Whats the coldest weather you have hunted in or encountered?

[Harve Curry]

H&H,
A friend of mine comes down from that place, Kotzebue Ak, to winter here now, has a bush pilot business there. Now I know why.
, Bill W

 

[MCgunner]

Wow, what were you hunting in 110 degree heat? Dove, maybe? It usually cools into the lower 90s here by late September, but it can be mighty hot for the north zone opener around labor day. Yeah, you can dress for cold, but ain't much you can do, but drink LOTS of water and dump some on your head once in a while in 110 degree heat.

 

[H&Hhunter]

H&H,
A friend of mine comes down from that place, Kotzebue Ak, to winter here now, has a bush pilot business there. Now I know why.
, Bill W

That's not Jim Rudd is it? Or Buck Maxton perhaps?

 

[Harve Curry]

None other but the former.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Harve,

Small world isn't it? I used to fly for a company called Ryan Air Alaska out of Kotzebue back in the early 90's. I knew Jim from back them. Tell him I said hi.

Greg

 

[plexreticle]

Wow, what were you hunting in 110 degree heat? Dove, maybe? It usually cools into the lower 90s here by late September, but it can be mighty hot for the north zone opener around labor day. Yeah, you can dress for cold, but ain't much you can do, but drink LOTS of water and dump some on your head once in a while in 110 degree heat.

Sort of hunting, it was military stuff. I make a point to stay indoors when it get too hot nowadays.

 

[achildofthesky]

Coldest temps...

Coldest hunted in, actual temp's not chill factor about -10 or so
Coldest I have experienced -40 working outdoors at a ski area. There is definately good cold weather gear that will make you comfy if you don't move too fast and sweat... The ski area provided all employees with an outfit of a goretex thinsulate (way high tech in the early 80's) jacket and bib pants and a windshirt for warmer days. I had a deep wool hat over my ears a wool neck gator pulled up over my nose and face, longhandles, long sleeve turtleneck light weight sweater and a heavy ski sweater USAF Mukluks, Hotfinger or Grandoe goretex/thinsulate gauntlet style gloves and Scott ski goggles. When kitted out, not 1 inch of skin was exposed and even tearing about the ski area on a 'doo I was extremely comfortable. I called it my environmental impact suit. I was a ski lift mechanic and climbing the towers was a very athletic endeavor. It was quite surrealistic to be out in a whiteout big time blowing blizzard and be up on a tall tower. It kinda felt like I was an astronaut on another planet...

Be safe

Patty

 

[John4me05]

Late muzzleloader season in Western VA about 10-12 years ago... 6 inches of frozen snow on the ground around or jsut after New Years day... Air temp around 5 with a 25mph or so wind....

Guess it was around 5 but felt like 20 below or more

 

[Art Eatman]

In South Korea during the winter of 1954, I hunted "Slicky Boys" (thieves) while on guard duty. Christmas Eve, it was 17 below zero, with a 20-mph wind blowing.

Some things you never forget...

Anybody thinks he's gonna get me out hunting in really cold weather is suffering from a serious case on bad-think overload.

Hottest? I did a deer-cull program on my place outside of Austin. Gutting a deer in August in central Texas will make you re-think your options...

 

[Steve H]

to me it's not the hunting in the cold that's so bad. It's the packing out the meat. Last elk hunt we were packing out the "quartered" elk around 10 at night, temp around 5 degrees. The fun part was over, the packing was WORK.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

around 10d. F. here in the mountains of WNC on a rabbit hunt. stiff breeze too. we got 4 rabbits.

 

[MCgunner]

Sort of hunting, it was military stuff. I make a point to stay indoors when it get too hot nowadays.

Oh. Well, my son-in-law has been in Iraq for nearly a year now, due home this month from his second tour. I cannot fathom wearing all that gear in that heat. OUCH, heat stroke city! But, he's young, I guess.

I rode a few times in 110 degree weather on motorcycle trips. No, GoldWings don't have air conditioning, despite the rumors. Out across west Texas and into Aridzona on I10, wow, it can be miserable. I take along a water bottle and regularly dump some on my riding jacket. Yes, I have a light weight riding jacket with mesh under arms and across the back. It's actually cooler with the jacket on shedding the sun and retaining moisture than without. And, don't even consider taking the helmet off or raising the shield. Like sitting in front of a blast furnace. Yeah, guys do this motorcycle touring stuff for FUN! LOL!

 

[dirtpig67]

It got down to -68 F back in Feb. here in Tok, AK. Gets down to -40 quite a bit during the winter. Good thing is there is usually never any wind.

 

[XDKingslayer]

I would say the coldest I have hunted is around 0 degrees and that's only happened once or twice.

I used to hate deer season in Pennsylvania. You get me up early in the morning, I get all bundled up and warm, then set me up against an oak tree in the middle of winter, fresh snow on all the branches, slow winter breeze blowing across my face....

It's nappy time.

I could have shot a lot more deer when I lived in Pa. if I could have stayed awake.

 

[pat86323]

for me it was about -5 when i first left camp it got up to about 20 with some serious wind and snow. Was pretty much a waste of time since i couldnt see more then about 40 yards and that wasnt real good visibility. I hunted 10 days dawn till dusk and never even saw an elk on that hunt. Lots of big deer so i went back for archery and all i saw was elk, go figure.

 

[boone052]

December. Northern Alberta, Canada. -40C (which also happens to be -40F) plus windchill. Shot a deer and it was cooling and freezing almost faster than I could field dress it. Easy to pack out, though; dragged it on the snow.

 

[1911 guy]

Coldest I've ever been was in boot camp, Great Lakes Naval Station, outside Chicago. Windchill was -80F.

Coldest I've hunted in, I don't know the temp, but I do know that my left hand froze to my reciever. I was wearing rag wool gloves with the fingers cut off for shooting, my fingers stuck. I poured coffee on them and my rifle and hiked back to camp.

 

[eliphalet]

I rode a few times in 110 degree weather on motorcycle trips. No, GoldWings don't have air conditioning

McGunner,
Get a heavy long sleeve shirt, soak it in water. put it on with a solid leather jacket over it, (not perforated). I have rode like that and got to cold in 100 plus temps.

 

[pbearperry]

I hunted for 3 days during black powder season in Mass years ago and it never got above -34 windchill temp.

 

[phoglund]

Can't say I've spent much time hunting when it was real cold. Around 0°F I'd guess. Without wind chill I've been out in -52°F. With wind chill I've done work at ~ -70°F...but not for long! I've been ice fishing at about -35 to -40°. My toes really paid the price for that one trip when they thawed. I was wearing the same pair of Sorel boots I'd worn hiking earlier in the day. They were quite wet inside from the hiking. Like a fool I took the boots off to warm them under the truck heater. I had the perverse pleasure of an exquisite level of intense pain from that decision. Never again!

Dogrunner is right about 0°F being quite warm. I've split firewood shirtless on a calm day in the sunshine at that temperature and was quite comfortable...while working. Just standing around in 0°F can regain a persons enthusiasm for warm layered clothing.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Normal activity to maybe -20F but I'm not really going to shoot anything.

Normal activity to -20F air temperature but I'm not really going to shoot anything that doesn't volunteer. I've been out cross-country on skis thinking I might jump some birds but again it's just an incentive to get out. Maybe keeping an overwatch on a sheep carcass from a comfortable blind all night watching the stars wheel around.

Anything colder and it's strict necessity. My old frostbite stopped really hurting after about 20 years since my juvenile stupidity and that was 20 years ago so I can stand it. I can't really do much work when I have to watch my hands because I can't feel anything so I don't try.

No question I've been far more comfortable at around O degrees F and 9000 feet on a sunny day than sea level and 50 degrees reported on a gray day on the wet side of Washington state.

The only folks where I had any connection who met the fool killer in the cold were some kids in mostly Levis - stylish but not warm - for me it's wool or fleece, down when I can take care of it - these days it's mostly fleece and other synthetics they stink but Filson and such is reserved for wildgame feeds where I might be trying to impress somebody.

 

[fatguynlittlecoat]

Easily -20F in Wisconsin w/ a winchill of -40

 

[Geno]

Adding to my #19 post which regarded hunting, the coldest temperatures I have "encountered", but not hunted in was around -30, and the wind-chill was around -73. That was a three-day stretch back in 1995 when I was still a HS principal.

Can you believe the supt did not cancel school those 3 days?! Half of our buses were diesel fueled. A couple of them "froze" while on their runs, and we ended up sending the gasoline fueled buses to tow them back in. Fortunately the kids were all dropped off by then.

Burr.

 

[ArmedBear]

One time, here in San Diego, it got down to 45 degrees. No ****. People were dying in the streets.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Was on a hare hunting trip in Northern WI back some 18 years ago or so around christmas time. Got so cold one day our .22's were pretty much useless as we had did a lot of shooting the day before (without cleaning) and the dogs would not even hunt. We didn't have a thermometer that day but I figured it was -25 or lower. Went to town to get a thermometer and the next morning it was -45. The inside of the shack felt blistering at +35. Coldest I ever sat deer hunting was about -20 on the WI opener, same place. Stayed warm that day with an old pair of Army AirCorp flight pants on.