Hunt in the rain?

[sojourner65]

I noticed in Brad\'s journal from last year he mentioned numerous times about hunting in the rain. I know there was a lot of rain in CO last year but is that something you normally do? Back east, bow hunters almost never hunt in rain or wet conditions.

 

[OldMan]

I love the rain unless it\'s pouring. The ground is quiet when it\'s wet.

 

[Deertick]

I hate the rain ... But I agree with Pete about the quietness ...

One thing about \"back east\" is that you generally have months available to hunt deer ... I get a week. I have chosen my week for 2014 already and taken time off of work. I have to put up with whatever God gives me, because \"that\'s it\".

 

[cnelk]

Rain is bad.
I have noticed the elk hole up and all you do is get wet.

But you have to be ready because as soon as it quits, the elk are up and moving.
So that means you\'re gonna get a little wet getting to your hunting area and waiting/hoping for it to stop.

Sprinkles arent so bad, more of just an inconvenience

Wet snow is worse.
You need another layer to be warmer, but that is a double edge sword as you will heat up and sweat more.

Sometime you just cant win

 

[bnsafe]

i hate hunting in the rain. no matter what i have tried to stay dry you still have that damp feeling. when it gets cold at nite it just sucks. but like deertick, it is what it is. last year was a bit different, the floods made it hard to even get up to the mountains to hunt.

 

[Tenderfoot]

I don\'t mind hunting in the rain. I definitely learned last season that great rain gear makes a big difference...for a day or two! Too much rain and you just can\'t stay dry no matter what, unless you sit in your tent and everyone knows that saying...


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[Swede]

I do not like to hunt in the the rain, but like Tick wrote, if that is what the Lord gives you to hunt in, then enjoy the hunt. I do more hunting on the ground and call less when it rains. I like the fact that I can move around more quiet.

 

[sojourner65]

I\'m sure the reason back here is due to rain washing out blood trails. Is that not such a concern for elk? Yeah, I fully understand the vacation vs rain thing.

 

[Billy Goat]

I\'d rather elk hunt in the rain, than sit at my cube and work at my computer on a \"nice\" day.

that said, I dont think I\'ve EVER seen an elk during a rainstorm. I\'ve seen tons of whitetail in the rain in TX.

Also noticed that in a light rain, all predators will get out and hunt hard. Most of the bobcats I\'ve seen have been out during a rainstorm.

 

[iccyman001]

I\'m from the east and to date I\'ve killed some of my biggest whitetail in the rain...
This past year I sat in a tree stand through 7 hours of rain, sleet, snow, back to rain, just to kill a doe :dk:

So I will certainly be on my feet in the rain going after elk! I\'d just prefer it to be dry!

 

[timberland]

Shot my last bull in the rain. It wasn\'t gonna quit and I didn\'t drive 20 hrs to sit in camp, so I hunted. Found a couple bulls browsing up the mountain about 3:00. Pretty easy stalk to get in front of them and arrowed the first one as it walked by at 25 yards. Pretty easy hunt, not far from the truck. Point is, if I had sat in camp even a half hour waiting for a let up in the weather, I would have missed out on that opportunity.

 

[elkmtngear]

SLIP system has so many configuration options...it just doesn\'t make sense to miss out on hunting wet weather !

The elk are still there rain or shine...you just have to get out and find them!

 

[Lark Bunting]

We hunted in the rain last year often. With only limited time in the woods we had to take advantage of every opportunity.

 

[Colorado_Lew]

I don\'t really hunt in the rain but rather just find a place to hole up and wait it out where I have a good chance of an elk encounter. But once the storm lets up I am on the move as that when the elk will be up and moving as well.
Right after a good thunderstorm seems like I have the most close encounters.
Plus I haven\'t ever killed an elk sitting in camp.

 

[ABQ_Chica]

I haven\'t hunted in the rain, but that\'s only due to how infrequently--and how--it usually rains here in NM. When it does rain, it\'s often \"monsoon\" style, brief spurts of very heavy downpours. From my limited experience, the elk lay low during the heaviest rains, but as soon as the rain tapers a little, they\'re up and moving. I learned that lesson too late last year. I waited in my car until the drizzle stopped, and then mere moments later discovered fresh wet tracks and steaming sign right on the game trail I\'d planned to hunt. I never did catch up with them, but who knows...I might have had a reasonable chance if I\'d braved a little rain. Coulda shoulda woulda...

That said, last year\'s rains across much of the west were very dangerous: brutal, fast-moving systems with flash-flood-inducing torrents. Not the kind of weather you\'d want to get caught out in for any reason.

 

[iccyman001]

I haven\'t hunted in the rain, but that\'s only due to how infrequently--and how--it usually rains here in NM. When it does rain, it\'s often \"monsoon\" style, brief spurts of very heavy downpours. From my limited experience, the elk lay low during the heaviest rains, but as soon as the rain tapers a little, they\'re up and moving. I learned that lesson too late last year. I waited in my car until the drizzle stopped, and then mere moments later discovered fresh wet tracks and steaming sign right on the game trail I\'d planned to hunt. I never did catch up with them, but who knows...I might have had a reasonable chance if I\'d braved a little rain. Coulda shoulda woulda...

That said, last year\'s rains across much of the west were very dangerous: brutal, fast-moving systems with flash-flood-inducing torrents. Not the kind of weather you\'d want to get caught out in for any reason.

I am hunting unit 51 in Carson national forest, so I really hope those rains don\'t repeat this year. I will still battle it though if I need to.. :crazy:

 

[Bob Frapples]

Being color deficient in the red spectrum, blood trailing is hard enough for me when it\'s dry, throw in some rail and I\'m really scruwd. I try not to hunt in the rain for that reason. If I do I hunt in rain I make darn sure I can see a long ways or a really close shot where there\'s such a low chance of an uh-oh.

 

[mtnmutt]

Thank your all for being honest.

Last season, I was one of those idiot hunters that went hunting during our CO flooding long weekend. There wasn\'t hardly any hunters but locals. I now know that I could have capitalized on the long weekend if I changed tactics. It was a mistake for me to use the same strategies that I use for a dry day.

I am mostly worried about blood tracking, since I lack experience.

 

[OldMan]

Thank your all for being honest.

There wasn\'t hardly any hunters but locals.

That says a lot right there.