hunting in the rain......deer moving or not???

how many of ya'll have hunted in the rain,.....whether it be just drizzly...or damn near torrential downpours? its raining good here now finally........and saturday evening(hadnt rained then).....i let 7 deer walk due to the fact that i didnt have a clear bow shot on any of them...6 doe,1 buck. but since its raining now...i figure they still gotta eat, so they oughtta start moving even with a lil rain. what ya'll think? i have hunted before when it was pouring like crazy...didnt see anything.......and did some stalking in the rain a couple times.....jumped a few bedded does, but thats about it.

 

Shit, here in Oregon if they didn't move in the rain they would starve to death. Of course they are Black Tail here, different than the Eastern White Tail. I like when it rains, it quiets everything down. Hot weather makes it so dry you can't move without spooking something.

 

deer will try to move less in the rain. with all the movement from rain drops it blurs their vision a little and they are more easily spooked. but like you said they still have to eat. the only hunting ive done in the rain was never a productive hunt. i have kicked one up on the walk in to my stand a few times in the rain but never saw anything moving on its own.

just my few cents

 

ive gun hunted in the rain with no real luck. My dad used to muzzleloader hunt in the rain and sleet before, and always saw deer...I think it all depends on the location

 

yeah, i think location/food sources are key, even with rain. good thing here.....acorns are starting to fall...and i still got muscadines and scuppernongs, and a few pears left, so im pretty much covered on food sources.

 

I've seen and killed lots of deer during rain/snow/sleet storms.

Early season, the rut, late season - it doesn't matter. If you're not out in the woods you aren't going to get a crack at them. I'm not quite as "die hard" as I used to be and tend not too hunt as often when it is REALLY coming down....however I did kill one of my biggest bucks 2 years ago during a torrential downpour (it was early November and a rutting buck doesn't care what the weather is).

 

Hell yes they move in the rain look at the thread on my blacktail I just killed, it was in the rain. The key in oregon is drizzle or light rain in a storm they take shelter and do not move. I see double the animals in the rain then I do on hot or sunny days

 

Around here the deer move alot during the rain. I still don't bow hunt during the rain because it can cause major problems blood trailing.

 

Hunted once in the rain, didnt see a thing. But they got to move some, but if i was a deer i might just bed down.

 

Light drizzle or light rain doesn't affect there movement too much. In heavy down pours they tend to head for cedar or pine thickets.

Last year I hunted in Missouri for a 9 days and it rained everyday, just about all day long. The deer did not move much at all in the daylight. They did move at night when it wasn't raining.

 

both here in va and tx i ALWAYS see more deer when its raining, its not because im sneaky (to big to be quiet).

 

If it's raining during the only times that you're able to hunt... get out there. Like they say, you've got to be present to win.

Me personally, I've seen deer in light drizzle, but much less in heavier downpours. Plus, it sucks to have to drag a deer out in a downpour and then stand in the rain while skinning it on the pole.

I like to hunt right after a good heavy rain. You can get through the woods quietly and the deer seem to come out from being hunkered down.

 

I have seen more deer in a light rain/mist than any other time. Bowhunting in the rain kinda scared me because of the high probability the deer would run a fair distance and the rain wash away the blood trail.

 

I doubt they're moving in a heavy downpour but in general, yes, I'm sure they do.

 

light rain/drizzle doesn't seem to bother them around these parts. rain can make stalking much easier with the ground soft and the sound of the rain will cover your movements. my favorite weather for hunting is either a sunny, frosty morning or in the snow. i've sat through some serious downpours before and not seen even a squirrel. makes me think that i'm the dumbest animal in the woods. i won't go out in heavy rain anymore. i prolly still would if i had a decent blind to hunt from though.

 

I say yes. Biggest Buck I have killed was in bad weather. And you can't kill anything on the couch.

 

im agreeing with all ya'll. i have been hunting in heavy downpours, and didnt see anything, but when it stopped raining......they started moving pretty damn good......especially if they were some good food sources nearby. i have see quite a few deer moving in light drizzly rain, just not in real heavy stuff. i personally think they move best right before a good storm, and there after.

 

Rain puts a dampner on deer movement because they are not able to hear as well, I never see deer when its raining. I wish I did rain helps with keeping smells of the grass and such on the way in.

 

Just noticed this, and that is because the barometric sp? pressure is moving and they can tell so they move to eat before the weather gets here. I just know all this because I did a report on deer hunting last yr.

 

ive always found its better when foggy, just a slight sprinkle and kinda damp, ive even got proof to back it up