[HM2PAC]

So the weather has warmed up into the 40's and it is going to rain the rest of this week. I'm fully accustomed to hunting ducks in the rain, but deer hunting for me has always been a dry and cold or snow phenomenon.

So what say the general public?

Should I stay on stand and let the deer do their thing, or still hunt and go for a walk in the rain?

[ripmyfly]

As long as its gun season I usually stay in the stand. However this is a great time to stalk. I never bowhunt in the rain because of washed out blood trails.

[Big Daddy Grim]

Gun hunt then your set I can usually get closer in the rain.

[Art Eatman]

I park my truck in a likely spot and read a book, halfway hoping nothing happens. Then I go back to camp and take a nap.

[glockman19]

I say put on a rain coat and/or slicker and go for it. Don't have to worry about draft of smell or making noise with it raining and all. Also helps when field dressing.

[buck460XVR]

I love huntin' in the rain....deer or turkey. Just like fishin', it's a low light period. I am a bit more picky about the shots I take tho.

[Shawnee]

I used to stalk-and-stand in gentle rains but now I figure those days are what The Golf Channel is for.

:cool:

[ColeK]

During the rain I usually stay in the stand. But as soon as the rain stops I will go slippin’-n-tippin’. (Southeastern speak for stalkin’)

[james rogers]

Ive done both, it depends on what gun I am toting

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

During the rain I usually stay in the stand. But as soon as the rain stops I will go slippin’-n-tippin’.

Yeah, +1 for the most part. But depends on time of day, too. Stalk hunting in the rain could easily work, too - I could see that.

[justice4all]

Anyone remember opening day in PA last year? Torrential downpour combined with pea soup fog. I sat it out til around noon, then I took to walking, hoping to kick something up by stepping on it. I'd come to far to sit it out.

[moooose102]

as long as you can keep dry and warm. stay put. the rain does not upset the deer. it is a natural part of their enviroment. they still get hungry and thirsty just like on any other day. and if they get cold, they may actually move more just to stay warm. they will be using the same trails they always do (unless they smell you). so stay put, and stay dry, if you can.

[cat9x]

some good points made here

[SlipperyShooter]

I didn't see "stay in the cabin" as an option...........

[Deer Hunter]

I hunt in the woods, usually sitting on a log or against one of the giant pines on our place. If it started raining? O h well. May quell the mosquitos.

[Art Eatman]

I like sneaky-snaking around after a rain. Really easy to move quietly. I spotted a fat little eight-pointer one day, and eased toward him. Finally got to within about ten feet, and tossed a small rock onto his rump. He was a pretty little critter, but not really big enough to want to shoot.

When that rock hit, he reversed course past me, maybe five feet away. My laughing seriously got him into fifth gear overdrive, wide-open throttle! He was doing his best to out-do a Top Fuel dragster at the finish line. :D

Silence is your friend...

[skers69]

One word....Gortex. I will not hunt in the rain without it. I stay nice and dry and keep on hunting. The season lasts only so long....I can watch sports on tv after the season is over.

[koja48]

Quiet is good . . . I like hunting in the rain (which, unfortunately is a rare occurrence in SE WA. Snow is equally as good . . . nothing like seeing a buck (or a bull) arising from its bed & shaking . . . fairly stirs the adrenaline to a fine fettle . . .

[mio]

in my experiance the deer move around quite a bit in a light rain and warm temps in the 40s. heavy rain they hole up.

[HM2PAC]

Well, 2 straight days of stalking around in the rain. No deer seen, but LOTS of tracks. Large amounts of moose poop too. The stuff was everywhere. Kind of made me a bit nervous as moose rut may still be going on.

No Sunday hunting in Maine, so I'll be back out there on Wednesday. The wet ground does make for a lot of noise protection.

[BigBuckMaster]

deer dont mind rain in lo-see-ana and are pretty active.

[Loyalist Dave]

I stay on the ground, and wait, just as I would if it wasn't raining. It does knock down the human smell, and any others, so the deer can't pick up a food or female scent so well at a distance. They have to roam about more instead of hitting a scent and following a straighter course to the source. For the folks with big spreads that probably isn't a factor, but where I'm at, there are so many hunters laying down sex/food/cover scents, it seems to kinda mix the deer up.

LD

[Ridgerunner665]

I did not vote....because it depends on how hard it is raining.

A slight "drizzle"...either stay in stand or spot and stalk, depending on time of day.

steady rain...stalk

downpour...I usually go home.

[BoilerUP]

I got rained out today in central KY...temps were falling all day and the rain would go from a slight drizzle to moderately heavy. Frustrating after being skunked yesterday with 8 hours in the stand and not a single deer seen...

Two guys that own a farm near ours hunt out of enclosed ground blinds and were in there today until about noon; one saw a couple does and the other didn't see a thing.

Back at it Monday!

[Thin Black Line]

On opening firearm weekend I won't leave my spot because there's too
much hunting pressure from the surrounding properties. Later on in such
weather I will stalk and actually have some good shooting opportunities.

[Shawnee]

I don't know this for a fact but I strongly suspect that when it rains, deer will prefer to "hole up" in deep grass like CRP land rather than in woods. I am thinking that because of a few random observations I've made since moving to Ohio (3 years ago).

I think the rain (and dripping) makes so much noise in the woods that the deer would rather get out and down into deep grass where they don't get any wetter but have a better chance of detecting the approach of danger.

Deer bedded out in CRP cover can hide under a pencil and are very difficult to see (or to approach) and the only shot likely to be had is at a deer in "blast-off" mode. So I don't feel too bad about heading for the hearth when the rains get going.

:cool: