Home
Posted By: SCgman1 Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Tomorrow is a holiday for me but is supposed to be rainy.

Anybody here ever have success under such conditions?
Posted By: JCMCUBIC Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I love to still hunt mountain sides in the rain. It's what I'll be doing tomorrow! ...even though it is supposed to be thunderstorms...

I remember shooting my first big buck when I was a kid, perched in a cedar tree, while it was pouring rain.
Posted By: sbhooper Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Hunting in the rain is great. The first mz buck that I ever killed, was in NM in the rain. The deer were out and about and it was quiet sneaking. I am old now and don't give a damn enough to do it anymore!
Posted By: VaHillbilly Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
For many years I hunted in the rain, it was a miserable experience if you hunt out of an open tree stand like I do, all your gear gets soaked ( huntin out of a nice dry blind would be different of course) but I didnt ever notice any better deer movement if anything the deer movement was less......Good luck....Hb
Posted By: wahoo Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
adjust. i take two rifles if going on a hunt where it might rain. one scope and one with peeps. be aware that deer as well as you will move quieter. that is if you move.
if hunting from a stand, they won't change habits too much, if anything will feed longer before bedding down.

besides, being in the woods in the rain, if it isn't a downpour, isn't a bad experience in itself. if it rains, you will also have less competition if you are on public land.
Posted By: Windfall Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I have seen some very good bucks in a gentle mist, but deer don’t have eye brows and a heavy rain gets in their eyes and that inhibits their vision and their movement. After the rain though, everything on four feet will be on the move. I was in Minnesota one Friday in a driving rain but it was coming to an end. I was bow hunting in eastern Wisconsin that weekend and was in my stand when the rain let up here. Within half an hour deer were everywhere.
Posted By: saddlesore Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I don't hunt in the rain. Hunting is suppose to be fun.Getting soaked isn't
Posted By: Dave_in_WV Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I have had great success hunting in the rain. That said, it it's raining hard I stay inside. Deer's sense of smell and hearing is degraded in hard rain enough they typically don't move much. In a soft rain they come out and seem to feel safe.
Posted By: shaman Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I normally don't hunt in rain, but I have. I've hunted in just about every condition known to the Greater Ohio Valley. Normally, if it looks like a heavy rain is coming, I'll try and hunt before it hits, and then I'm back out just before it starts to clear.

I've got a luxury box that lets me sit out of the elements and survey 2 1-acre pastures. Sometimes, if the rain has been really bad, a slight break will bring the deer out. I've nailed them within a half-hour of a toad strangler with horizontal rain.
Posted By: Bugger Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Hunting in the rain is great. The noise of still hinting is minimized. The deer will be holed up. You can get close in the rain.
Posted By: skeen Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Originally Posted by saddlesore
I don't hunt in the rain. Hunting is suppose to be fun.Getting soaked isn't

That's the camp I'm in too. smile
Posted By: Ken_L Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I don’t like to hunt or deep sea fish in the rain.
Posted By: memtb Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I grew up in Louisiana, most successes are in the rain! grin memtb
Posted By: JPro Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I've never had success in a moderate to hard rain, but have had success right after a rain let up. I've also had good hunts in light, drizzling rain, so long as the wind isn't howling. I've had even better luck with pigs on the rainy days, as they seem to let their guard down much more than the deer. I can think of several rainy hunts where I sat in one spot and shot 4-5 hogs over the course of a couple of hours.
Posted By: DropTyne Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Originally Posted by JPro
I've never had success in a moderate to hard rain, but have had success right after a rain let up. I've also had good hunts in light, drizzling rain, so long as the wind isn't howling.



This mirrors my experience. I killed my largest whitetail in a light drizzle during the peak of the rut.
Posted By: kendibs Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
I'm whitetailing for longer than I care to admit. Took some of my bigger animals in normal rain conditions.

Good luck.

-Ken
Posted By: T_O_M Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/10/20
Originally Posted by SCgman1
Tomorrow is a holiday for me but is supposed to be rainy.

Anybody here ever have success under such conditions?


That's my preferred hunting condition. Most of the biggest bucks I've killed were in the rain. Get out there and get it done.

Tom
Rain = scoped encore pistol in .243 and an F-150. Coca Cola, maybe an old rerun of star trek on netflix. Killed several that way. Nice n dry
Posted By: SCgman1 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
Dont know how heavy the rain will be tomorrow but thx a bunch for the replies.......I will be in the woods.
Posted By: Blackheart Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
I've killed some of my best bucks in the rain.
Posted By: tzone Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
Originally Posted by SCgman1
Tomorrow is a holiday for me but is supposed to be rainy.

Anybody here ever have success under such conditions?



Yep. My 3 best bucks have been in the rain.
Posted By: Pappy348 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
I’d only stay home if the rain is supposed to be heavy and non-stop. If you’re going to sit, one of those tree umbrellas will keep you pretty dry unless there’s a lot of wind.

Dress for it and use a gun that won’t have you fussing about getting it wet. Have a good hunt.
Posted By: NMSSHOOTER Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
I killed my first good buck in 2008 chasing a doe. It was raining so hard buddy 150 yards over the rifle didn’t hear me shoot.
I don’t love hunting in pouring rain but won’t stay home just because of it.
Some of my favorite hunting is a light rain
Posted By: StoneCutter Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
I've killed a schit load of deer in the rain. It kinda sucks because the rain is loud and the deer are quiet. When I was younger and didn't have any money, I just got soaking wet. Now, I wear a full rain suit and use a tree stand umbrella. Those umbrellas are worth their weight in gold. Light to moderate rain is good. But if it's a torrential downpour, I think the deer hang low. It's when it quits being a down pour and the front moves through is when they'll get up and move also. Light to moderate rain is sort of peaceful and a lot of good deer can be had especially if it's the rut.
Posted By: VaHunter Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
Originally Posted by saddlesore
I don't hunt in the rain. Hunting is suppose to be fun.Getting soaked isn't



Yep, this.
Posted By: killerv Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
Passed on a nice 8 in the rain sunday afternoon, saw 9 deer while raining, didn't see squat after it stopped.
Posted By: JPro Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
Get you at least one or two comfy box stands where you can kick back and take your boots off, even when it's a rainy day.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Posted By: okie john Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
In western Washington, you hunt in the rain or you don't hunt at all. Squalls usually blow in from the coast during deer season, so the rain comes and goes rather than being a steady downpour. Elk season is usually periods of heavy rain alternating with periods of light rain for days on end. The elk still feed and move around normally, so you buy weatherproof gear and go hunting.

Originally Posted by Windfall
I was bow hunting in eastern Wisconsin that weekend and was in my stand when the rain let up here. Within half an hour deer were everywhere.

This. The deer move more between squalls or when the rain stops. If it stops.


Okie John
Posted By: lvmiker Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/11/20
A decent rain suit is in my pack most of the time along w/ a silnyon tarp. Sometimes you can sit it out, if not you stay dry while glassing if visibility permits, or walking back to camp. I would rather deal w/ ice and snow than rain and mud, Wyoming mud is horrendous.


mike r
Posted By: moosemike Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
Originally Posted by JPro
Get you at least one or two comfy box stands where you can kick back and take your boots off, even when it's a rainy day.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]


Deer hunting with an AR is on my bucket list. My state doesn't allow it.
Posted By: rem141r Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
yep, a few times. i think it actually helps keep the scent down. i shot a buck on the last day last year in a driving rain. would i choose to go out in a driving rain? probably not anymore unless its the first day of rifle. i am just not as gung-ho as i used to be and don't mind sitting around camp. but if it starts raining while i am out there, i hunker down and keep an eye out.
Posted By: Hogwild7 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
Hard rain deer don't move but when it stops they move. A drizzly light rain I have seen them move well. If you have a day you can hunt and the equipment to hunt in the rain, I would go.
Posted By: JPro Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
Originally Posted by moosemike


Deer hunting with an AR is on my bucket list. My state doesn't allow it.


I bought that 20" barreled AR-10 mainly for getting multiple shots on herds of hogs, but I find myself taking it for deer a good bit too. It's fairly compact and very soft-shooting for a .308win. The whole family shoots it pretty well.
Posted By: jwall Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
I promise I'm not bragging.

I've killed A LOT of deer including Bucks in the rain.
Can't kill them in a recliner.

G O !

Jerry
Posted By: Ranger99 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
Originally Posted by jwall

Can't kill them in a recliner.


This ^ ^ ^
.
Well you can, but only if the recliner is
in a deer blind.

Basic Truth-
Animals are outside in the weather all
day long every day of the year

Fish are wet and cold all day long
every day of the year


Believe it or not, every kind of rain gear you
can imagine is for sale somewhere in the
world right this minute
Posted By: wahoo Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
a gent i know has a deluxe 'tree' stand. it's about 6' off the ground and i swear it has cable and internet. he's older and a good guy so we don't
tease him...much. he's got an old lazy boy and i have no idea how they got it in there.
Posted By: Dogslife57 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/12/20
Never shot a deer, even a doe (which is supposedly easier) in the rain. So after years of that (cold and wet), I don't bother on rainy days for the past 10 yrs or so.
Posted By: jwall Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/13/20
Originally Posted by Ranger99
Originally Posted by jwall

Can't kill them in a recliner.


This ^ ^ ^
.
Well you can, but only if the recliner is
in a deer blind.



True, IF you can get it in the blind.

I have HAD rotating office chairs in stands.
A friend and I talked about using a BEAN bag chair. We couldn't keep it dry when it rained SO.....

Jerry
Posted By: WAM Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/13/20
Nope don’t deer hunt in the rain. I’ll sit in a dry blind if it’s raining to verify not much is moving in a hard rain. Happy Trails
Posted By: leesway2 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/13/20
I dont/wont hunt in the rain,but ya better be ready to get your but out of the truck and in the stand asap when the last drop falls.
Posted By: Pharmseller Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/13/20
The two best times to hunt are when it’s raining, and when it ain’t.



P
Posted By: longarm Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/13/20
Originally Posted by Ranger99
Originally Posted by jwall

Can't kill them in a recliner.



.

Believe it or not, every kind of rain gear you
can imagine is for sale somewhere in the
world right this minute

laugh

Western Oregon blacktail hunting is best in the rain.
Posted By: BobBrown Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
I’d go in rain
Posted By: WAM Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
Originally Posted by longarm
Originally Posted by Ranger99
Originally Posted by jwall

Can't kill them in a recliner.



.

Believe it or not, every kind of rain gear you
can imagine is for sale somewhere in the
world right this minute

laugh

Western Oregon blacktail hunting is best in the rain.

Tell us when it’s not raining during deer season in Western OR/WA. Inquiring minds want to know!
Posted By: Broffesor11 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
I have had lots of good luck hunting in the rain. I don't hunt around the river sides which i usually do i looks for the shades and i sure see whatever i am hunting in packs. Hunting in the rain is fun.
Posted By: troublesome82 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
I have always enjoyed hunting in the rain or drizzle, especially during archery season. I have gotten so close and seen so much wildlife during these times. My only regret is I never carried a go pro with me all those years, as who would believe the uncanny encounters with wildlife?
Posted By: 19352012 Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
Originally Posted by WAM
Originally Posted by longarm
Originally Posted by Ranger99
Originally Posted by jwall

Can't kill them in a recliner.



.

Believe it or not, every kind of rain gear you
can imagine is for sale somewhere in the
world right this minute

laugh

Western Oregon blacktail hunting is best in the rain.

Tell us when it’s not raining during deer season in Western OR/WA. Inquiring minds want to know!

I can make it not rain in western OR/WA. All I gotta do is buy a tag and show up. I can ruin it for everyone.
Posted By: AKduck Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
I’ve seen my best bucks in the rain. Muffles sound and scent. Also, can’t get them if you don’t go.
Posted By: Tejano Re: Hunting in the rain - 11/15/20
Can be good for deer, really good for hogs. If there are acorns or other mast and enough wind to knock some down that is where the hogs will be.
Posted By: metalsmith Re: Hunting in the rain - 03/12/21
i don't like hunting in the rain for the simple fact that it will wash your blood trail away in short order. There is no guarantee that a deer will drop at point of impact, if they manage to run any distance then your recovery chances go down considerably. I don't like losing deer because its raining. I also don't like getting my blued steel and walnut stocked rifle soaking wet.
Posted By: Tico Re: Hunting in the rain - 03/12/21
When im hunting and it starts to rain I get naked and slide around in the mud and go chasing whatever im hunting like that....
I love hunting in the rain!!!!! I have big comfortable tower stands that are water proof. I have killed a lot of big bucks in the rain. Put the bullet in the right place and you won't need a blood trail.
Posted By: Reloder28 Re: Hunting in the rain - 03/13/21
WT deer have to eat every 4-6 hours to maintain their gut cultures. Never seen them laid up due to rain.

I love hunting in the rain.
Posted By: ribka Re: Hunting in the rain - 03/13/21
give me a pre rut light rain and a wind for still hunting archery
Posted By: BigDave39355 Re: Hunting in the rain - 03/13/21
I killed a nice 9pt several years back in a sideways rain.

I was about ready to pack up.

Saw a doe. Then A spike trailing her.

Then the buck.

Shot him, he ran.

So i took off after him knowing there would be no blood.

He didn’t go far.
Posted By: asheepdog Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/16/21
The rain has never seemed to matter when I have been hunting. Certainly seems to draw out the hogs, but deer also hit the feeders or areas that they normally frequent. They seem to stick to their schedules regardless of weather.
Posted By: SuperCub Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/17/21
I don't do it anymore, but when I was younger (and more eager), I used to dress in a rain suit and beat the bush with a 760 with a receiver sight.
Posted By: PintsofCraft Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/17/21
I won’t miss a rainy day.
Posted By: Riverc Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/17/21
I don't enjoy it,but do go when it's raining good time to be hunting deer will still move.
Posted By: MuskegMan Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/17/21

Originally Posted by Pharmseller
The two best times to hunt are when it’s raining, and when it ain’t.


When it's snowing ain't bad . . .
Posted By: Boarmaster123 Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
I dont care for hunting in the the rain. But I will be out there the minute it stops.
Posted By: Poconojack Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21

Gore-Tex
Posted By: Dogslife57 Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
Used to hunt in rain because I would be out there regardless since I had limited time to hunt when I was younger. Hunted in it many, many times. Never shot one in the rain and wouldn't even see one on the vast majority of those days, never mind a legal one. Same with small game. Consequently, no hunting in the rain for me anymore, save myself some misery. I know some pretty good deer hunters, a few like the rain, many will sit it out especially if there is also a bit of wind which is often the case.
Can't kill'em from the couch, or bed, apparently I can't kill'em in the woods in the rain either.
Hate the rain.
Posted By: ShortMagFan Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
Unless I’m hot on a big buck I’ve gotten too old for it. And all my stands are either enclosed or covered...
Posted By: SKane Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
Unless it's a sideways deluge accompanied by high winds, I'm hunting.

Ya not gonna see um if ya sittin in camp drinkin beer.
Posted By: JCMCUBIC Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
I killed a rutting buck chasing a doe in the rain this past season. I couldn't get on him as they crossed the ridge/finger I was still hunting so I had to jog across two ridges to my right trying to catch up to them. I caught him as the doe turned and came back. Doubt I could have pulled it off if it wasn't pouring raining to make the leaves quite and cover the noise I was making getting my butt up/down those ridges.
Posted By: pete53 Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/19/21
i don`t bowhunt hunt in the rain to easy to loose a animal, but i do rifle hunt in the rain as long as its in a stand with a roof and a buddy heater in a enclosed stand is even better, i will sit all day then ,with a lunch and a rifle big enough that will knock the buck down.
Posted By: lvmiker Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/20/21
I don't like it much but decent gear makes it feasible for me. If you can see you can hunt, lo- viz is the big stopper. A lightweight tarp is a good excuse to stop moving for a while and have some coffee. Almost anything is better than lying in a tentgrin

Edited to add that I live in the Desert and rain is like a novel and wondrous event, until it occurs 3 days/row than it is weird.


mike r
Posted By: hanco Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/20/21
I don’t like to get wet, I sit in a stand with glass windows and a heater.


[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]
Posted By: Aagaardsporter Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/21/21
One of my more pleasant hunts was hunkered down leaning against a pine tree in a surplus army poncho during a light afternoon rain. No wind, moderate temperature, no deer. But a Deer Mouse ran over my boots and a Great Horned Owl flew inches over my head trying to catch it. The owl landed in a small tree a few feet away and watched me for a few minutes. The mouse made good it's escape.
Posted By: CascadeJinx Re: Hunting in the rain - 04/22/21
I would suggest if you live in the Northwest (OR & WA) like some of us; and have short seasons, you have to learn to hunt in the rain. If you don't you have to give up a lot of opportunities. That being said, I would love to hunt days without rain. Having grown up in the Midwest (Iowa) and lived in mountainous states, I have no problems hunting in snow. Not blizzards, but just light snow falls are great hunting days for me.
CJ
Posted By: OGB Re: Hunting in the rain - 05/04/21
I'm only happy when it rains...……….

Wait
© 24hourcampfire