20" wide 8 point had he not snapped a main beam a few inches above the base. Not much for times but good mass and built like a bull.


I can tell several similar stories. I'm somewhat convinced... at least here..mature buck are mostly a solitary animal. Only exception is when they are with other bucks.

Not sure I'm any help but some of my observations anyway.

[pewpewpew]

I’ve also heard this.

I’ve scouted after a fresh snow (coldest days of the winter) and found a good deal of beds on shaded north slopes. Who knows?

[Lu Rome]

I really think it varies and I think a lot of that variation is due to the moisture regime of where you're at. Deer are built to handle all but the most brutal of conditions out there. I think moisture plays a role because of the resulting vegetation and habitat (this can vary locally as well). If you get a lot of moisture, the north facing slope understory tends to be quite open with a tall tree canopy and the south tends to be thicker because it receives more sunlight. In places of limited moisture, the south facing slopes are more open and the north have denser vegetation (and better browse) because the sun bakes the moisture out of the soil on the south facing. It comes down to what bucks are going to select for, security, food, cover, etc.

[brancher147]

If there is deep snow or it is bitter cold, and a bright sunny day, I have seen lots of deer on south slopes. Also after a long snow cover, the south slopes will be the first to melt and deer will flock to them, the steeper the better. Other than that I have seen no correlation between south slopes and deer late season.

[matt1336]

If it’s cold and sunny= south facing slopes

If it’s cold and windy=leeward slope

IMO they need to survive and the biggest factor that’s keeping them well is conserving energy when it’s really cold. So you’ll find the deer where they need to be to conserve energy.

I like cold and windy weather when I’m hunting. It really narrows down where the deer are going to be. I’ve killed and pushed a lot of deer from locations “where I’d like to hide in this crappy weather”.....out of the wind and in the sun.