Tips & Tactics

Turn Bad Weather To Your Advantage

Turn Bad Weather To Your Advantage

By Ken Piper

The alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m. You’re tired, but visions of that giant buck help you sit up and rub your eyes. Then you hear it - howling winds and the dreaded patter of rain on the roof. What do you do?

Deer are like us when it comes to bad weather - they avoid it as much as possible. They can’t get out of the wind and rain completely, but there are locations in their home territories that offer some respite from harsh conditions. If you have hunted the same area for any length of time, you probably know of several sheltered depressions, sidehills or thickets. These can be whitetail hotspots in bad weather.

While going out and sitting in your favorite stand in pouring rain is miserable and probably unproductive, consider stalking to your property’s natural weather shelters. You can make a short day of your hunt since you’ll probably be cold and wet, but the odds of seeing deer are good, especially when you compare them to the odds of taking a trophy buck from your bed.

Before venturing into the woods during inclement weather, check for reports on dangerous conditions, including icy roads, lightning and flooding. No deer is worth risking your life.

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