Hunting Whitetail and Mule Deer in Bad Weather

Whitetail and mule deer hunters love to use the weather as an excuse for staying warm and cozy at home. It could be rain, snow, wind, heat or cold. Whitetail and mule deer hunters will blame the weather and never get to the stand or will go home early. If you are fortunate enough to hunt 30 days each and every season, less than half of those days are going to be ideal weather conditions. So if you let weather dictate your tenacity, you are doomed from the start. Bad weather bothers hunters a lot more than it does whitetail or mule deer.

Rain doesn't bother either whitetail or mule deer too much, but it sure is a good excuse for staying home and dry. The same is true for wind. I've heard hunters say often that whitetail or mule deer don't move during strong winds. That's just not true. If it were true, then in some areas, the whitetail or mule deer would starve to death while waiting for the wind to calm down.

Sure, whitetail and mule deer tend to be more jumpy on windy days because the wind interferes with their sense of hearing that they use for survival. But they do move. I've seen many whitetail and mule deer on windy days and also on windy rainy days. At times, the wind will act in your favor because the whitetail and mule deer are distracted by the wind and their hearing is worse. A hunter can make more noisy mistakes than on a calm quite day.

Snow and cold encourage whitetail and mule deer movement. In fact, late-season success, hinges on the snow and cold. Heavy snow covers most food sources, which forces whitetail and mule deer to concentrate on obtainable groceries. Find the food shelf and you will find the whitetail and mule deer. What's more, cold forces the whitetail and mule deer to feed during the day.

Of all the weather factors, heat is the worst! Heat limits whitetail and mule deer movement to dusk, dawn and nocturnal time periods.

Don't let the weather dictate whether you hunt. Merely adjust your hunting strategy to take the weather conditions into account.

Happy Hunting! b--->