Be a Weather Watcher and improve your chances
This is an important tip which does and can effect how your hunt will turn out. We all know how the weather effects the wildlife. It can determine when the move and when they don’t as well as when and where they might decide to look for food. There are so many variables that it is mind boggling, so in my opinion this tip from Jackie Bushman of Buckmasters is a valuable one for sure.
I’m a weather junkie, because knowing what the weather is going to do helps me predict how the deer will react. The first thing I do in the morning is turn on the Weather Channel and study the radar. Of course, the Buckmasters television crew hunts in all weather since we can’t stop filming just because Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
I’m convinced that deer have an innate ability to sense weather changes. If there’s a big cold front or a heavy rain coming, the deer will feed actively during the day because they know they might have to lay up for a couple of days. Conversely, if the weather is abnormally warm, deer become nocturnal.
One of the things I’ve noticed while hunting in cold weather is that a heavy snow will shut down deer activity for at least a full day. Make sure you’re in the woods the next day, though, because the deer will be moving then.
The same thing happens with heavy rain. Deer don’t seem to mind misty rain. In fact, they seem to like it. They don’t like heavy rain, but they become active as soon as the rain lets up, and time of day doesn’t seem to matter. If there’s a heavy rain at sunrise that lasts until 11 a.m., then the deer will feed at 11 a.m.
Most hunters know that wind makes whitetails nervous, because heavy gusts make it harder for deer to pinpoint the source of smells. Everything is waving in the wind, and that makes it difficult for them to see danger, too. Wind noise also makes it hard for deer to hear. I like to hunt in a steady 10 to 15 mph wind, because I can use the wind direction, and that steady breeze doesn’t seem to spook the deer. I can also get away with a little more movement in my stand on a windy day.
–Jackie Bushman