Rainy early season tactics

[Jakeemt]

Season opens in a couple weeks here and it’s been entirely too rainy. I have been watching my favorite watering holes for two months now and it’s been hot and dry. I was planning to hunt them in the evening over water but, now all this darn rain has me wondering. These are big woods deer so who knows where and when they’ll show for food. Any ideas?

[DarrinG]

Boots on the ground....find a white oak grove with acorns or a single oak the deer are actively hitting. Good luck!

[Bowguy67]

When Barry Wensel was doing the Bowhunting Oct Whitetails thing (one of the best videos ever btw) he mentioned something so simple but absolutely important especially with most peoples somewhat limited time.
He said find what’s least. If the bedding cover is expansive and food is short, find a preferred food source. If vast area of food are available and bedding cover is short, plan to hunt that.
Now I’ll say I don’t hunt bedding cover. I’d set up blocking it and I’d say that was his idea. Water too should be included in this imo and on occasion.
If you were in a drought, water would certainly be a draw. You have the opposite so forget water.
Say the bedding is good as well. The white oak advice is real good but sometimes green beans may be the draw. Where my buddy lives she said persimmons are the early draw.
So find the food source. If it’s say white oaks and they aren’t real good this year that even better. Find trees dropping. You can determine the trees being worked by tree top pieces on the ground. The squirrels cut em and throw them down. Sit there you’ll prob get a shot this week.
You need to plan your hunt though. I bring binos and look into trees for other good ones. When the whites are gone move into the blacks.
Same for different food sources. They mature and are used differently.
Bean is great when green. Totally stinks when yellow and so so when Brown. Corn around here stinks for hunting til it’s cut so I’d look for impending harvests.
Also if there’s lots of water it could change walking patterns so set up on em
Use your head and think through your season. If you aren’t sure preferred bedding or food sources you best find out

[pavan]

Usually, when it is raining early season, I stay indoors and working on new music and transcriptions, but now that my wife is retired, I think I need a rain cap for my arrows in my back quiver.   If the creek is high the shallows where the deer can easily cross are always funnel points. Alfalfa clover mix is the big early season draw where I hunt.

[Sam McMichael]

Like Pavan, I generally don't hunt in heavy rain, but I will sometimes sit out a light shower. Not because it adversely affects the hunting, but because, like a cat, I just don't like getting wet. Water accumulation on my property has never been a problem as far as deer movement, feeding patterns, etc. are concerned. The one creek may get a little higher, but flooding has never occurred. Being retired allows me great flexibility in scheduling when I want to avoid hunting in the rain.