Hunting in the rain?

[Bear Heart]

Looks like I will have nothing but rain for the rest of the season.  31st is the last day.  How much rain before I should call it off.  Tips for hunting in the rain other than ways to keep things dry.  I've that one covered.

[Jerry Jeffer]

Better make a good shot, because tracking in rain is very difficult. Other then that...... have fun.

[ishiwannabe]

If it is a steady rain, I would focus on what ever the deer use as over head cover....cedars, hemlocks...pines. Then just find out where you can ambush them coming or going.

[Dick4bows]

Deer hate the noise the rain makes in the woods.  It interferes with their hearing.  I have found that hunting the edges of fields works for me.

                                Dick

[OB]

Timothy, I just finished a 9 day hunt near Kelso, WA.  I wore light wool pants and bottoms, gloves, and fleece hat and I was toasty from about 25-35 degrees.  The rain was GREAT!  I only went one day of not seeing elk, and that was on the one day that it did not rain!  You can count on the rain to bring them out.  They will head to cover at about 0840, but will get in the young firs and bed down.  At around 1400, they start moving again.  PM me if you need any more info- and good luck!!  The rain is now my friend.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Take only slam dunk shots....the blood trail will be nonexistant. Use your compass, get a line on which way they escape.

[BOFF]

I love hunting in the rain, but the trailing job afterwards is what keeps me from shooting.

[Steve B.]

All great advice.  I hunt until I get uncomfortably wet/cold then find shelter, build a fire, dry everything out, repeat.

[OkKeith]

I enjoy hunting in the rain (not a toad strangeling downpour, but a decent rain is OK). I generally still hunt in the rain as the wet conditions make for quiet walking. I do a lot of glassing, so a microfibre wipe is important to have to keep the lenses clean. I have had very little luck on stand in the rain. Seems like around here the deer do not move much in the wet weather.

Keep in mind what is important to all wildlife (food, water, cover), and since water is not lacking they will be looking for the others.

I am willing to hunt bedding areas that i normally stay out of in the rain since it dampens down noise and scent. Gotta watch the wind currents though, they can be tricky.

Keep the wind (what little there may be) in your face, go slow, look hard and as most folks have said be sure of the shot.

If the rain is too heavy, go anyway. I have spent most of the day in the truck reading a book or napping just so i could be in there hunting for the 2 or 3 hours the weather let up or the rain stopped. If the wet weather sticks around for severeal days, whatever breaks occur will see a lot of movement.

Now... that's the way it works here, and in a few other states I have hunted. Getting rained on while hunting beats staying dry at work (or home I guess).

Good luck.
OkKeith

[TSP]

Depends on what you mean by 'rain'.  Low wind and 'moist and misty'...a very good time to hunt since the woods are quiet and critters seem to like feeding in those conditions.  And there's not enough water to cause trailing problems.  But if its 'real' rain...the kind you see dripping off the brim of your hat shortly after it starts...the best way to hunt then is vicariously through hunting videos watched from a comfy couch.  No blood trails often mean lost deer...definately not a pleasant experience and a memory you'll likely want to live without.

[Bear Heart]

I went out and it rained and rained.  Didn't see any deer.  I wore Rocky corn stalkers, Cabelas revolution fleece top and bottom, wool blend scarf the wife knitted, and my Art Young hat from 3rivers.  My Cat Quiver 3.5 did its job but needs to be sprayed with camp dry in order to shed water better.  With evening came high winds, freezing rain and hail so I called it off.  Tomorrow is the last day of deer season so I its the hail mary play for me.

[longbowman]

All good advice from a varying array of hunters.  I personally hunt in rain as much as I can.  The last day of our early season was a steady, straight soaker.  I had three different buck into my stand within 4 hrs.  You don't have to make any better shot in the rain than you should make when it's not raining.  You need to be sure on the direction of the deer after the shot and immediately "stalk" the blood trail.  The rain allows for a very quiet time on the trail and the blood will be there with a good hit.  If you made a bad hit the blood won't be there whether it's raining or not.  I've had three gut shot deer that people asked me to assist with that were shot in the pouring rain.  Each person had gotten a line on the direction of the deer and I was able to locate each of them by quietly "stalking" the direction they had left on.  Once I located them we were able to back out and give them the 8 or so hrs. necessary to allow the arrow to do it's work.

[Arwin]

Do yourself a favor and buy a tree umbrella. I used to think it was a cheesy gimmick until I had to use one this year. Man what a difference! I shot a small doe and wouldn't have stayed on stand long enough to get her if it hadn't been for that umbrella. You could even use it while on the ground, just attach it to the tree your leaning on. Make sure you have proper limb clearance or else you'll have to lean outside of the canopy to make your shot.