Hunting in inclement mountain weather

[HardlyHangin]

I know you cant killem from the couch. But- what do you guys do when its nasty like this? I hate wasting days at camp when im on pto but I went out today and these conditions really crush moral. Windy, rainy, damp, gross. I was hunting some scrapes hoping they would come freshen them up after the rain. Hunted from 10-2 and slip hunted my way back to the truck when i got unbearably cold.

Thoughts?

 

[basshappy]

@HardlyHangin most mature deer will bed down when winds are strong and swirling around. Safety in staying still. Too difficult to hear predators in that wind.

The rain / fog gives advantage to the deer. Keeps nose moist allowing better scenting. Also striking against you as it keeps your scent down on the ground.

In the conditions you described I would not hunt scrapes even in rut. I would hunt bedding areas to see if I could slip in and catch one on its bed. Roll every step, one step every 20-40 seconds, moving so slow you laugh at how long it took you to move 10 yards, pause for a few minutes every 10-15 feet, etc.

 

[1eyefishing]

Ya, I hate even getting my rifle and gear soaked in conditions like that, and I dont really recall much success in such, either.
I agree w BassHappy's advice except that in the mtns (for me anyway) knowing of a specific bedding area (could be any inpenetrable laurel thicket or unwalkable steep/rocky terrain) and actully being able to get in there and hunt it are tall orders.
I need every advantage I can get and those ain't it. At 65, my hunting is often limited by where I CAN hunt...

Speakin of riffles OP, that looks like a sweet Tikka?

 

[tree cutter 08]

I hate raw days like today but they produce if you can stand it. Killed one of my best deer on a day like today. Son killed a big one today off the bed. It's the rut so anything can happen at anytime.

 

[HardlyHangin]

I hate raw days like today but they produce if you can stand it. Killed one of my best deer on a day like today. Son killed a big one today off the bed. It's the rut so anything can happen at anytime.

Walk me through strategy for days like today- like whats the story behind that particular deer you mentioned

 

[Professor]

In the rut I hunt. If a doe is hot the weather won’t stop them. I find does and set up with wind near where they are feeding.

 

[antharper]

Walk me through strategy for days like today- like whats the story behind that particular deer you mentioned

Them 2 boys of his are just some mountain deer killers !

 

[whitetailfreak]

I'll usually stretch a small 6x8 tarp lean to style and use a Cabela's gobbler lounger on a rainy day. Some of my best naps....I mean bucks have come on these type days.

 

[C.Killmaster]

@HardlyHangin most mature deer will bed down when winds are strong and swirling around. Safety in staying still. Too difficult to hear predators in that wind.

The rain / fog gives advantage to the deer. Keeps nose moist allowing better scenting. Also striking against you as it keeps your scent down on the ground.

In the conditions you described I would not hunt scrapes even in rut. I would hunt bedding areas to see if I could slip in and catch one on its bed. Roll every step, one step every 20-40 seconds, moving so slow you laugh at how long it took you to move 10 yards, pause for a few minutes every 10-15 feet, etc.

Data from GPS-collared deer don't really support this notion that they don't move during crappy weather. What it does do is keep a lot of hunters out of the woods and reduces visibility, but it doesn't mean that all mature bucks are bedded down for the day. Deer have to move to eat and they have to eat every day.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I know you cant killem from the couch. But- what do you guys do when its nasty like this? I hate wasting days at camp when im on pto but I went out today and these conditions really crush moral. Windy, rainy, damp, gross. I was hunting some scrapes hoping they would come freshen them up after the rain. Hunted from 10-2 and slip hunted my way back to the truck when i got unbearably cold. View attachment 1271315

Thoughts?

I did the same as you-sat out there and was wet, cold, and miserable, with no results. But, sometimes, there are results. You have to be out there to kill one. Mountain hunting with low populations is mostly a game of time.

 

[HardlyHangin]

Great replies- thanks guys

 

[basshappy]

Data from GPS-collared deer don't really support this notion that they don't move during crappy weather. What it does do is keep a lot of hunters out of the woods and reduces visibility, but it doesn't mean that all mature bucks are bedded down for the day. Deer have to move to eat and they have to eat every day.

I've read both - movement versus bed down - from academia research and hunters who have authored books. Perhaps the variables influencing the herd are key? This one paper was interesting for deer movement during Hurricane Irma;

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2230

 

[NCHillbilly]

I've read the gps movement studies, but my personal observations from my own eyes over half a century of sitting in the woods have told me that I almost never see deer when it's really windy or when it's pouring rain. And I've spent plenty of miserable days out there over the years looking.

 

[KentuckyHeadhunter]

I don't mind getting my rifle and gear soaked. Rain, even heavy rain, is fine. I just don't like when it's combined with high winds. Animals have to move to feed and get water regardless. Being in the right place and right time is just based on probability. After all, "luck" is just probability that is taken personally.

 

[splatek]

Ok given my background, I’m curious about the human psychology involved. Weather like this are we expecting not to see anything bc we’re miserable and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, so to speak. I know personally (don’t take advice from me bc I’m knew and not a great hunter) I hunt, fish, play with the kids, etc differently on a crappy day compared to a wonderful day. And my confidence in the woods changes. I think a small part of it might be that change in human psyche perhaps alters our perception to see things maybe we didn’t, to walk out sooner than we would, etc. I’ve heard/read somewhere that the best deer killers are the most confident and I know from my limited experience and meticulous hunting journal data, that on days I felt absolutely confident, my sightings were 4 times the days I was just out there.

Just my two cents from the wonderful world of neuroscience.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Ok given my background, I’m curious about the human psychology involved. Weather like this are we expecting not to see anything bc we’re miserable and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, so to speak. I know personally (don’t take advice from me bc I’m knew and not a great hunter) I hunt, fish, play with the kids, etc differently on a crappy day compared to a wonderful day. And my confidence in the woods changes. I think a small part of it might be that change in human psyche perhaps alters our perception to see things maybe we didn’t, to walk out sooner than we would, etc. I’ve heard/read somewhere that the best deer killers are the most confident and I know from my limited experience and meticulous hunting journal data, that on days I felt absolutely confident, my sightings were 4 times the days I was just out there.

Just my two cents from the wonderful world of neuroscience.

I don’t know about the effects of psychology on deer, but I do know that I usually see lots of deer moving on still, frosty mornings, but usually never see deer in the same places if it’s windy or raining hard, using the same hunting method and the same eyeballs. Can’t be all in my head. Right after it stops raining has always been a good time for me.
I also think you can’t see deer unless you’re out there hunting.

 

[chrislibby88]

I killed a good 3.5 y/o 6 point on a foggy soggy day between 9 and 10am. Watched a large fog bank roll up my mountain and envelope the ridge point I was on. The buck appeared out of the fog minutes later. This was in my honey hole that reliably produces every year, no matter the weather. I regularly see bucks and does there. Bears and turkeys too. And best of all, rarely other hunters. Close to the road too. Guess it’s just overlooked.
Most of that hunt was rainy. Shot my best mountain buck three days later on a super windy cold morning after the rain blew out. He was crossing a saddle that I was dropping into.

 

[Joe Brandon]

I know you cant killem from the couch. But- what do you guys do when its nasty like this? I hate wasting days at camp when im on pto but I went out today and these conditions really crush moral. Windy, rainy, damp, gross. I was hunting some scrapes hoping they would come freshen them up after the rain. Hunted from 10-2 and slip hunted my way back to the truck when i got unbearably cold. View attachment 1271315

Thoughts?

Love that Bergara!!!!!!

 

[basshappy]

Ok given my background, I’m curious about the human psychology involved. Weather like this are we expecting not to see anything bc we’re miserable and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, so to speak. I know personally (don’t take advice from me bc I’m knew and not a great hunter) I hunt, fish, play with the kids, etc differently on a crappy day compared to a wonderful day. And my confidence in the woods changes. I think a small part of it might be that change in human psyche perhaps alters our perception to see things maybe we didn’t, to walk out sooner than we would, etc. I’ve heard/read somewhere that the best deer killers are the most confident and I know from my limited experience and meticulous hunting journal data, that on days I felt absolutely confident, my sightings were 4 times the days I was just out there.

Just my two cents from the wonderful world of neuroscience.

Attitude directs action!

I've hunted in warm and cold, dry and wet, still and windy. I don't mind the weather. I see more deer in dry, calm conditions than wet and windy. I prefer cold over warm.

I think deer are very individual creatures within their family group and herd, and there is no blanket that applies to all. Deer have been harvested under most weather conditions. Key is the hunter needed to be present to make the kill.

 

[sportsman94]

I don’t know about the effects of psychology on deer, but I do know that I usually see lots of deer moving on still, frosty mornings, but usually never see deer in the same places if it’s windy or raining hard, using the same hunting method and the same eyeballs. Can’t be all in my head. Right after it stops raining has always been a good time for me.
I also think you can’t see deer unless you’re out there hunting.

Makes me wonder if they use areas/landscape a little different in high winds/rain. Maybe the areas you generally sit are more likely to be used in good weather rather than inclement weather. I nerd out on that stuff, but I also don’t have great luck in bad weather. Since my time is fairly limited I try to stay home and take care of chores during those bad weather spells here in the flat land