Hunting in the snow

[Highland Lofts]

I like doing them with an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground.
With a couple of guys doing the still hunt it makes it easier to get the deer you shot out to the road.

 

[buck460XVR]

Snow can be a blessing or it can be a major detriment. Make a poor shot and you thank the good lord for snow on the ground......any snow. Try to still hunt after wet snow has froze and you will be frustrated beyond measure, unless it has froze so solid you do not bust thru. Still hunt while that wet snow is falling heavily and odds are you will be able to get close. Just hope that wet snow ain't wound up on your scope lens. Deep snow can make you wet up to your waist and can freeze on your pant legs making you sound like a street sweeper coming thru the woods. A inch or so of fresh powder on the ground is what I prefer. Soft, quiet and lets you see anything brown a long way off. Any tracks are fresh also. Later on after season when scouting for the next year, old snow that has been on the ground for a month will let you see travel patterns the best, even tho rarely used big buck trails that generally parallel more heavily used trails.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Snow can be a blessing or it can be a major detriment. Make a poor shot and you thank the good lord for snow on the ground......any snow. Try to still hunt after wet snow has froze and you will be frustrated beyond measure, unless it has froze so solid you do not bust thru. Still hunt while that wet snow is falling heavily and odds are you will be able to get close. Just hope that wet snow ain't wound up on your scope lens. Deep snow can make you wet up to your waist and can freeze on your pant legs making you sound like a street sweeper coming thru the woods. A inch or so of fresh powder on the ground is what I prefer. Soft, quiet and lets you see anything brown a long way off. Any tracks are fresh also. Later on after season when scouting for the next year, old snow that has been on the ground for a month will let you see travel patterns the best, even tho rarely used big buck trails that generally parallel more heavily used trails.

Truth. But I just got to say....Scope? Scope? We don't need no stinking scope! Haven't used one in a bazillion years. And that's one of the reasons why. But yeah, crunching through the crunchy snow. That's fun. Crunch-crunch-crunch....stop....crunch-crunch-crunch, can I be any more noisy? Frozen snow, where you get four or five steps, and when you least expect...you bust through! Also fun! And the frozen pants...yep, been there, done all that!!

The really fun part was "back in the day", hunting in the snow, when there wasn't much high-tech gear around, what there was we/I couldn't afford, so we hunted in jeans, cotton long underwear, maybe an old Air Force parka and jump boots, or some surplus Army jacket or Navy canvas pull-over with a couple of sweaters underneath. By noon, deep snow or not, it was frozen-pants city for sure. And cold, wet and miserable. That was TRUE fun. I remember a couple times when I had to stop and make a small fire, to dry my socks and to keep from getting frost-bite on me toes. !!!

 

[bsparker]

Snow can be a blessing or it can be a major detriment. Make a poor shot and you thank the good lord for snow on the ground......any snow. Try to still hunt after wet snow has froze and you will be frustrated beyond measure, unless it has froze so solid you do not bust thru. Still hunt while that wet snow is falling heavily and odds are you will be able to get close. Just hope that wet snow ain't wound up on your scope lens. Deep snow can make you wet up to your waist and can freeze on your pant legs making you sound like a street sweeper coming thru the woods. A inch or so of fresh powder on the ground is what I prefer. Soft, quiet and lets you see anything brown a long way off. Any tracks are fresh also. Later on after season when scouting for the next year, old snow that has been on the ground for a month will let you see travel patterns the best, even tho rarely used big buck trails that generally parallel more heavily used trails.

I went out this past Saturday morning, 4 days after we got about 6" of snow. Result, top layer frozen. Place a foot, bust through. Thought for sure everything would be gone with in a 1/2 mile radius. I trekked to my spot, but had to stop early when I heard something else crunching my way. Saw two in thick brush, walked along eating without much concern...too thick for a shot from my angle. About 11am I walked down a long ridge where I knew I'd have a good overlook, stopped at the edge of the highpoint to see three doe walking almost parallel with me in the valley (I was still on the high ground). Sat down and watched them for 30 minutes, could have taken a shot. They never knew I was there. Crazy. Was not what I expected, maybe I just found some dumb deer lol.

One other side effect, I usually still hunt with a camelbak. Straw froze solid, temp started out around 20*f, no water till about midday.

 

[d2wing]

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.

I hunt in Northern Minnesota too. Last year was sub zero with snow. This year it was above freezing with no snow. I have hunted deer in a T-shirt once. I prefer light fluffy snow. But we have to take what we get.

 

[22250Rem]

Spent the morning on another squirrel hunt with nothing to show for it except this... ... Still lots of snow up in the hills about 50 miles south of Lake Ontario . Elevation about 2200-something feet above sea level versus where I live a few hundred yards from Lake Ontario, with an elevation of about 243 ft. above sea level. That elevation makes a big difference. At least a couple squirrels were seen but offered no shots. Little to no wind and 24 degrees F made it an easy day to park myself on my hot seat for a few hours. The sun even made a couple appearances for the first time in about a week. Still trying to get a picture of a freshly harvested squirrel & my CZ-455.

 

[Meeks36]

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.

Great granddad used to hunt rabbits that way. He would walk through the woods and look for the vapor. Then walk up and knock them on the head. Killed a rabbit with a hammer while plowing the field once. If he didn't kill something they wouldn't eat.

 

[Patocazador]

IMO snow sucks. That means it is cold and I live in Florida for a reason.

It is much easier to hunt deer in the snow and track them after the shot but I can see blood on green grass too.

 

[Meeks36]

IMO snow sucks. That means it is cold and I live in Florida for a reason.

It is much easier to hunt deer in the snow and track them after the shot but I can see blood on green grass too.

Alittle snow is cool. Kids, grandkids love it. But it gets old real fast. Snowed some Christmas eve this year in GA. Just enough to say it snowed. But not enough to really stick. At least where I live.

 

[marksman13]

It’s very rare that I have the opportunity to hunt in the snow down here in Mississippi, but when I have the chance, I take full advantage.

 

[22250Rem]

Deer seasons done but I have trail cams out year round. Swap SD cards once every week or two. Went out yesterday and swapped cards and the does have been active the past week or so and showing up more during the day. Guess they feel safe now that the season ended. These deer are 10 -12 yards in front of one of my blinds. Can't hunt 'em now but squirrel is open until the end of February and there's a few living right around that area. Might just sit in the blind one of these days with the CZ-455 .22 .. ... ....In this area the deer seem to move around more when there's snow. Sat in the blind deer hunting last fall and watched squirrels. I'll probably be in the blind come February squirrel hunting and be watching deer, LOL.

 

[9x56MS]

I was taking my 9x56ms out for the first time deer hunting. It was spitting snow as I drove to my hunting spot. Crossed the creek and hiked up the hill to my stand and the snow increased to steady snowfall. Set up my stool next to a maple tree on a bench that circled the hilltop. Deer used this bench as a travel corridor. Sat for about an hour when the snow changed over to large flakes falling straight down. In an hour my rifle was covered to the point I couldn't even see the sights. I took off my Stormy Kromer hat and it had 3 inches of snow on it. Shook it off and wiped the snow off the rifle. Heard a shot across the hollow and a group of 7 does came up out of the hollow coming straight to me I blew the snow out of the sights and took the safety off. The deer turned about 40 yards below me and it was snowing so hard it was hard to make out the sights. The lead doe turned again and came up the hill to me. At 17 yards I held on her chest and fired. She turned and ran down the hill. I ejected the round picked up the case and stood. As I stood a pile of snow fell of my coat. I shook off my hat and brushed off my coat and walked over to the deers tracks which were quickly filling up with snow. I started tracking her when I came to a patch of pinkish snow. I brushed away some loose snow and sure enough it was blood. Looked down the ridge and there she was already covering up with snow. By the time I got her field dressed there was 6 inches on the ground. I gathered up my stool and fanny pack hooked her up to my drag harness and headed for the truck. By the time I got to the truck there was 10 inches on the ground. Made for a very memorable hunt with my 95 year old rifle. It was so quiet and peaceful in the woods I said a thankful prayer and loaded up the truck and headed home.