Hunting in the rain
 

Last year I lost a nice buck in the rain.
I thought it was a good hit.but 10 min after
the shot it started to rain,hard rain
I waited 1 hour and got down and found no blood
looked every where 6 to 7 hours.I took off
work the next day and no deer.

now this year I find myself not hunting in the rain.
It's allways in the back of my head.
what do you guys do??????
and do you track sooner then if it's not raining?

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

If it starts to rain and it not to hard I will stay and hunt but only shoot 20 yards max becouse i know i will not mess up that shoot. But in your case it still depends on the hit, but you can slip alot better in the woods when it is raining so may be able to get down
look for the deer and get a second shot in it. I have done that before.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Thanks P-Tone


I guess no one else hunt's in the rain

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I lost one in the rain last year during bow but i had a gut shot and every time we got close she would run. So we went back the next day and never found her but yes I would hunt in the rain again cause if you got a good shot the deer won't run to far just give about an hour or so as long as you know what direction the deer ran you will find it

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

i hunt in the rain,see most of my deer than. if the shot is good start trailing,,,,slooowly. good luck !

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I like hunting in the rain, as for tracking I agree with Xcel 100%

[Deleted]
 

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RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I will not go out if its raining steady. One I don't like all my gear to get soaked, two the woods is to quiet and you can never hear deer approaching and three no blood trail!!!!!!

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I'll stay in the stand if it starts to rain as long as it's not a hard rain. My best hunts have been either right before or right after a good storm.

"Nocked,cocked & ready to rock"

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I like to stalk in the rain. The ground is quiet and the rain is loud. I have shot 1 buck, 1 doe this way. And as you know a successful stalk is very rewarding.







Edited by - bullseye76 on 10/11/2002 00:01:31

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

All good advice, I will hunt but as many have already stated, I'll only take "sure, close shots" if there is such a thing...lol...

Good Luck All....Fletch

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I have seen alot of deer in steady rain, hunt in it but make a good careful shot give him 20 min to a half hour IF IT'S A GOOD SHOT and go get him.<font color=green></font id=green>

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Fellow Bowhunter,

I lost a button buck in early season due too an approaching thunderstorm (early season) and a marginal hit. By this I mean that my arrow was buried up to the fletchings throught the front should from an elevated position. This meant that the arrow didn't penetrate the lower portion of the deers body? Anyhow, no blood and 85 degree weather plus two days of looking for it. Made me sick, I found it on the third day with the help of my lab about 60 yards in the opposite direction of her initial travel? I'm like you with the rain but I love to stalk em, try just high percentage shots, double lungs or heart under twenty yards. Don't worry too much, something else in the food chain benefited from your loss!

Good luck and straight shootin
Air Master

P.S. I&quot;m also and National Archery Assoc. Instructor so we all have a bit of bad luck occasionally!

Sean P. McNierney
Berea, KY

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I like hunting in the rain. Although I hate getting my gear soaked, there are alot of deer moving in this area during rain storms it seems. Any how I bought one of those screw in umbrellas to cover my stand, in fact it came in handy today here in MD. In my opinion the pro's out weigh the con's

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

If it's a lite rain i might stay in the stand other wise i get down and stalk, I have been very succesfull stalkin and with it raining it kinda put's the odd's in my favor,it's more quite and thier smell defense is limited

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Don't like what I'm reading here. Only sure close shots in the rain? Does that open the door for far sloppy ones when it's not raining.

Learn how to track a critter and hunt.

If you hunt from a stand, use a String Tracker when it rains. If you are stalking, forget the tracker just learn how to follow a hit critter.

~Will Hunt For Food~

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I like hunting in the rain too, just so long as it isn't a heavy downpour. I do not mind getting soaked, although the thought of drying my equipment later is a chore that must be done. Hunting in a fine drizzle makes for quieter stalking, BUT you must use your eyes more because you will never hear a deer approach.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I will be hunting in rain tommorrow<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>. I don't like it, darn deer always sneek up on me in the rain, you can't hear them comming. I am always on edge, the stuff I hunt is thick and more than one time I have had a buck come closer than 20 yds before I knew he was there.

Heck, I guess that ain't so bad<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I'm a foul weather freak.. cold, rainy, blustery... Mother Nature just throwing everything at ya. I sometimes just throw back my head raise my arms and say &quot;Come on... sock it to me&quot;.
BUT, I don't like bowhunting in the rain. Drizzle, spitting and stuff like that OK, but hard rain I don't like. I shorten my maximum shot distance to less than 25 yards and stick with it. Really I prefer less than 20 in the rain. 20 and under I consider &quot;SLAM DUNK&quot; stuff and know I can make a killing shot that I can find a deer without blood. Will probably see it fall a lot of the time. Where as in sunny or non rain days I'll take 30-35 yard shots without hesitation if I think that's the best I'll get.

I throw on the goretex, put a baggy over my feathers and go hunting if I'm away from home. If at home I'll probably just wait until it clears and see if I can be there the minute it does.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I would start tracking alot sooner... In the rain you can be much more quite and just take you time and be real slow and glass out in front of you as much as possible... If you really take you time you should be able to get within view of the deer without jumping him... But that is the chance you are going to have to take...

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Rain will never stop me from hunting, only high winds will. Depending on the type of rain it is and what is being forcasted, I may limit my shot selection.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

THANKS GUYS.
I thick I'LL try the rain again but this time,
20 min. and i'll be tracking.

as far as the string tracker,is it just me
or does anyone else have trouble,my bow will shoot
4 inches low with it on...... at 25 yards.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

can't shoot em if you're not in the woods!!!!! let in rain, snow, hail, whatever..... it's hunting!! I agree with cyclone though. Take a more sure shot??? Every shot should be the same percentage (100%) that you will kill that animal.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I can see the logic in sticking with a closer shot in the rain. Alot of people might be great shots out to 40 yards , but in bowhunting nothing is a gimme.

Any of you guys have good luck when it's really windy? I dont! Whenever it's really windy , they dont show up till dark and if I go in the morning they bed down early.

&quot;Nocked,cocked & ready to rock&quot;

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I just can't hunt in the rain with the posibility of loosing the animal because the blood trail gets washed away. I will get into the woods as aoon as it starts to clear. If it starts to rain while I am out in the field I will hide under a tree and wait for a while. Even an animal the size of an elk is very hard to find when ther down on the ground, they blend in just so well. This year I lost 5 days of the elk season due to rain.

PICK-A-SPOT
MARK

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I love to hunt in the rain. I don`t like a real hard downpour, but they usually don`t last that long. Like most others, I shorten my max range considerably in the rain due to the effects that wet arrows, and shooting through rain can cause. Most of my stand locations only offer 10-20 yard shots anyhow.

Bowfanatic, I have never had any luck on extremely windy days either, but a friend of mine sure has.
November 14, 2000 in pike co., Illinois, the wind was blowing 40-45mph when we got up to hunt so I went back to bed.(pretty easy to do since I already had a P&Y hanging)Anyway, my buddy hung in there(literally) until 10:30am when he shot a 152&quot; buck. I guess when the rut is on, the deer don`t care about the wind!

NRA,UBP,BASS Member
New Stanton,PA

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Have killed some nice deer in rain, especially in a thunderstorm. As for hearing the deer???? I almost never hear them coming. I remember once hunting with my treestand leaned against a tree that was at the edge of a HEAVY briar thicket. I saw a nice buck off to the right. He worked around and was coming behind me through, you guessed it, that HEAVY briar thicket. Had I not seen him I sure would not have heard him in the thicket.

Hey, size may not matter but it sure IS nice!

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I like to hunt in the rain I feel I have a better chance at a good shot then. I will get down and track soon after I shoot,Track slow and steady some times you can walk up on one that has laid down for the final kill shot if need be.Practice and Be SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

Hunt in the rain. BUT should you somehow screw up, and gut shoot a deer, DO NOT follow it. A gut shot deer, if not pushed will usually bed several times, and expire within 200 yds of the shot - within 6-10 hours. Even with no blood at all you are better off not following it, and taking your chances. A gut shot deer can go for miles if pushed, its septic shock that kills it, not blood loss.

I definitely do not condone bad shot selection, but should it happen -please follow this advice.

RE: Hunting in the rain
 

I have my back up bow set up with a string tracker for hunting rainy days.
Muzzy 125, 4&quot;low sounds about right. Luckily for me I am dead at twenty using my 30 yard pin when using the string tracker. So I just keep the shots to within 20 yards and use my 30 yard pin.- This is my plan of attack since I've never shot one while using this set up. But, I will not hunt in the rain without it after loosing a deer to the rain some five years ago.