Hunting in the snow

I have never gotten to hunt in the snow. We have snow on the ground now, but it’s quickly vanishing and my earliest shot at going is Thursday evening after work IF I get to leave early and by then it will all be gone. It’s one of those things that just never has worked out for me. Also haven’t killed anything mentionable on my birthday which is just around the corner and I’m hoping for more snow AND a birthday kill.

Nothing more memorable about hunting than the times you do it in fresh snow. The clean pristine landscape, the contrast of dark objects against a white background, and the stillness of the moment. Some is good, more can be a challenge....hence the snowshoes and difficulty of getting in and around fences....then getting game retrieved and back to civilization.

The sheer beauty of the moment is breathtaking. Advantages of tracking and stillness supersedes all the uncomfortable affects winter can bring.

When we see a weather forecast and big snow coming, the kids and I always make plans to exploit the moment and head for the woods.

I like huntong in the snow but not when it clings to the sides of the trees and all of the branches and brush so bad it cuts your visibility down to very close range.
Then when it warms ip it starts to fall off the trees and brush and you get snow falling on you and end up getting snow down your shirt when itnlands on your head.
Whit some snow it is quieter walking, you can see the deer better, ifbyou shoot one and get a lung shot the snow makes for better tracking; it makes for easier dragging the deer back to your truck or camp.
There are a lot of advantages but there are disadvantages as well.
When it is a wet heavy snow then it gets colder the top will freeze over and you get that loud crunch/crunch when the thin layer of ice evert step you take. The seasonal limited back roads we hunt on are not mantained in the winter so they do not get plowed out and become inaccessable to drive on with deep snow and when they become iced over. If you need to go up a steed incline to your favorite hinting spot it becomes slippery to walk up these steep hill sides. Same as going down them. About thirty years ago in north/central Pennylvania we were huntin on one of our brothers property and we shot two does on doe days. The incline to where we hunted was really steep. When we dragged them two does to this steep part we let them go and tjey would just slide down until they got hing un on a tree. We would move yhem and they would just slide down some more until they got hung up again.
And on the other side of the token if you had to drag them up hill it was a chore because they wanted to slide back down hill which made it a royal bitsh to get them out.
And there are other advantages and disadvantages to snow hinting.

Last week we had a dusting of snow wihch made it easy for me to see this smalll doe that I shot.

The brown leaves is where she kisked them up.when she expied into this position.

The my brother shot this bigger dow wiyh no snow out in some golden rod which made it harder to see her.

Rembrandt said:

Nothing more memorable about hunting than the times you do it in fresh snow. The clean pristine landscape, the contrast of dark objects against a white background, and the stillness of the moment. Some is good, more can be a challenge....hence the snowshoes and difficulty of getting in and around fences....then getting game retrieved and back to civilization.

The sheer beauty of the moment is breathtaking. Advantages of tracking and stillness supersedes all the uncomfortable affects winter can bring.

When we see a weather forecast and big snow coming, the kids and I always make plans to exploit the moment and head for the woods.

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Fresh snow is great to hunt in. Quite walking, easy to see deer moving, tracking is much easier even if there isnt a blood trail.

I've only had the opportunity a couple of times. Don't see it happening again in the foreseeable future. I'll be hunting this weekend, and it will be the first time this year I need a jacket/beanie/gloves, etc.

Definitely easier to follow a tiny blood trail

Had the great opportunity in MI last year to hunt in fresh snow one morning to shoot this small buck and then to hunt the vestiges of the melting of that same snow to shoot this doe the next morning.

Muzzleloader season here is basically the third week of December. I rarely get a shot at a deer, but I always like to get out because it is usually cold enough by then that the snow will be fluffy. I love sitting in a tree while big snow flakes fall. It is serene and it reminds me that I and my problems are tiny and that I am truly blessed in many ways.

Don't laugh, I know it's just a dusting, but this was today here in North GA. It actually snowed Monday night, this was still on the ground today on the Cohutta WMA where I hunted.

We tend to get 1-2 decent snows most winters, but mostly in January-March. Having snow on the ground during hunting season is pretty rare.



In 2018 I elk hunted in Colorado. No shortage of snow there.

Decent buck, but no deer tag.

Is that a whitetail on the left and a mule on the right??? I did not know they hung out together.....

Looks like a couple Mulie’s

Big Muley in the snow looking at us. Only problem was that we were on an Elk hunt!!

Is that a whitetail on the left and a mule on the right??? I did not know they hung out together.....

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In some places their ranges overlap. And they have been known to interbreed. But based on the location I doubt that is a whitetail. The rack on the deer on the left is so small, and so far away you can't see it very well.

Seldom get to hunt in the snow here and when we do it seems like the deer are afraid to move. I once took a hike around an alfalfa field and after covering a mile circle I cut 2 sets of tracks. The snow was nearly gone 3 days later when I drove by right at dusk. It looked like a herd of goats in the alfalfa. I talked to the landowner who said that he had counted 35 that evening. I have no earthly idea where those deer were holed up. but I have seen it happen several times since.

Captcurt said:

Seldom get to hunt in the snow here and when we do it seems like the deer are afraid to move. I once took a hike around an alfalfa field and after covering a mile circle I cut 2 sets of tracks. The snow was nearly gone 3 days later when I drove by right at dusk. It looked like a herd of goats in the alfalfa. I talked to the landowner who said that he had counted 35 that evening. I have no earthly idea where those deer were holed up. but I have seen it happen several times since.

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I've walked up on deer that were bedded in snow a couple of times. They were covered with snow and allowed me to walk to within 5 feet of them. In fact, the only thing that betrayed them was the steam from their breathing. We used to call that "sitting tight" when the rabbits we were hunting about had to be stepped on to move. Had an old beagle that caught a handful of them on the ground that way.

Howland937 said:

I've walked up on deer that were bedded in snow a couple of times. They were covered with snow and allowed me to walk to within 5 feet of them. In fact, the only thing that betrayed them was the steam from their breathing. We used to call that "sitting right" when the rabbits we were hunting about had to be stepped on to move. Had an old beagle that caught a handful of them on the ground that way.

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I can’t get that close due to the crunchy snow that gives an alert

South Prairie Jim said:

I can’t get that close due to the crunchy snow that gives an alert

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A lot depends on how much the deer have been pressured around here. I'm in southern Ohio, and we usually don't get a decent snow until after gun season, so the deer will sometimes let you walk right past them before they take off. Ive only gotten that close when I wasn't deer hunting, of course.

There is no telling how many deer all of us have walked within just a few feet of and never seen. Many years ago I jumped a doe from less than 10'. She ran 30-40 yards, stopped and looked back. Just to be certain she wasn't a small buck I checked her out with my scope for a while. It was a good 30-45 seconds later when a very nice 8 pointer jumped from the same spot. I really wasn't expecting that and was caught completely off guard. Never even got my sights on him.

Another time I was driving on a mountain road beside a small stream. As I rounded a curve I spotted a small buck mid way across the stream. When he saw my truck he laid down in the water. As I got to the spot I stopped the truck. Only his ears, eyes, nose and small rack were above water. It sorta looked like an alligator with antlers. He stayed under water for about 30 seconds before standing up, shaking the water off and running off to the other side. It was COLD that day too. Temps were in the teens.

About three days ago, I was only 1/4 mile into my hunt, and it started snowing hard. Sat under a tree for a while, then put on the poncho and hunted on. Kept snowing hard so I found another nice tree, and decided to take a coffee break. About the time I was done with my break, it was done, so put the poncho away and had a real nice two inches of snow to look for tracks in. But, never cut any tracks, but it sure made some ideal conditions for me. Been hunting some state land near my house, that gets hunted pretty hard, so I'm not seeing much. (of course while looking for a turkey, just before season opened, I jumped up two very nice elk) But I figure I'll see more hunting it, that I would staying home. Took this pic during said coffee break. Ground was bare before it started snowing.

South Prairie Jim said:

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Very envious of all you fellas out in Elk/Sheep/Goat country. Absolutely loved our family trip to Glacier, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone NPs.

Wambat are you in Pennsylvania?
I loves blackpowder hunting in PA with the old flintlock muzzle loaders the day after Christmas for three weeks.
We use to take a bunch of boned out meat to Dotti Lou's in Stevensville or close to it and had venison snack sticks, kilbosia, summer sausage and other stuff made.

We hunted northern Susquahanna county.

Just discovered this thread tonight. After sitting in the snowy woods for 5 hours this afternoon way up on a big hill in the Finger Lakes region. What a coincidence. Didn't see any deer but it's normally a great area, and my buddy shot a small buck up there last Saturday, ( He too, saw nothing today). Still enjoyed myself up there with the peace & quiet & solitude. Was also the first time I've had the Mosin Nagant out hunting. Over the summer it got a no gunsmithing mount for a scout scope I wasn't using and I worked up a nice handload that propels a .311" 150 gr. Privi SP to an average 2738 FPS. Was looking for a deer to test it out on as its already proven accurate and that 2.5x scout scope sure helps accuracy vs. irons. Wanted a picture of it with a freshly harvested deer in the snow but settled for this one of it leaning against the tree I was sitting at all afternoon. It was also my first time hunting in the snow since last season..... .Last Saturday, pre-snow, the woods looked like this with the .30-30.. .. ( Sorry; no deer pix yet ).

I have a love/hate relationship with hunting in the snow. Here in MN, firearms deer season falls in early November, and our snow can be a real P.I.T. posterior. We get lots of different kinds, from the wet sticky kind pictured in the O.P. to full on blizzards, to the grainy crunchy kind that lock the deer down. I've had to hunt in everything from full on rain gear, to sub zero ECW and transport by snowmobile and snowshoe/XC skis. Its also generally followed by wind and falling temperatures, which also lock down the deer. Sure makes the woods pretty though, and deer definately stand out in the white. Tracking and trailing are easier, and sometimes very frustrating to learn where and when the deer are actually moving.