Rainy Day Whitetails

A big buck posturing in a soft rain and far from any bow hunters
photo courtesy Dave Richey Outdoors©2012

There are times when a bow hunter can hear a whitetail coming for 100 yards. If the animal is upwind, and the leaves are as dry as corn flakes, the sound carries for a long distance.

Whitetails depend on their hearing for survival, and dry leaves advertise their presence. The opposite is true when it rains.

The leaves soak up the rainy weather, and a whitetail can ghost through the woods with barely a sound. This is an important reason for hunters to spend time in the woods when the rain is falling.

Fog, a light mist or a soft drizzle can cause bucks to move

I've written before that deer love to travel when a soft misty rain is falling. There is a soft pitter-patting sound under such conditions, but it doesn't seem to bother the deer. They seem to be able to separate that soft noise from a dangerous noise without a problem.

These soft rains seem to get deer moving earlier in the evening, and it appears that deer move with more confidence during a soft rain. They appear more comfortable moving between bedding and feeding areas, and they seem to eat and move without hesitation.

I've had people ask if I feel a soft rain will carry human scent downward. I believe, to a small degree, that it does. I also think that low-lying ground fog will hold human scent near the ground.

Soft rains and fog seem to go hand in hand during the autumn months, and I've seen some of my largest bucks under such conditions. The fog seems to offer big bucks a sense of security, and they seem to be on the move. This is most certainly true during the pre-rut, rut and post-rut, when buck and doe activity is high.

One thing about fog is it distorts the sense of sound. I don't know how many times I've listened to a buck grunting as he tends an estrus doe, and in the fog, my vision and hearing is limited. I've seen bucks appear and disappear in the rainy fog without ever seeing the doe, and there have been many times when the doe is visible but the tending buck cannot be seen.

Fog is the hardest to hunt in because it distorts hearing and vision

It's at times like this that a hunter must be alert. I remember one night several years ago just before the Nov. 15 firearm season opener, when I saw a half-dozen bucks appear and vanish into the fog. All were moving, all were grunting, and the antler and body size of each one indicated they were individual animals.

Judging distance in the fog can be difficult. I've talked with a number of people who know the far edge of their bait pile is 20 yards away, and if a doe or buck appears in heavy fog, they feel the animal is much farther away that it appears. They aim high to compensate for this imagined difference and shoot over the animal.

The best advice is to put out markers  if you are not using bait. A measured distance must be believed, even if the fog makes the animal appear much farther away than what it is.

I like rain on the roof, rain after my crops are planted, and rain (on occasion) when I'm hunting. I dislike a steady diet of it, and I compare that to eating steak every night. One soon grows tired of it.

I find it enjoyable to  hunt under these conditions

Hunting in the rain isn't too bad. It offers something a little different to a bow hunter, and that is fine by me. I enjoy a variety, a change of pace, in my hunting, and I can hunt in anything except a downpour or when the lightning is dancing in the sky.

Most of all, I like to hunt in those soft misty evening when the darkness comes early because of heavy rain clouds overhead, and when the whitetails seem to slip up on a guy. That is when a hunt really means something to me.

Shoot lower draw weights

An accurate shot with a lower-poundage bow can be deadly.

Even big bucks can be killed with sharp broadheads and low draw weight. Doubt that? Well, don't bet big money against it.

I've seen it thousands of times over the past 30 years as more hunters are drawn to bow hunting. The strongest looking guy on a 3-D course has muscles in his spit, and he delights in telling others how he pulls 92 pounds or some such thing.

He tells others he is dead-on at 60 yards, and his arrow speed is well over 340 feet-per-second. He usually insults other hunters by asking them how much weight they draw, as if it's any of his business.

Be more comfortable and accurate: shoot lower draw weight.

If they answer 55 pounds, 60 pounds or 65 pounds, he criticizes them for not shooting more poundage. Such jokers attend one or two 3-D shoots, and then wonder why no one wants to shoot with him. Such people can become intimidating bores. Shooting high draw weights can be dangerous to your health.

Other than because of a personal belief, there is very little need why any sane person should be pulling 90 pounds or more. It's not needed, and drawing so much weight doesn't make most people a better archer.

In fact, one could argue the case that too much draw weight can make them a worse shot. How so?

It's easy. Anyone who draws that much weight is an accident waiting for a place to happen. There used to be a guy I knew, and he had to retune his bow after every four or five shots. The vibration of the shot was so violent his bow would go out of tune. Watching it explore made some people want to take up croquet.

Once, the bow blew up when he shot an arrow much too light for his draw weight. The bow disintegrated in his hand, and only through sheer good fortune, did he escape serious injury. He was cut up some when things started flying off his bow.

Trust me -- shooting too much draw weight can be hazardous to your health.

A month later, as he cranked his bow up another two pounds, he drew it back with visible difficulty, and shot one arrow. It was on the second shot that he blew out a couple of shoulder muscles, and the last thing I knew he was pulling 55 pounds. His he-man days had painfully ended.
Heavy draw weight can cause lasting damage to back and shoulders.

He no longer razzs other hunters about their meek draw weight. He learned a lesson he'll never forget. Too much draw weight can cause long-lasting injuries.

The one thing such macho guys believe is that pulling heavy-duty weight helps them. Another guy I once knew cranked his bow up to 85 pounds, and he knew he was teetering on the ragged edge of too much draw weight. He gritted his teeth, and when he shot, he would miss the kill zone by a foot or more. He wounded too many dee that couldn't be recovered, and also wound up hurting himself. He no longer hunts with a bow.

Most of the deer shot in Michigan and other states are taken at 20 yards or less. It doesn't take a heavy draw weight to shoot a razor-sharp broadhead through a deer with 35-40 pounds.

One woman I know is extremely accurate. She has good eyes, good form, and has shot over 300 chipmunks and red squirrels around her home using a bow and arrow. She rarely misses, and if she draws on either one of the small rodents, it was dead but doesn't know it yet.

She gradually built up her strength to draw 40 pounds, and she shoots deer every year. She shoots arrows clean through the deer with a two-blade broadhead, and that points out the two things any bow hunter needs to be effective in the deer woods. They need to be able to be accurate, and must shoot arrows tipped with razor-like broadheads.

Shooting accurately with razor-sharp broadheads is important.

It's hard to over-emphasize what sharp broadheads mean.

Most factory broadheads are not razor sharp. If you shoot a replaceable blade broadhead, choose one with the sharpest possible blades. If you choose a fixed-blade broadhead, choose a two-blade head than can be sharpened by hand.

We use a flat file to get the broadhead reasonably sharp, and then we put the finishing touches on with a stone. The tiny burrs on the edge are removed on a leather strop like the ones barbers once used to shave with.

It doesn't require he-man strength to shoot a deer. It does require accurate shot placement, and very sharp broadheads. A bow shooting an arrow at 180 feet-per-second or faster, and an arrow tipped with a very sharp broadhead, is far more effective than a bad hit from an arrow traveling 300 feet-per-second. Too much draw weight can lead to target panic and flinching.

It's a matter of concentration and skill rather than one of brawn and bluster. A cool hand, under pressure, can place an arrow accurately, and the sharp broadhead does the rest.

Which of these two scenario do you think works the best?

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors