Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 06:24:51 AM

Title: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 06:24:51 AM: It is starting to rain over here and I am busy all day so no hunting for me. :bash:
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: bucklucky on October 25, 2008, 07:22:24 AM: Same here Willy :'( :'( :cryriver:
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: actionshooter on October 25, 2008, 07:37:14 AM: I'm packing for a trip :bash:, but tomorrow :hunter:
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: EastWaViking on October 25, 2008, 07:41:29 AM: This may be a dumb question, but educate me please.

Why is everybody on the west side waiting for rain to hunt deer? Living on the east side, I hate
hunting in the rain.... in fact, I hate rain in general. Do the deer move better in the rain? The Whitetails just sort of hunker down if it's raining hard, and don't move much until the rain stops.
Now snow, on the other hand, that makes for some great hunting! Give me a 10 degree day and 6" of snow in late buck season!
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: boneaddict on October 25, 2008, 08:30:31 AM: I hate to hunt in snow. It can be dry as a desert and crackly but I can move silent. Throw a blanket of snow out there and it is now the noisiest ever. Everyone was praying for snow on this elk hunt and I was cussing. FOr two days it crunched under my feet. Ever try to get within 30 feet of an animal with crunchy snow. Might be fine out in the sage, but not in the deep. Why 30 feet, not because I was bowhunting this time, but thats about as far as I can see where I usually hunt.

Rain does help the animals move. It also is good cover for sound. Blacktails do move more in the rain than whitetails, but they also move in the rain when the time is right. Best days for seeing big bucks in photography season, but then again....wet lens.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: bucklucky on October 25, 2008, 08:48:12 AM: Bring on the most misserable rainy , down poor , windy days and you will see bucks all over. Thats when I just start cruising and cover as much ground as I can till I find the one. Blacktails really start moving when its nasty. Especially just after the hard rain lets up.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: actionshooter on October 25, 2008, 09:08:22 AM: Quote from: bucklucky on October 25, 2008, 08:48:12 AM
Bring on the most misserable rainy , down poor , windy days and you will see bucks all over. Thats when I just start cruising and cover as much ground as I can till I find the one. Blacktails really start moving when its nasty. Especially just after the hard rain lets up.

+1, even though it doesn't look like we will get that this season :'(
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: bow4elk on October 25, 2008, 09:36:55 AM: ONe thing you can count on for late bow season is rain, cold, crappy weather. just not much rut action and from my experience the bucks just bed down and lay low in late November. When I lived in OR, the late bow season was during the rut. The nastier the better for buck movement.

Not to derail the thread but I think this is part of the reason most blacktail hunters agree that taking a mature blacktail is more difficult than a mature whitetail. Factoring in their propensity to move in the nastiest weather fall can dish out, and it's no wonder people like Dwight Schuh, Bob Robb, and Jim Zumbo agree. My parnter took his first 4 pt buck after nervously climbing down from his treestand during a violent wind storm. Trees were blowing down around him. It was insane, yet his buck was on the move and feeding when he slipped an arrow into him.

I'm no expert but I've taken four whitetails in four states without much effort - no scouting, no private land to hunt, no advantages. Just show up, figure it out, and take deer. In contrast, I've never taken a decent sized blacktail with my bow...and I grew up in the Northwest. I lived in the Willamette Valley in Oregon in PRIME trophy blacktail range for a couple years, and though I saw some incredible deer, I was never fortunate enough to have crossed paths and presented a shot. Maybe I'm just a bozo in the woods with these deer, but they always humble me year in, year out.

I hope you guys can put it together and fill your tags. I love this weather only because I'm not hunting yet...chores to do around the house.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: alecvg on October 25, 2008, 05:56:45 PM: Not here! :) Perfect and sunny, we had a problem with fog this morning though... :(
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: stumprat on October 25, 2008, 06:04:49 PM: Quote from: bucklucky on October 25, 2008, 08:48:12 AM
Bring on the most misserable rainy , down poor , windy days and you will see bucks all over. Thats when I just start cruising and cover as much ground as I can till I find the one. Blacktails really start moving when its nasty. Especially just after the hard rain lets up.
:yeah: gets them moving like fleas.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: edmondshunter on October 25, 2008, 06:15:34 PM: Ive been hunting the north side of hi-way 2 and the moon phase and warm days has kept the movement down to a min. PRAYING FOR RAIN, HI-WIND, ANYTHING TO GET THEM MOVING.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: Houndhunter on October 25, 2008, 07:37:18 PM: i dont mind off and on showers, in fact i like hunting in that, but wind? hell no
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 07:46:31 PM: Quote from: actionshooter on October 25, 2008, 09:08:22 AM
Quote from: bucklucky on October 25, 2008, 08:48:12 AM
Bring on the most misserable rainy , down poor , windy days and you will see bucks all over. Thats when I just start cruising and cover as much ground as I can till I find the one. Blacktails really start moving when its nasty. Especially just after the hard rain lets up.

+1, even though it doesn't look like we will get that this season :'(

+2

When the rain is sideways and the trees are falling it the best time.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: Dmanmastertracker on October 25, 2008, 08:04:12 PM: I woke up this AM and looked outside to see if I wanted to drag the wife out to fill her tag, we had no clouds at all, totally sunny, thus my decision to get more Xmas stuff and stuff around the house done. Thinking tomorrow AM we will start looking seriously for a buck for her.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 08:07:40 PM: Shortly after it stopped we saw a nice 3 pt walking near the Cabelas parking lot. Probably about 15 inches wide and tall.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: Dmanmastertracker on October 25, 2008, 08:10:25 PM: Quote from: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 08:07:40 PM
Shortly after it stopped we saw a nice 3 pt walking near the Cabelas parking lot. Probably about 15 inches wide and tall.

I've seen some good bucks near there years ago, aren't they going to level all of that forest soon? I wish a timber co., or the State would preserve some of it, that's great habitat.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 08:20:45 PM: Quote from: Dmanmastertracker on October 25, 2008, 08:10:25 PM
Quote from: billythekidrock on October 25, 2008, 08:07:40 PM
Shortly after it stopped we saw a nice 3 pt walking near the Cabelas parking lot. Probably about 15 inches wide and tall.

I've seen some good bucks near there years ago, aren't they going to level all of that forest soon? I wish a timber co., or the State would preserve some of it, that's great habitat.

Used to hunt out there years ago. Cabela's (Tri Vo / developers) destroyed prime habitat.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: bow4elk on October 25, 2008, 08:37:21 PM: When they first punched that road through, I saw a few 100-110" bucks crossing at night. I made a point of driving home that way every late October just to see deer.
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: ABMGENERAL on October 25, 2008, 10:07:13 PM: worst nastiest days the blackies are scared $hitless and runnin around hiding from Mr Kitty. I love it. I swear they *censored* more too... follow the pooh :P
Title: Re: Rain. Wouldn't ya know it.
Post by: rasbo on October 26, 2008, 11:17:39 AM: I like the nasty windy days also,keeps the mass of road hunters away,and the deer dont like the wind,keeps them up from what Ive seen.I do carry a chain saw now when its windy,had to cut our way back with an axe 3yrs ago not fun :hunter: :EAT: :cue: