I thought it might be interesting to see some of the reasons you might not hunt on any give day. Wind, rain, snow, etc?
Work.
For deer I don't do heavy rain. I hate high winds but still hunt them. I love snow but the first day after a heavy one is usually useless.
I will duck hunt in anything.
Rob
Only ones for me are rain. I see plenty of deer just scared of not finding one after the hit. Love hunting in a morning fog and snow
Very windy days... I don't enjoy it, so why be out in it? I do like light rain though. As the Rob indicated... the day after a snow is so cool, but usually not much action right after the snow. At least that has been my experience. Deer seem to be a bit intimidated on that first snow of the season around here. Takes them a bit to get out and about.
This season I plan on trying to not hunt Sunday mornings and keep my hiney in church! I tend to slip a bit in the hunting season and skip Sunday mornings where I should be.
Even if I don't make it in to church, I tend to not hunt on Sunday. It's personal, and don't judge those who do.
I will however if I'm out of town hunting. As far as wind and weather I hunt in all of it if I have the time off. I stop when it stops being fun.
I will pass on rain (non-existent blood trails)and high winds (non-existent deer). I try to schedule my time off to coincide with quarter and new moons, except the full moon during the rut, which is a great time. Having said all that, a day spent hunting the worst of these conditions beats the heck out of one spent at work during the best! :bigsmyl:
QuoteOriginally posted by S. Brant Osborn:
Even if I don't make it in to church, I tend to not hunt on Sunday. It's personal, and don't judge those who do.
I will however if I'm out of town hunting. As far as wind and weather I hunt in all of it if I have the time off. I stop when it stops being fun.
Well said.....
I hunt any day I can, only time I am not out is if it is pouring down rain.
I don't like to hunt in the rain so if the forecast calls for a high percentage of rain, I don't go that day.
On the days with a low percentage of rain, I do check the weather radar on the internet "before" I leave the house.
For me its work or really heavy rain.
Normally, high winds and heavy rain keep me from going out.
School, work, and church will have priority over hunting. I will occasionally hunt on a Sunday, if it is the only day I get to hunt with my Grandpa. (school is a nebulous one though...on a day with no real classes I will get out of dodge if conditions are favorable)
really heavy heavy rain or thunderstorms.....
heavy rain for me don't like it!
Fridays, Saturdays, and Holidays, because I hunt on public lands and there's a lot of folks out there during those times.
Depends on the weapon. With a rifle, I'll hunt in any conditions.
But in archery? I won't bother in excessive heat because of spoilage concerns. I also won't bowhunt in heavy rain due to tracking concerns.
In the upper Great Lakes, we often get annual winds that are called the "Gales of November". Many may know that term from the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
But the gales are not unique to that event. The worst damage was done in a 1913 Gale, where 19 ships were sunk and another 19 were run aground. That storm produced 90mph winds and 35 foot waves on the Great Lakes. A Cat 1 hurricane starts at 74mph.
In early 2010, I'd planned a 5 day hunt for late October. Having planned my hunt dates months in advance, you can guess what happened during those days. The Gales blew early.
Here's a headline from my hunt period...
A gale for the recordbooks
October 29, 2010
It was a gale for the recordbooks.
Northern Michigan felt the wrath of Mother Nature Tuesday, Wednesday and into Thursday as dual weather systems blew in and blew out of the region, bringing with them ferocious winds which tore off roofs, downed trees and snapped power poles.
Some of those winds touched Category 1 hurricane range, as wind gusts clocked at 78 mph at the Mackinac Bridge.
Oddly enough, I since those were the days for that hunt, I went out and sat for about 2 hours each evening, far away from any big tree's. I sat in some small, thick row pines, safe from falling trees and limbs.
But it was a total joke and I was openly laughing to myself when the wind really had a big gust. I saw zero living creatures during 4 day "vacation".
I went out mainly because it was a break from home, 4 young kids, the rat race, etc. But again, it was a joke at that point.
Here's a news clip from one of my hunt days...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWz1sOcSzWE&feature=relmfu
Here's the winds on the last day of my hunt...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsV4C1nsYGE
heavy rain and i..... HATE!!!!!!!! high winds!!
Heavy rain. While I don't mind getting wet I am concerned that I will loose a deer because of not be able to follow the trail.
When I have to work.
Heavy rains. I dont mind wind, but I have to change up my methods abit.
I'm not to excited about going out in the rain. Then there are those days when I'm expected to be at work and of course the state doesn't let me hunt on Sunday. Other than that there isn't much keeping me out of the woods.
My favorite time is during a heavy windless snow. Everyone beats feet outta the woods and I got the place to myself. It gets so quiet you can hear your heart beat...NICE!
Hard rain, high wind, blizzards, days that I have trouble walking much, and the opening weekend of the early muzzle loader season,(the newer style guns have drawn in a different cat to that season around here).
Rainy days or days when rain is expected. I have lost a couple deer because rain washed away the bloodtrails and I am still bothered by them. It's not that I mind getting wet. I often do a little quiet scouting in the rain. It's also a good time to move a stand or make a couple natural blinds.
Work!!! I love hunting in the rain best time to be hunting. Its even better just as the rain stops. Im not a big fan of strong winds but I still hunt in it.
Work or heavy rain.. Love hunting in the snow which is rare here in Arkansas
When the season is closed. Other than that I'll be hunting at some point every day, birds or deer.
Heavy rain. Too much risk of losing a blood trail.
I echo all those that said rain. Wind is a bummer but not a deal breaker - unless it's accompanied by a storm.
I don't hunt Sundays - like Brant I don't judge those who do and if I were out of town on a hunt I probably would as well - but when I'm home that day is reserved for church and family.
I don't hunt snow, we have so little here that the deer just tend to bed and ride it out.
I don't hunt the rifle opener and I don't hunt public land on weekends. Life is too precious ... and there's just something about being in an idiot's crosshairs that sucks all the joy out of the hunt.
I don't usually hunt Thanksgiving or Christmas anymore - too much more important stuff (yeah, I said it :D ) going on. One day my kids will be gone and my older relatives will be dead - I'll hunt holiday's then.
God, family, then hunting - when I keep it in that order I get to enjoy it all without regret or reservation.
Inconvenient (for me) access to hunting grounds has made me a backyard shooter during the hunting seasons for the last 4 years.
I only hunt on days that end in "y"!!!!
I do not like heavy wind or rain, but my hunting days are so limited I go when I can.
Heavy rains about the only stopper for me, I'm fortunate enough to have multiple areas to cover any wind direction. I truly love hunting in a light rain though!
Already said - but Sunday's are generally out for me. NOT judgemntal for those who do - i always seem to have top prayer time in the solitude of the woods but i worhsip and spend time with my wife, little girl and son (due Nov 25 this year) on Sundays.
with weater - wrong wind for stands i have hanging OR high wind (outside the rut) - we tend to have plenty of days here in bama that are still as a tomb - thereofre i lay off the kite-flying days
mg
Sunday afternoons to me are sacred for family dinner with my adult children.Other than that I am good to go.
Rain and high winds. Now due to health issues cold is sometimes a show stopper. I do NOTHING in a thunderstorm.
No sunday's, no Christmas day's, usually spend those with grand baby's, never ever even think about hunting on our anniversary, and won't archery hunt in the rain, unless I get caught in a storm.
Like most of you who have commented, I also won't hunt in a hard rain. A light mist or drizzle, maybe. I don't like washed out blood trails either. With higher winds I can usually find a stand on our property that will allow me to hunt.
Bernie Bjorklund
NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin
QuoteOriginally posted by Danny Rowan:
I hunt any day I can, only time I am not out is if it is pouring down rain.
same here!
I do not hunt if I have to work, I also do not hunt when my wife say no way!
Work, an any weather condition that my make things somewhat dangerous
Rain if it's more than a drizzle. Heavy wind. Sundays (not legal in CT)
I do not hunt in a high wind. Find that the deer do not move much in high wind. I go out in a heavy rain and find a place to sit it out so I am where I want to be when it quits and the deer start moving. Jim Pyles
Days when the south wind is kickin, bc the hunting stinks. I have never seen a deer at our club on a south wind. Sometimes I will go anyway to our farm to a certain corner of one of our peanut fields where my dad always seems to miss the peanut buggy a little while dumping the harvest, lol.
I no longer hunt in heavy rain or weather too cold for my blood thinners...or when I'm physically unable. I use to hunt every day of the season come rain or shine hell or high water..but I'm old now.
I'd have to say that high winds and lightning are the two deal breakers for me.
Heavy rain, but I'll be ready to head out of camp as soon as it stops.
heavy rain
xtreme cold
I just cant take the cold like I use too.
Normally by January Im done in Ohio (although there is over a month to go)
But normally after gun season its real tough
But this year may be differnent as I may have a little place of my own.
Moderate to heavy rain and winds greater than 25mph.
Real windy I stay home. Deer don't like wind.
I am a ground hunter and I LOVE the windy, rainy days. I can sneak around quietly and with all the other movement in the woods, I don't stand out as much. Most my Big ones have fallen on "nasty" days. I stay home when my family needs "family time". Priorities first.
Work that is about all for this guy. Tend to always get in the way of fun.
Great topic,
Like manitou, generally don't hunt sunday, though I cant think of a better day to be sitting in the woods.
like wetfeathers, As far as weather, I hunt it all. I call whenever I can, but heavy rain and wind are tailor made for sneaking up on stuff and horrible for calling. Wind around here means 25-30mph +.
For me work, oct. 2nd (anniversary), November 10th (marine corps birthday). Other than that the only thing that I will not hunt in is heavy storm's. a down pour means deer movement minimal, if do get hit, wash away quick. Now I mean a rain, not a drizzle. I love to be in the wood about a hour before a storm stops though, cause when it does the animal move big time.