Deer Hunting in the Rain

So it seems that the weather terrorists are predicting a wash out on Sunday for the deer opener weekend. We’ve got a box stand, so I’m not worried about staying dry. But I’m wondering what deer will do for movement in the rain. I’ve got a young first time hunter that I want to be sure has a good experience. Will the deer move in the rain? Or should we consider that day a bust?

Fortunately for us, it’s 20 minutes from home, so we’re not having to deal with travel and stuff…

I would hunt no matter what. You can’t shoot one at home, has always been my thought when it comes to rain or snow.
Unless it’s a downpour, thunderstorm.
The deer live in it everyday of their lives. It’s normal to them. They should still moves at their normal prime times, you just may not as much day activity as you might if it was perfect cooler weather with a high pressure system in place.
The rut may be a bit subdued due to the warmer than freezing temps that we have had lately but if buck are chasing does… the rain may not hurt 1 bit.
If you’re in a blind, dry. Get out there!!!
Good Luck

this time of year I’ve had some real good hunts with crappy weather. Biggest bow deer was shot with wet snow mixed with alight rain coming down. downpour is different

No matter how crappy the weather is, remember this. Deer can NOT pee or poop while bedded down. Even in the heaviest down pours, they stand up, shake the water off, walk around and take care of business. They may not cover much area, but they still move around

Those critters are smart and they know people, for the most part, aren’t out in the rain. Or snow for that matter.
If you can stay dry, hunt in it and you might see some of the best activity of the season.

This is from someone that told me this 50 years ago, you can’t shoot a Buck sitting on the couch . Going to the tree .

If its a hard driving rain deer will hole up just like people do. They don’t like the extra wet any more than people do. A steady, but not heavy, rain will see deer up and moving. The two best times for me to still hunt is during a light snowfall or when its very foggy and a light steady drizzle to light rain with only a slight breeze. I’ve killed a lot of bedded bucks in this fashion, especially in standing corn.

Consider yourself lucky to be able to hunt in a box stand on private land. A lot hunters don’t have that option and are exposed to the elements. Take what you can get and try to use it to your advantage.

As said, torrential down poor will have deer holed up from my experience. I hunted the rain last weekend, didn’t see tons of deer but the ones I did see were moving with determination, I am sure to quickly get to there desired location. They still have to take care of business as stated by Randy. I think that rain can potentially make them move more in the light depending on various factors as well.

With rain in the near future the deer sure are active during daylight today. Ma and I ran to the wine shop in Pine Island and saw several deer out in picked fields, some bucks moving along and some were feeding does. LOL dog park on one side of a fence, a dozen deer feeding 100 feet away on the other side of said fence.