Is it good to hunt right after a rain?
Shortly after a rain can be one of the best times to be in the woods. Everything starts to move again and because of the rain, their senses can be a little bit impaired. Deer can not hear as well and their sense of smell is challenged by the humid air and challenging winds that come along with rain.
The window just after a heavy rain event ends is particularly fruitful—likely because deer that were bedded down through the storm are now hungry and eager to get moving.
Deer will be active all day during a steady rain, especially if the wet weather lasts for several days. Don't let these conditions discourage you! The deer are out there and they must eat and socialize (especially during the rut).
In my experience, the best time to hunt a buck scrape is immediately after a rain. Game cameras have taught me that after a rain bucks are more likely to visit their scrapes.
"Rain likely washes away some scent molecules, so that can help, but humidity can help a deer's olfactory system work better. It might be a tradeoff," Jaster said. The most significant advantage to rain might be quiet walking, though.
When the rain quits, even if only for 30 to 45 minutes, I know the deer generally will move then. You'll find the best opportunity for taking a really-nice buck with your blackpowder gun during the rut right after a rain. Bucks will move out of thick cover to freshen-up their scrapes as soon as the rain stops.
Deer may bed down during a downpour, but the best time to take advantage of movement is often right after the rain lightens to a drizzle or stops completely. Hunters who try to wait out the rain at home and then hit the woods often run the risk of bumping deer on their way in.
Heavy rains or thunderstorms will cause deer to bed down in a sheltered area of some kind. Any high winds, rain or not, will also discourage their movement. Since light rain doesn't alter a deer's activity, this time can be very rewarding for you.
Hunting in the rain can be very productive. It seemingly encourages deer movement -- especially when rain events are small in nature and occur relatively close to dawn and dusk. Take advantage of these occasions and make your next hunt count.
Early Morning and Late Afternoon
No matter what the conditions, deer move best early of a morning and late of an afternoon. That's when they're wired to move most. It's when their eyesight is most effective. And there are few things that impact this movement, other than hunting pressure.
What temperature do deer move the most?
- Large temperature swings will often boost deer activity, especially if the temperature begins rapidly dropping. ( ...
- Freezing rain and sleet in the woods. (
For example, if a hunter goes in and hunts the same stand day after day, for the entire season, it becomes susceptible to stand burnout. This happens more often than we might think. It doesn't matter how good the spot is or how many deer you see in there.
Knight recommends setting up 30 to 40 yards downwind of scrapes. He said bucks normally approach scrapes from downwind to scent-check them from a distance before approaching closer.
Well, wildlife researchers have shown that most scraping activity (nearly 85 percent) occurs at night. So, hunting directly over a scrape may not be the best strategy during early November to catch a glimpse of that buck you've been getting on your trail-camera.
Deer are attracted to the smell of soil as is, but if you want to up the attraction factor, pour some buck or doe urine, or scrape starter into it. This will create an exceptional trail camera site, as bucks will continue to check the scrape every time they pass by or are in the area.
To a whitetail deer, the detergents we wash our clothes in, and the soaps and colognes we use on our bodies, are repulsive. Even our natural scents, like the bacteria that grow when you sweat, are enough to alert a wary buck to your presence.
ANSWER: Under normal conditions, a deer can smell a human that is not making any attempt to hide its odor at least 1/4 mile away. If the scenting conditions are perfect (humid with a light breeze), it can even be farther. So they are pretty impressive.
Much like a person who knows a storm is coming and tries to get chores done before it arrives, Ditchkoff said deer movement also increases dramatically ahead of and immediately in the wake of a weather front. "Any time there's a weather change, you're going to have considerable deer movement.
Their thick fur keeps them warm, even in harsh and very cold weather conditions. Additionally, deer bedding sites can be found in locations with a thermal cover. These areas are sheltered from the rain and wind, usually in thick shrubs, stands of conifer trees and other very tall trees.
Late season deer tend to move much less during the morning than during the afternoon. One researcher found that most deer finish feeding about two hours before sunrise. They then pick their way slowly toward their bedding areas. This makes morning hunting a risky proposition when the rut is over.
Is it better to hunt at night or in the morning?
For the first several weeks of the season, the best time to hunt is the last two hours of the evening. Warm mornings and hot days cause deer to spend more time feeding at night, so by dawn they are bedded down and will be less active during the day. As the evening cools, they'll move around for food and water.
Deer do feed in the rain.
You are just as likely to kill a deer during rain as a sunny day, and 100% more likely than if you stayed home.
According to Dr. Cutter, when temperatures are above 40 degrees F, bacteria grow rapidly once the deer is dead, and the higher the temperature the faster the growth. “If it's cold weather, and it's a clean shot, you might be able to do fine,” she said.
Deer tend to sleep during the day, roughly between the hours of 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm. A night scope for AR15 will definitely come in handy during these hours. Deer are highly active during the hours just before dark.
Skin It. In September or early October, it never hurts to skin a deer as quickly as possible so the meat will begin to cool down. This is a must if you don't have access to cold storage and intend to hang your deer in the shade of a tree. To do this, the air temperature needs to be 40 degrees or cooler at night.
It's no secret deer rely on their senses of smell and hearing as top lines of defense. Rain can influence both. Swirling clouds of scent molecules, both good and bad, can be rain-washed from the air, making it difficult for deer to smell that which their nose would have otherwise known.
Many hunters claim that warm weather shuts down deer movement during the rut, as will rain and wind. While this may hold true much of the year, the fact remains that when a doe is ready to be bred, it doesn't matter what the weather is, nor the time of day.
Calling Deer in the Rain.
Grunt calls are deadly and often get a response from curious bucks when used at the right time of year. When calling deer in the rain, you have to be cognizant of the fact that sound simply doesn't travel as well in wet, heavy conditions as it does on those cold bluebird days.
There will be a mid-day activity period just like always, but deer, especially bucks, can move at all times.
Spooked deer will return to their bedding area, but when they return depends on how much the intrusion frightened them. If they can't pinpoint the threat, they'll likely return sooner than if they saw or smelled you. You can evaluate your impact on a deer by studying its body language.
What age are bucks the biggest?
In 1994, aging by tooth wear indicated 96% of the Oklahoma white-tailed deer buck harvest was less than 4 years old. A white-tailed buck generally does not reach its maximum body and antler size until it is 4.5 to 9.5 years old.
Deer will move every day, but you may find some increased activity as the temperature gets colder. That activity is always associated with some extreme event, such as an extreme temperature change, wind increase or barometric pressure change that occurs in concert with the weather change.
and the best time of day to hunt late season deer is definitely the evening. After the rut, bucks are weary and need food, and the colder weather tends to get them on their feet earlier in the afternoons.
By using the cover of darkness to access your stand, you can arrive and climb preferably, roughly 5-10 minutes prior to shooting light.
In addition, bucks seem to feel safer moving in the daylight during rain because it's quieter for them to move and easier for them to smell. Obviously rain dampens the sound of crunching leaves, so you'l typically see deer taking a slightly less methodical approach as they move in the rain.
Heavy rains or thunderstorms will cause deer to bed down in a sheltered area of some kind. Any high winds, rain or not, will also discourage their movement. Since light rain doesn't alter a deer's activity, this time can be very rewarding for you.
Much like a person who knows a storm is coming and tries to get chores done before it arrives, Ditchkoff said deer movement also increases dramatically ahead of and immediately in the wake of a weather front. "Any time there's a weather change, you're going to have considerable deer movement.
Damp conditions on the forest floor enable you to move quietly through the woods, making it ideal for still-hunting or spot and stalk. While damp conditions seem to benefit a deer's sense of smell, a heavy rain works to a hunter's advantage by washing away ground scent.
During a Storm
When the wind is howling and rain or snow is falling, deer will be bedded down in heavy cover. They will move, but only short distances and during lulls in the storm. Hunt the edge of cover or near a food plot with thickets nearby.
Regardless of moon phase, bucks move most at dawn and dusk.
One project, contrary to popular belief, even found that deer were more active and moved earlier during the day following a full moon.
Do deer sleep same place every night?
Do Deer Sleep In The Same Place Every Night? Deer do not sleep in a single location all year round. Most of them have a limited number of potential bedding sites within their home range.
Deer tend to sleep during the day, roughly between the hours of 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm.