Author Topic: Bad Weather Deer Hunting Tip  (Read 1568 times)

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Offline WNY_Whitetailer

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Bad Weather Deer Hunting Tip
« on: April 23, 2004, 06:45:57 PM »
I received this tip from Buckmasters in my e-mail today...

Turn Bad Weather To Your Advantage
 
It's 3:30 a.m. and the alarm goes off.  You're tired, but visions of a big buck help you sit up and rub your eyes.  Then you hear it -- howling winds and maybe even the dreaded patter of rain on the roof.

Many of us at this point decide it's not worth the trouble and lay back down to blissful slumber.  But that could be a big mistake.

Deer are just like us when it comes to bad weather -- they avoid as much as possible.  If you have hunted the same area for any length of time, you probably know of several sheltered depressions, benches or thickets -- these can be deer hotspots in bad weather.

While going out and sitting on your favorite stand in pouring rain all day is miserable and probably unproductive, consider making stalks to your property's natural weather shelters.  You can make a short day of your hunt since you'll probably be cold and wet, but your odds of seeing deer are good -- especially when you compare them to the odds of taking your trophy buck from your bed!
Patience comes with age and You can't teach common sense

Offline Dave in WV

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Bad Weather Deer Hunting Tip
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2004, 04:23:19 AM »
Yup, that's true. It's also true they will stay in that cover for most of the day and near it the rest. I'd reset the alarm for 05:30.    :grin:
Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means
--Albert Einstein

Offline huntsman

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Bad Weather Deer Hunting Tip
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2004, 05:32:10 AM »
In my experience, neither rain nor high wind will keep deer from moving. The movement isn't always in sync with the "normal" pattern (i.e., in high wind, deer often run from one place to another unpredictably rather than move steadily along in established patterns), but deer will move nonetheless. In fact, I have probably seen more deer on average on rainy days than in any other weather. The second-best buck I ever killed (154 B&C 12-pointer) was on a windy day with occasional showers. I made myself get back in the stand after an hour lunch break, and at 2:15 pm he came in following a big old doe.

It also helps to be equipped to stay out there when it gets messy. That's one reason I have become mostly a ground blind hunter. The more comfortable I am, the longer I can stay put, and the better chances I have of seeing deer. Stillhunting works best for me in windy, but not rainy, weather. Wet gun, hands, and gear seems to be almost an equal disadvantage for me as the advantage from the cover of wet terrain. Plus, as I said, deer seem to move more in rainy weather anyway, so I am better off sitting.

If I wake up to rain or high wind, I am even more motivated to get out there because I know my chances might actually increase.
There is no more humbling experience for man than to be fully immersed in nature's artistry.

Offline Dave in WV

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Bad Weather Deer Hunting Tip
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2004, 06:09:26 AM »
Huntsman, good points all. The rut is usually over before our gun season starts. The rut will get the bucks out and moving. My experience in high wind is most deer stay put since they are more vulnerable and know it. Rain seems to get them out and moving early in the afternoon. Where I hunt food and bedding areas are close so the deer won't move far. Hunting the head of deep hollows and other sheltered areas seem more productive than taking stand in the usual places we hunt. Dave
Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means
--Albert Einstein