Rain day tips...

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dan
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Rain day tips...

Unread postby dan » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:39 am

I have been hearing a few gripes about the rain lately. We can't change the weather, but we can use it to our advantage....
So lets talk about what we do to take advantage of the rain.
Scouting: Rain washes away your scent and allows you to spot check areas to look for hot sign without burning the bridge. I like to slip into staging areas look around and slip out undetected.
Hunting: You get a free hunt when it rains. Bucks will not know you were there as the rain washes your scent away--- You get a free shower too!
Pressure: Only the die hards will be out in the rain. Woods to yourself.
Movement: Bucks will move around in light rain and overcast skys during the day.
  Stalking: Its so quiet with the leaves wet and the rain noise you can stalk up on bedded bucks and kill them in there bedroom.
Noise: You can get right up on bucks in the staging area where normally the noise of leaves would not allow...

NOW GET OUT THERE AND HUNT! ;)

Any body else got rain tips?


cwoods
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby cwoods » Mon Oct 25, 2010 2:51 am

nope...I beleive you pretty much covered it!
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby Dabowhunter » Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:05 am

I have noticed lots of buck movement immediately after a heavy down pour. especially during the rut. Bucks seem to really prowl downwind of doe bedding areas at that time. Lots of scent checking
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby dan » Mon Oct 25, 2010 3:08 am

Dabowhunter wrote:I have noticed lots of buck movement immediately after a heavy down pour. especially during the rut. Bucks seem to really prowl downwind of doe bedding areas at that time. Lots of scent checking

Now that you say that, I have noticed bucks checking scrapes right after a rain... I have taken a few bruisers hunting primary scrapes after a rain near
buck bedding
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby Dabowhunter » Mon Oct 25, 2010 4:00 am

Raining pretty good right now. Wish I could hunt today.
While rain may wash away scent, I believe the ability to smell may increase for most species in times of high humidity and rain. Just imagine how it opens our own sinuses. Course they have to blow the snot out every so often :D. So my theory is that the bucks can smell better in and after the rain and realizing this they get on their feet to put it to good use :shock:
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby virginiashadow » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:00 am

The first couple of days of my vacation (Tues and Wed) are showing light rain. I will be hunting from around 10am-dark both days. I am not really sure where to set-up however. Any ideas? Staging areas?
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby dan » Mon Oct 25, 2010 7:16 am

virginiashadow wrote:The first couple of days of my vacation (Tues and Wed) are showing light rain. I will be hunting from around 10am-dark both days. I am not really sure where to set-up however. Any ideas? Staging areas?

Late morning I would set up on the edge of doe bedding, or funnel, or leeward side of a ridge that connects bedding points. About 1 or 2 PM I would move to buck staging areas...
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby muddy » Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:14 am

I think you have to be even more careful of your scent while hunting as the scent stream seems to drop and hang around a little worse. On days with little/no wind it's like having a cloud of stink if you don't get a constant wind.

If I could get a rain from midnight to about 2 pm once a week I'd be so stinking happy as those are the afternoons where you can hit a nice open alfalfa field and see a bazillion does come out at 2:30 followed by big boys by 4. At least that's what happens in some of my areas after rain.
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby dan » Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:50 am

If I could get a rain from midnight to about 2 pm once a week I'd be so stinking happy as those are the afternoons where you can hit a nice open alfalfa field and see a bazillion does come out at 2:30 followed by big boys by 4. At least that's what happens in some of my areas after rain.

I agree... that is a great situation.
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:35 am

Dabowhunter wrote:Raining pretty good right now. Wish I could hunt today.
While rain may wash away scent, I believe the ability to smell may increase for most species in times of high humidity and rain. Just imagine how it opens our own sinuses. Course they have to blow the snot out every so often :D. So my theory is that the bucks can smell better in and after the rain and realizing this they get on their feet to put it to good use :shock:

X2...dogs have no problem during and after a rain...most of the time they track even better. :o
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby GRUD » Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:02 am

I would not have gotten my buck this year except for the rain that afternoon. It allowed me to get in undetected. I try only to take a close sure kill shot when hunting in the rain. I want to get both lungs and I want that deer down in site. Light rain is great, I got one of those umbrellas that strap on above you to the tree and they are great.
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby magicman54494 » Mon Oct 25, 2010 10:13 am

Hunt and hunt early! If you know of a good buck set up on him on a light rain day. Keep on your toes because you won't hear them coming. An all day light rain/mist is my favorite day.
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Re: Rain day tips...

Unread postby lungbuster » Mon Oct 25, 2010 6:02 pm

I agree with all day light rain/mist, deer will move almost all day long. I also use an umbrella to keep the camera dry, hunted this morning in a light rain/downpour/ mist, not alot of activity, but did have a borderline shooter pass me at 40 yards with his nose on the ground.


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