With a snort, he bounded away, the does headed for the gap, and the hunt ended right there. As soon as he turned to look at me the game was over. It was the buck, and he was just two steps away from me, staring intently at the does! I literally could have slapped him with my bow! I was stuck, of course.
As I swung the bow slowly to my left, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. They came right in without once stopping to look around, and I was high in the hopes that the buck would be tagging along behind them.Īs the trio passed the first apple tree I raised my bow and tracked them just in case one of them miraculously turned into a buck (every hunter's dream). They were about 10 yards off to my right. I figured it was a doe with the two fawns. It began to get dark, and I was about to give up, when I saw a shadow approach the gap in the wall, then another and another.
Don't let these conditions discourage you! The deer are out there and they must eat and socialize (especially during the rut). Deer will be active all day during a steady rain, especially if the wet weather lasts for several days. I stood there with my poncho hood up, head down, watching the rain drip steadily off the edge of my poncho. The rain continued pouring down, but I was determined to stick it out until dark.
#How to find the rain coats in heavy rain game full
Dressed in full camouflage and an olive-drab poncho for protection, I set up near a fallen log about 20 yards from the apple trees. The cover consisted of thick saplings and alders, with about a dozen gnarled, mature apple trees in three rows on the garage side of the wall. I suited up and, with bow in hand, made my way through the orchard to a gap in the stone wall where I'd seen the deer cross the night before. I paced around the house fretting over my bad luck, before I couldn't stand it anymore. Naturally, my big plans were dashed by a heavy rain that started in the middle of the night and kept up all day. I didn't mention the deer to the fellow (he didn't seem to notice, and I knew he wasn't a deer hunter), but I did make plans to come back the following day to set up on those deer. While we talked I happened to glance out his office window and was amazed to see a nice buck, two does and a couple of fawns feeding on fresh dropped apples.
I would never have found this hotspot if I hadn't come out one day to discuss some road work with the grader operator. My first encounter with hunting whitetail deer in the rain took place at an old apple orchard that happened to stand behind the town maintenance building. They seem almost docile compared to their behavior on clear days. On rainy days, however, they walk into the field, give the blind a cursory look and begin feeding without a care in the world. On clear, dry, cold days the deer come out tentatively, ears up and eyes on the blind, almost aching to find some reason to flee. My guess is the endless drone of the rain through the woods, the constant motion of twigs and brush being moved by falling rain drops, and the overall dismal appearance of the woods lulls the animals into thinking everything's just fine. If anything, rain makes deer more content and less skittish.
From my experience, whitetails don't vary their habits a bit just because it's raining.įor example, one of my favorite hunting spots is a box blind overlooking a field corner where deer come to feed near dusk every day, year 'round. During the hunting season, rain is not a deterrent to deer movement.
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