I try not to bow hunt when I know its supposed to rain for the plain fact that It is hard/near impossible to blood trail your kill effectively when the rain is washing it away so quickly.
Do any of you guys live by this or do you have other tactics when hunting in the rain? Its one thing to run into rain when your already out there, but Having blood trailed a few deer in the rain its SO hard to get a proper retrieval. Especially if you want to give the deer time.
Thoughts would be appreciated.
For the most part, I do what you do for the same reasons. A light mist or occasional shower I might chance though...
Some of it depends on terrain, but for the most part I ditto what Paul says.
If you need to blood trail in the rain use a spray bottle filled with hydrogen peroxide and spray on the ground . It will foam up on blood .
I hunt in the rain all the time. Some of my best hunts have been in the rain. I do try to hunt a little different in teh rain by trying to hunt "scrub" terrain or broken terrain (something that is good cover for deer but i can see along ways from my tree stand in so that i can watch the animal go down or atleast watch them for a long ways. I also scale back my shooting distance. on a nice day im very cofortable taking shots at deer at 25 yards (seldom do i actually shoot that far but im comfortabe if i needed to). in the rain I tend to pass shots unless they are 15 yards or less. But when i see rain in the forcast i get excited as it usually means great hunting in my areas. super hard rain is a pain to sit thru. but most often its not super hard or it comes in waves rain, stop, rain, stop, rain, stop, etc.
I wont purposely hunt in the rain due to the chance of a bloodtrail washing away.
I have chose to pass on shots at Elk and Deer because of it, it is just not worth it to me.
I love to still hunt though once a rainy weather pattern quits, critters seem to want to move and it is quiet.
I did when I was much younger..but don't care to sit in the rain now days..especially today..32 degrees. Will go when it stops mid day.
A lot depends on the amount of rain, what the rain is doing, time of day, and cover type around me.
I will not hunt a heavy rain or with heavy rain close to hitting. I define heavy as something that will wash out a light but reasonable blood trail in less than 3 hours. I will not take a shot with very much rain at all late in the day. I will hunt a light rain or clearing weather in morning particularly when the leaves thin out where I have a real good chance of getting on a trail before it is gone, can see the animal moving longer distances and can see well to spot other tracking clues.
I had to hunt a lot of rainy weather and wind this year just to get out much. It was one of those years for me on my Friday and Saturday hunting schedule. I did pass on shots four times this year due to heavy rain setting in. I chose to just set in a blind and watch / scout some days.
Last year I shot a deer with light rain starting about 1-hr before dark. The doe jumped the string and I got a forward angling hit behind the shoulder as she dropped and turned away. The blood trail was too light to follow in the rain and dark. Next day blood was long gone. I had to grid search the next day. Never found her and totally disrupted a great beading area sending a great buck for my area off the property for the rest of the year from what I could tell. That was all around a bad deal. I had shot one the year before under almost exactly the same conditions from the same stand with better results. That one ran in a better direction where it was a lot easier to find, but still had to grid search for that one due to no blood trail. In the past I just didn't hunt in the rail, but bad weather timing the last few years has me hunting a little more in less than ideal conditions. I got a lot more conservative again this year. It cost me shots, but then I didn't loose anything either.
I have not gone out if raining or threatening rain for many years. I have been caught out in a drizzle or two but I end the hunt quickly.
My reasons are two:
1. I don't want to risk a poor blood trail.
2. Deer season is long, I can be picky and choose.
I will admit #1 doesn't hold water (pun intended). Most of the deer I have killed over the years didn't require a blood trail to find. However, in the rare case where I don't see or hear the deer fall, a blood trail is very important.
I don't pay much attention to forecasts. IF ITS NOT RAINING i go out. Too many times forecasts cost you valuable hunting time. A light mist is fine for me then if it sets in I go home.
Lost several deer due to rain washing out blood trails. For me, the feelings of losing an animal are not worth the risk.
I agreewith hitman about the weather forecasts!
The older I get the less I want to deal with the rain, mud, and hard blood trails.
If I am on a hunt like an elk hunt or something, I will hunt most every day - rain or shine. At my lease, I will usually skip the rain!
Bisch
I'm with Bowwild in every way concerning rain. Especially about being picky when there's a long season. Although deer movement does tend to slack off after the rut/gun season around here so the effective deer season isn't as long as it may seem.
If I get caught in the rain while hunting, then so be it. But I don't intentionally hunt in the rain except for maybe a light mist.
I do my best to not hunt in the rain. Matted feathers, bad bloodtrails.....not worth it to me.
I have been caught in remote areas where I didn't have a choice. Far from camp, and rain happening. I usually take cover under a big conifer or with my handy mini tarp, and stay dry. And yep, twice when this was going on deer came by....and I shot them. Looking back on it, recovering those deer was more than a bit of luck.
I'll scout in the rain; nice and quiet for sneaking around; but won't hunt.
I almost alway need a blood trail. I will not hunt in the rain...now just after....that is different.
I must be "maturing", because after a couple of sits in the rain this yr I will not be doing it anymore. A mist I will set in, but not rain.
dido.
A light mist I'm going out. But real rain nah.
Here in Colo we frequently get rain in the mid afternoons but generally it stops in an hour or so and the sun comes out On those days I just curl up under a tree and wait it out.
I used to hunt frequently in the rain, but that was when I hunted with the rifle. Now that I hunt only with the bow and have just gotten to the point I don't want to get wet, I stay home when it rains.
I hate sitting in the rain and tracking in the rain. If I am out in it though, I'm glad I wear wool! I usually watch the weather radar and get out there just as it's quitting. Gives everything a chance to settle down before they get up and move and I get in without making a bunch of noise.
In the rain hunting hogs on the ground works, you can stalk closer with the rain obscuring noise etc. I use a tube quiver to keep my feathers dry and wait for the perfect setup and a relaxed animal. In hard rain you will find them sleeping in tree roots etc-use your binoculars to separate fur from cover and get close-you may not see the whole animal and it can take a bit to make sure you are looking at the boiler room. Once hit I follow up right away and have never lost a hog due to rain.
I like a light mist , but with rain comes blood loss (or making it harder to see)
But it really silences the woods and IMO reduces scent
I agree with Swamp Yankee, scouting or putting up a new stand is good use of a rain day. If I do this (couple times this year already) I try to do it between 10am-2pm and then get out.
Bill Carlsen said it for me. The only buck I ever lost was in the rain; it still haunts me.
My philosophy is this: I've spent too much time for Uncle Sam being cold wet and hungry. There is no way I am gonna do that in my own leisure. As I write this I am 15' up a tree post rain and in the wind and cold. I'm dressed in good layers with a wind and water proof top layer on. Moral of my story: if you are dressed properly then there is no such thing as bad weather. And If I find myself under dressed and uncomfortable, then I happily pack up and head home a warm hearth, pretty woman, and hot food.
I live in Oregon... I don't really have a choice during the late season.:-) I just keep it in mind. Most days arent to bad. If it is absolutely dumping I will wait it out or head home. Plus I havent killed a deer yet so I dont have to worry about blood trails very often. ;-)
Brandon
agree with many of the posts - unofficially packed in my deer hunting Nov 5th w full freezer and tired. Was going to spend today scouting for next year but steady rain came through so I took a nap :)if I was still hunting I would have passed since this is a heavy steady rain - not intermittent - not a mist.
<><
<---------------<<<<<<<
Not only does rain wash out blood trails. It also may affect your shooting. What, with rain on the limbs,string,silencers,arrow and most important your tab or glove. I won't go if it is raining., may still go with a very light rain or mist. I have had my shooting at 3d shoots get worse during a good rain. I think it was the effect of the moisture on my tab. If I am hunting and it starts to rain or I go in a very light rain I try to keep my tab dry.
There are enough things that can go wrong on a hunt when conditions are perfect. When you throw in the probability of wet, matted feathers(I've not seen a waterproofing method that didn't change arrow flight),poor releases from wet gloves, the likelihood of an inadequate blood trail, etc., I'll pass. There are days when one should stay at camp with a proper libation and fine cigar giving thanks for the blessings of hunts when the sun was shining and things turned out well!
I'm too lazy to hunt rainy weather. I don't like sitting/walking around and getting soaked. Light rain is ok, much more and I'm either fly fishing or sleeping in.
Good Idea Swamp Yankee. I think I'll start scouting in the rain also, but if the trees start swaying I'm out of there. I've been hit by too many falling branches on windy rainy days.
I don't why risk loosing an animal. They are to precious to me.
I really enjoy hunting in a light rain and the deer enjoy the rain as well. In a heavy rain though I stay in to great a chance of losing blood.
I don't like hunting in anything more than a very light drizzle, but I LOVE to hunt on days when it is misting, with no wind. You know the days I speak of. Big low pressure system that just sets in with light precip. Sneaky sneak I go through the pines on those days. Deer seem to move around a lot in the middle of the day, and hunter competition is non existent. Days like today however...I wouldn't hunt on a bet.
Tim
I agree with others, and sometimes the best time to be there is right before a rain, when a front is moving in, but my self and a couple friends have all lost deer due to a washed out blood trail of a deer shot in the evening before a rain was forcasted... i really shy away from hunting in a rain or just before one is forcasted...