That is possible for sure. I would guess that they might stick to the thicker stuff more when it's nasty.
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Hunting in inclement mountain weather
- Thread starter HardlyHangin
- Start date
tree cutter 08
Senior Member
Number one thing in mountian hunting is you have to hunt where the deer are. Then you have to spend alot of time. To the point that you think deer don't even exist. Then when your ready to give up that means your getting close. You've got to hunt like it'd a job. Just going a few days here and there won't get it done.
C.Killmaster
Georgia Deer Biologist
Anyone considered that deer may also be easier to spot during dry calm days versus windy, wet days? Sure is easier to hear a faint rustle in the leaves when it's dry or pick out the slightest movement when it's calm and not windy. I think the weather effects hunters and their ability to kill deer far more than it effects deer movement.
Back40hunter
Senior Member
I’m getting soft in my old age. But those raw days will probably find me sitting in a ground blind. It knocks off a lot of that weather and I tend to hunt better when I am comfortable. If I am going way back in the mountains I will have my tree brella. Works pretty good. I have not hard near the success on heavy rain days. Blustery intermittent rain days are not too bad, especially if rutting is going on. You better be there if you want a chance at seeing a good one.
chrislibby88
Senior Member
100%. Sure helps when the air is still and cold, leaves are dry, and you can hear them from 50-100 yards away. Worst part about a wet and/or windy day is they can sneak right past you if you aren’t constantly watching 365.
I can give no mountain advice but movement is a lot more difficult to spot when everything out there is moving. I have long been a sight hunter for deer as my hearing has been toast for many years. I migt smell one before I hear him.
Yes. Definitely. The population is really low in the big woods, and they travel a whole lot further instead of staying in small areas like they do in good habitat in the flatlands. You can sit somewhere for a week and not see a thing, and then, all of a sudden, one day, there they are.
tree cutter 08
Senior Member
Staying home when the weather is bad is probably the best thing you can do. We usually average around what I consider 5 really good days from mid November to Christmas that are perfect mornings. You can pretty much bank on those days you will kill or see a good one if your in the right spot. 20s, frosty, sunshine and high pressure are the days. I hunt almost everyday from mid November to Christmas and have for years so I can definitely see that pattern holds true. Probably 75 percent of what I've killed has come from those mornings. But I just love to be out there so I still go every chance I get.
Maybe, but I also think that deer don't like being wet and miserable any more than we do, or our dogs or cats. I also think the wind makes them nervous when everything is constantly moving. I think they mostly bed down until they just have to get up to feed. It's funny that I start seeing them just fine in the wet woods as soon as it quits pouring rain.
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menhadenman
Senior Member
North GA (Blairsville) gets over 50” of rain each year. Hard to imagine but that’s a lot more that “rainy” cities like Seattle. Not hunting when it’s raining is going to really cut back on my chances to be in the woods. I just go if I get the chance regardless of weather.
Besides, getting wet and cold a few miles from the road sure beats working or getting barked at by the misses
Besides, getting wet and cold a few miles from the road sure beats working or getting barked at by the misses
ddd-shooter
Senior Member
When I first took my wife hunting 15 years ago, I told her there are only a few mornings that I call “killing mornings”
If you want to hunt the mountains, you need to be in the woods on those days. Unfortunately, they often hit during the workweek, lol So I go every chance I can all season long. The older I get, the fewer bad weather days I go. When I was younger, it didn’t matter the weather. I was hunting every chance
Wind is the most dangerous up here, especially for falling tops
Dan DeBord
Senior Member
Ole timmer from Suches told me years ago be early in them high gaps on them blue bird mornings .
HardlyHangin
Senior Member
Thats about where im at. Only day during the week i can go is saturday unless i can off from work.
Great feedback everyone, i appreciate the perspectives.
WOODIE13
2023 TURKEY CHALLENGE 1st place Team
We would still hunt @ cliffs during the rain and wind, saw a lot, killed a few. Key is seeing them, add a little fog and it's nearly impossible. Started using binos, helps a lot.
Bedded or in the middle of an open area, spooky as can be. They like roads too, came close to hitting who knows how many with my truck.
Definitely can't kill them on the couch though.
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kevin17
Senior Member
The fog in the mountains is definitely tough. It just sticks to the top of the true mountains this time of the year. Closing in at times where you might only see 15 yards radius around you. Then throw in the wind that constantly blows in the mountains makes it really hard to see a deer especially seeing a mature buck. Sure you can’t kill one at home in this kind of weather but you might spook him and not even know it in the fog. I have always went on to work on foggy days and saved my vacation days for a day I’m not sitting in the fog.
blackbear
Senior Member
Foggy & misty yes It's always been my favorite time to hunt. You can slip around and not make a sound.
cliffdweller
Senior Member
Man, that is the daggum truth
6lbSledge
Member
After the leaves drop and it’s super crunchy I specifically target windy and/or rainy days and cover ground quietly with the wind in my face. These have been by far the best days for me. Evens the playing field on sound and allows you to get away with some movement. Watched two different bucks, one at 8:30am within 30 yds on the ground, no clue I was there, then another with a doe around noon. I think they were up on their feet because of the weather. Hunted 3 rainy days and two clear days in the same piece of FS in November this year and saw far more deer (5, 7, 8) the rainy days than the clear (1, 2, these were all bedded and bounced). High wind last year I was able to see and stalk multiple bears and pigs in a 3 day windy stretch with my longbow and hand amazing encounters within bow range- WAY more than I had the rest of the year. Y’all stay home when it’s wet and windy…
Buckman18
Senior Member
The weather in the fall is almost NEVER what most hunters call 'ideal' in the mountains, especially on the high ridges. Even when winds are forecasted at 6-10mph in town, the winds are constantly pouring over ridges and through gaps and a much higher rate, and often with no break.
The deer live in it 24/7/365, and live their lives accordingly. Most of the hunters perception of deer not moving in windy mountain weather is false. Just hunt...
Always have a beanie for your head and ears, gloves for your hands, and something to snack on and prepare to be physically and mentally challenged.
I killed this one a couple weeks ago in very strong winds, a constant mist and sleet, fog rolling in and out all morning. 10 minutes of 'can't see,' followed by sun and repeat. Up high near the AT.
The deer live in it 24/7/365, and live their lives accordingly. Most of the hunters perception of deer not moving in windy mountain weather is false. Just hunt...
Always have a beanie for your head and ears, gloves for your hands, and something to snack on and prepare to be physically and mentally challenged.
I killed this one a couple weeks ago in very strong winds, a constant mist and sleet, fog rolling in and out all morning. 10 minutes of 'can't see,' followed by sun and repeat. Up high near the AT.
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