Rain-Hunters??

[3Feathers]

Who likes to hunt on a rainy day???Was out doing some scouting today was raining but not a down pour, more like a moderate sprinkle.Walked up on a nice doe,never knew I was there.Kicked-up two other deer couldn,t tell what they were.How does trad gear hold up to the wet weather??Do you wax your bow because of the wet weather????

[goldflinger]

I don't do anything special with my bow, just try to keep the feathers dry! I really like the hunting right after the rain stops. Lots of animal movement.

[Bowspirit]

I wanted to get out with my father today on the mountain. Been planning an afternoon hunt with him for weeks. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Just kept thinking about how heavy rains and blood trails don't go together. Now, if someone like you, Charlie, or Ken had been there with me...   :rolleyes:  

Always thursday and friday, I suppose....

[Bill Carlsen]

I tend to not hunt if rain is in the forecast. I have lost several deer due to blood trail wash out. So if it is actually raining, or threatening to, I just don't hunt. Tonight the chance of rain is 60% and it has been drizzly all day. So this morning I checked my trail cameras and set up a DB blind in a spot I have been wanting to for two years. It is supposed to rain thru Weds. so on Weds. I plan on moving my wife's stand 10 yards further in to the timber as she has been spotted by deer each time she has set the stand. Rainy days are best for scouting and changing stands as smell gets washed away.

[Bjorn]

Love hunting in the rain-the more the better. I use a tube quiver to protect the fletch.
Hogs are easy to find when the weather keeps them under cover.

[NoCams]

I am with you Bill on the scouting and working mid-season rainy days. Found a 150" giant two years ago in a drizzle. No noise and scent gets washed out too. Woods are so peaceful on a drizzling day.

goldflinger is correct too about being in the woods right after the rain stops, especially if it has rained steady for a few days and the sun pops out. Deadly scrape huntin like that cause the bucks WILL come freshen scrapes. JMHO

[Bowwild]

I'm with Bill.

I only hunt in the rain if it starts raining while I'm out. If its just a sprinkle I'll stay. I've done this all my bowhunting "career". I've only shot one deer after it started raining. I saw a white flash in a tree line about 70-80 yards out.  I could find no blood so walked a wide berth around the straight line flight to the spot where I saw the white flash. The doe lay there dead.

I will readily admit, the vast majority of the deer I've bow-killed over the years (mostly with compounds) have gone down in sight of me. Rain or not I wouldn't have had trouble finding these deer. I guess I simply worry that I might need a blood trail and the rain may prevent it.

[rastaman]

i'm like Bjorn...i love being in the woods in the rain.  i use a Simmons rotoquiver that completely encloses the arrow and keeps it dry.  If it is flooding or a hard rain i'm not taking a shot (most likely won't see anything til it stops). But i love being there when it slacks up, and the woods come back to life.

[ronp]

I'm with Bill.  I have lost a 2 or 3 deer when the rain washed the blood trail away.  I'm still sick about them.  It is nice being out there in a drizzle, though.  I have made up a few ground blinds in the rain, hoping that my scent would be washed away a little.  I used to gun hunt in the rain with pretty good success.  The woods sure seemed to get quieter (less hunters) once the rain started.

[joe skipp]

Love the rain...never wax my bow...Catquiver is the choice and I also waterproof my feathers. A light coating of silicone on the broadheads and touch them up after the hunt to prevent any problems.

We have taken some nice deer while hunting in the rain.

[GingivitisKahn]

I'll hunt in a *light* drizzle (like it was doing off and on today)  but no more shooting in the rain for me.  Very nearly lost a doe last year that way.

[Stone Knife]

I hunt when I can I don't have the luxury of the whole season off and I'm on call 24-7 I wax my bow use a Safari tuff quiver and wait for a perfect shot. I shoot crappy feathers in the yard to make sure my broadheads fly good no matter what.

[Chris Shelton]

I always hunt rain, it is my absolute favorite hunting condition. I don't hunt downpours due to fear of loosing a blood trail, but anything less than a monsoon I will hunt. Today was drizzle mixed with some steady rain, and I was stuck in school!!  Most of my best shot opportunity's are presented to me in the rain.

As far as equipment, if your bow is finished I would not even think about water getting in. If your arrows are properly tuned you don't have to worry about them getting wet, they will still fly . . .

[Earl Jeff]

I tend to not hunt in the rain due to blood trail wash out.

[Mike Vines]

I have never shot a deer in the rain, but I have seen lots of them out in the rain.  I'm just assuming that they get uncomfortable in the wet weather, and need to move around to get some sort of comfort.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by Stone Knife:
I hunt when I can I don't have the luxury of the whole season off and I'm on call 24-7 I wax my bow use a Safari tuff quiver and wait for a perfect shot. I shoot crappy feathers in the yard to make sure my broadheads fly good no matter what.

I'm with you Jim, I hunt when I can. I take my weekends and off time seriously. I guess if I had a shot that presented itself in the rain, I would think about taking it or letting it go. I guess it all would depend on the present situation.

[stickhead]

Great time to get work done in the woods but bad time to shoot something

[Huntschool]

I'll hunt a light rain or after a heavy rain.  Bows are not a problem and if its raining when I go out I have sets of arrows made with Canadian Goose feather fletch.  They are darn near waterproof as is.

[VTer]

Since getting a tree umbrella years ago, hunting in the rain is one of my favorite times. Of course the only one I've shot in the rain was from the ground. I like the fact that I'm probably the only person in the woods!

[Chris Shelton]

VTer, that is how I feel, if someone else is tough enough to stick it out with me in the rain, I am more than happy to share the woods with them!