Hunting in the rain?
11-07-2003, 06:06 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Abilene Tx USA
Posts: 59
Hunting in the rain?
I have 2 questions.
1. It is going to be cold and rainy tomorrow and I plan on sitting all day. Will the rain effect the deer movement? What have been your experiences?
2. Since it is very overcast, will that effect the deer moving at night since it is a full moon.
Thanks
1. It is going to be cold and rainy tomorrow and I plan on sitting all day. Will the rain effect the deer movement? What have been your experiences?
2. Since it is very overcast, will that effect the deer moving at night since it is a full moon.
Thanks
11-07-2003, 06:11 AM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fredericksburg Virginia USA
Posts: 13,672
RE: Hunting in the rain?
Well I will cover deer movement in the rain, if it is a light rain or drizlle it will have little to no effect on them, if it is pouring they are going to bed up in the thickest cover they can find.
Hunting with a bow in the rain in my book is pretty iffy, I will only take what I consider to be an absolute slam dunk shot, because if it starts to rain hard or is raining hard the blood trial will wash away pretty quickly.
One of the best times to hunt is after a long period of hard rain or snow, they come off their beds within half an hour after it stops or slows considerably.
Hunting with a bow in the rain in my book is pretty iffy, I will only take what I consider to be an absolute slam dunk shot, because if it starts to rain hard or is raining hard the blood trial will wash away pretty quickly.
One of the best times to hunt is after a long period of hard rain or snow, they come off their beds within half an hour after it stops or slows considerably.
11-07-2003, 06:15 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: sardis ms USA
Posts: 561
RE: Hunting in the rain?
according to the http://www.texasoutdoorsjournal.com/...sh_tables.html
the best times tomorrow will be from 3pm til sunset.unless you are hunting at daylight at the entrance of a bedding area, my plans would be to hunt first 2 hours of daylight then back on stand at 2 til dark.
the best times tomorrow will be from 3pm til sunset.unless you are hunting at daylight at the entrance of a bedding area, my plans would be to hunt first 2 hours of daylight then back on stand at 2 til dark.
11-07-2003, 06:42 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Smyrna De USA
Posts: 175
RE: Hunting in the rain?
killed an 8pt last week in the rain, rained hard after i shot him, couldn' t keep on the blood trail but followed his tracks, found him three days later in a bean field, i don' t hunt in the rain any more.[:' (]
11-07-2003, 11:24 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,693
RE: Hunting in the rain?
Here' s my $.02 on both.
Rain: Agree with the others about hunting in the rain - yes, deer do move in the rain, but if you shoot them, now what without good blood because of washout, especially at night? Deer as we all know at times, are unpredictable. Yes, most of the time they won' t move much in heavy rain although, I' ve disproved that theory many times. The other day for example I went out at 10a to rebait the pile (I slept in and skipped the morning hunt because it was raining). It was raining so hard you couldn' t see 80 yards. (It was the only time I could get bait on the pile for the next few days so I had no choice but to suit up and go at it in the rain.) When I reached my pile, there were four deer feeding on it - all does, but still, live deer. The best time to hunt a storm of any kind - prior and right after, especially prior if you can pull it off. Deer have built in storm weather tracking gear and will go on a feeding nut prior to a storm (and the ones that were too busy goofing off not watching the weather channel feed in the rain apparently).
Moon: My experience leads me to believe that deer move later in the evening even when there is full cloud cover with a full moon. In MI, it' s going to be clear and full moon this weekend - that sucks.
Rain: Agree with the others about hunting in the rain - yes, deer do move in the rain, but if you shoot them, now what without good blood because of washout, especially at night? Deer as we all know at times, are unpredictable. Yes, most of the time they won' t move much in heavy rain although, I' ve disproved that theory many times. The other day for example I went out at 10a to rebait the pile (I slept in and skipped the morning hunt because it was raining). It was raining so hard you couldn' t see 80 yards. (It was the only time I could get bait on the pile for the next few days so I had no choice but to suit up and go at it in the rain.) When I reached my pile, there were four deer feeding on it - all does, but still, live deer. The best time to hunt a storm of any kind - prior and right after, especially prior if you can pull it off. Deer have built in storm weather tracking gear and will go on a feeding nut prior to a storm (and the ones that were too busy goofing off not watching the weather channel feed in the rain apparently).
Moon: My experience leads me to believe that deer move later in the evening even when there is full cloud cover with a full moon. In MI, it' s going to be clear and full moon this weekend - that sucks.
11-08-2003, 01:59 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Harford Co Maryland USA
Posts: 4,966
RE: Hunting in the rain?
Tazman is right on about what deer do given the amount of rain that is falling. On Wednesday morning, there was heavy fog and off and on light showers. I shot a doe at 6:35 am and wasn' t sure of the shot placement, so I waited. There was absolutely NO BLOOD TRAIL--not a single drop and I couldn' t find my arrow either. I had watched enough of where she ran and had done enough tracking that I found her in under 10 minutes. Be very sure of your shot and keep the distances closer than your usual max. But you can get deer during rain--especially if the rut is on.
11-08-2003, 04:34 PM
#7
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 24
RE: Hunting in the rain?
If I am around home I won' t hunt in the rain unless it is just a little drizzle. I never bowhunt in the rain because I feel I won' t be able to find the deer quick enough if I have to follow a blood trail because the rain will was it away. Just my thoughts.
Shane
Happy Trails
Shane
Happy Trails
