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Is there a terrain type and habitat I should be targeting?
If it's raining and blowing they really only have eye sight to rely on. I look for them in farther out in clear-cut. Like the does you saw in the fields. I get up high, and just glass every bit of a clear cut. Watch for them to stand up occasionally to shake the water off.
I apologize for not already knowing the answer, but I've hunted plenty of stormy days and I can't say the number of deer sightings was better than, let's say, a cloudy/misty day with a steady, light wind. Yet every year when a storm approaches, hunters get excited about hunting blacktails. I've seen increased deer movement before a storm and after a storm, but not in heavy rain and wind.Am I doing it all wrong? Is there a terrain type and habitat I should be targeting? I totally understand that wet weather allows a hunter to quietly sneak around in the woods. Last Halloween I took a day off and hunted in steady rain with a strong south wind. I spent my time on the leeward side of hills in 2nd growth timber and it was not the most productive day.So, what specific advice will some of you seasoned blacktail guys offer up for hunting in the kind of weather predicted for the opener?BTW, this evening I was running the girls to all of their activities. I saw a doe bedded in a little opening in heavy rain. She was there one hour later. I also saw a doe and two yearlings ravenously feeding in a grassy field. They were gone 15 minutes later.
Deer don't like the wind in the open or the timber. Look for areas sheltered from the wind like ridges that block the direction the wind is coming from. That being said its going to be dangerous out there in the trees if we get the kind of wind storm they are talking about. Look for breaks in the pouring rain when they might be feeding.
Quote from: Turner89 on October 13, 2016, 09:40:58 PMIf it's raining and blowing they really only have eye sight to rely on. I look for them in farther out in clear-cut. Like the does you saw in the fields. I get up high, and just glass every bit of a clear cut. Watch for them to stand up occasionally to shake the water off.Best aspect is on the sheltered side I assume? If the wind is out of the south east, do you look on north and west facing slopes? Thanks for your response.
The direction of the ridges and ravines have some magic that can totally change the direction of the wind from what you'd expect.
JD - did you make a kill on that big bodied deer?
Quote from: fishnfur on October 16, 2016, 01:29:50 PM JD - did you make a kill on that big bodied deer?Guy I was hunting with did
Quote from: JDHasty on October 16, 2016, 02:06:47 PMQuote from: fishnfur on October 16, 2016, 01:29:50 PM JD - did you make a kill on that big bodied deer?Guy I was hunting with didThat's a hell of a nice forkie. Nice eyeguards too. I'd eat him!