An exception to the rule

Pyramid pit blinds like this are warm & dry at all times.

Those who know me realize that sitting in a tree stand is my favorite deer hunting method. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and last night found me doing something different for a change.

It was a night for me to make an exception. There are two reasons to own hunting coops: one is for those people who dislike sitting exposed to inclement weather in a treestand. The other reason is they like to stay warm and not fight windy weather.

Inclement weather yesterday meant a dfairly steady on and off-again rain. Kay and I  hunted two widely separated locations, and it was a wet and windy day and evening although the rain stopped just before dark. Granted, I  could have worn rain gear and toughed it ouut, but I've been fighting the sniffles and didn't need to get wet and feel even worse for the rest of the rut.

Rain & sniffles can lead to a bad cold, which I don’t need now.

Was it a great hunting night? Of course. Any night when a person can hunt is a good night, but as the old joke goes, some nights are better than others.

No bucks came to me nor Kay, and there were no does sneaking in late through our area as they headed elsewhere. In fact, neither of us saw a deer of either sex

It seems on nights like that most deer stay close to their bedding area in thick cover, and wait for the rain to peter out. Wet ground makes for silent travel, and some bucks may go for a hike to see what is new and different on their home turf but many animals just wait it out. They seem to know that rain will take the crunchy noise out of dry leaves.

I don't hunt from a coop every night it rains but I do enjoy the stillness of a dry coop 20 feet in the air. It gives me greater visibility, and although there was nothing moving in our hunting area, it proved that sitting inside a warm and dry coop has some things going for it. I'd much rather be outside in the weather but Ma Richey didn't raise any fools.

I want to be hunting during the rut’s peak, not in bed with a cold.

A hunting buddy several miles away saw two nice bucks but none came any closer than 80 yards, and the high and wide eight-pointer he saw was hugging the tree line. He showed no inclination to cross an open field. The second and smaller buck, also an eight-pointer, was traveling with a doe. I suspect he better have some fun siib before a larger buck takes his girlfriend away, and leaves him with a hole or two in his hide.

The other hunter saw no does, even at the end of shooting time, and all was silent after the two bucks moved through. As he put away his equipment for the hike back to his truck, a crashing in the brush revealed a she-coon trying to move away from him.

Each of us had the same thoughts tonight. It's impossible to be a successful deer hunter while sitting in the house. That means we were out in the weather tonight, but all of us chose to sit in a dry coop.

We all all stayed dry and warm. That’s why I made an exception last night.

My friend and I may not be the smartest gents in the world, but we're savvy enough to come in out of the rain. Which is probably what our mothers hoped we would learn after they had harped at us for years about being smart enough to get in out of bad weather.

See, Ma, I did pay attention ... once in a while.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors