Tactics for Hunting Deer in Bad Weather: Part One
John E. Phillips 11.21.11
You Can’t Take Deer Staying at Home
The buck stood less than 25 yards from my stand. I just had opened both my eyes and peered through the drizzling rain from my almost sleep. I realized the heavy rainstorm had passed out of the area. The water’s hitting the leaves and the trees allowed me to move quietly in my tree stand, mount my rifle and prepare for the shot. I had survived the storm, and now I had the opportunity to bag my buck. But when I looked through my scope, I couldn’t see. Then I remembered I needed to take the scope covers off my rifle. As I started to reach for the scope covers, the buck looked at me. I froze in mid-reach. The buck stared for a long time. A gust of wind blew hard, and a small burst of heavy rain came down. Finally, the buck lowered his head and started to paw the scrape where he stood. I quickly removed the scope covers and readied for the shot. The buck had his tail to me and didn’t present an opportunity for a shot that would put him down efficiently. However, as I watched through the scope, the 8-point buck finally turned and started quartering-away from me. I took the shot. The buck bolted and crashed into the thicket. After waiting 15 minutes, I went to the spot where I’d last seen the buck and found him less than 30 yards from my stand site. When I arrived back in camp, I found my buddies sitting around the TV set, sipping coffee and eating sausage and biscuits. “John, you should have slept-in this morning, instead of going out there and sitting in the rain,” one friend told me. “The weather will improve this afternoon, and we should have a good hunt. Get some coffee.” I smiled and said, “I can’t hunt this afternoon. I’ve filled my tag.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever had this problem, but every time I go hunting, the weather seems to turn out as badly as possible. And, when bad weather comes, I have two choices. I can stay at home, or I can hunt in bad weather. Most of us don’t have the luxury of hunting when the wind doesn’t howl, the moon has moved into the right phase, the rain doesn’t pour down by the buckets full, or the wind blows in the proper direction for us to hunt. Many times we tell ourselves lies like, “The weather really won’t be that bad,” or, “Maybe the weatherman has mis-guessed the forecast.” But if we hunt only on days with good conditions, we probably never will get to hunt.
One day last season I began to get ready to hunt before daylight. I tuned into the Weather Channel on TV and heard the weatherman say, “A line of thunderstorms should pass through our area within the next hour.” I immediately went outside. Although I saw a few clouds, I thought the clouds didn’t hold enough rain for more than a slight sprinkle. I had wanted to hunt the spot that day that I’d planned to go to all season. The area contained a good scrape line on the edge of a thicket in a narrow strip of woods bordered by flooded timber. The rut soon would begin, and I had confidence that the area provided the best opportunity for me to bag a buck. So quickly I dressed, got in my vehicle and headed for my stand site. After putting on my rainsuit, I went up the tree in my climbing tree stand, put on my safety harness and waited for daylight. However, just before the sun introduced itself to morning, I felt the pitter-patter of raindrops on my rainsuit. Five minutes later, I sat in a downpour. Fortunately, no lightning accompanied this storm, although the rain came down in steady sheets. But, thanks to my rainsuit system, I remained dry. However, my gun looked like I had submerged it in a stream, even though I had my scope covers on it. I barely could see 50 yards down the shooting lane where I’d been able to see 125 yards the day before with no rain.
“Sitting in this driving rain seems like one of the less smart things you’ve ever done,” I told myself. “Go back to the camphouse, dry out, get some coffee and biscuits, and come back and hunt when the rain stops.” Then I thought, “Okay, I’m wet and a little cold, but I can’t possibly get any wetter. This rain will pass through within the next hour or two. When that happens, the bucks will start to move. You have yourself in the right place at the right time. Stay here, and wait on the shot.” If you never have had that war going on in your head, then you haven’t hunted very much. If you hunt more than one season, you’ll continually fight the battle of, “Do I stay out here in the rain and continue to hunt, or do I go back to camp and get dry?” I finally gave in to the right decision. I pulled the hood of my rainsuit a little further over my head, leaned-back against the tree and let the rain lull me to sleep. You can’t sleep soundly in a driving rainstorm, but you can take those little 5- to 10-minute power naps that make you feel better. I always wear my tree-stand harness and hunt from a stand that has a bar all the way around it, so I can’t fall out.
Click here to go on to part two, taking deer when hunting in snow and rain.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
