The first week of November rolled around and I had all my tags still burning holes in my pocket. Michigan proved to be one of those ego-bruising seasons with “one that got away” and several close calls that left questions in my mind. But I was ok. I’d been here before, and knew that the best part of the season was upon me – November.
I turned my eyes toward Ohio, where the week before I’d seen strong buck activity, passing several nice bucks a younger me would have gladly shot. Partly due to the maturity I’d gained the past decade, and partly due to one particular trail cam picture, I eagerly waited. That trail cam picture was a 160 class ten point (I estimated) that showed in broad daylight the day before I left. Expectations and adrenaline grew as the days ticked off until my return trip.
There was a hitch, however. As mother nature often does, she was throwing me a big curveball in the form of a rainfront ominously projected for the first day of my trip. Would deer move? Was it worth getting all my clothes, bow, and other equipment soaked the first day and therefore leaving me with challenging circumstances the rest of the trip? The day came, and it was decision time. Should I hunt the cold November rain?
Besides being a miserable all day sit (which I planned on doing for the rut), hunting in the rain is often frowned upon, and for good reason. First, you cannot hear well and have to keep your head on a constant swivel as deer can literally sneak past you if you are looking in the wrong direction. This can lead to rushed shots, and spooked deer due to all the added movement. Not only that, but if successful at getting a shot, long track jobs become nearly impossible as blood trails get washed away almost immediately. Many consider this unethical, and due to all these reasons, stay out of the woods during a rain. I weighed all these things carefully, and despite the challenges, hit the woods bright and early that first rainy morning in Ohio.
Many consider this unethical, and due to all these reasons, stay out of the woods during a rain.
The first hours of daylight brought nothing but rain and doubt about the intelligence of my decision. My rain suit was “resistant” and helped shed a good deal of the cold and constant drips, but I could feel the wet starting to seep into my inner layers. Droplets clung to my broadhead and amassed until gravity pulled them ominously to the ground. It was rough, but I was determined to stick it out for a potential chance at the big ten from the trail camera.
My setup was at the bottom edge of the property, about halfway down a long slope that went far into a neighboring piece, and where deer seemed to congregate this time of year. About five different two-tracks converged here on the thick brushy landscape, and most of the bucks I’d seen the week before had, at some point, traveled through this hub. Before I left the prior weekend, I had hung the treestand where I now sat exactly for that reason. With rain trickly off the brim of my soaked baseball cap and hood, at 9:10 AM, I started to see just why I was there.
An 8 point worked his way up the hillside and through the brush about fifty yards away. A nice buck, but not a shooter. What stood out though was that he was almost frantic in his sniffing and bird-dogging. He was obviously looking for does, and almost in a panic to find one. Not finding any, he quickly worked up the hill behind me and disappeared.
At 9:32 my worst fears came true. After looking behind me for what seemed like only a few seconds, I turned around to see a giant, white-faced, muscular-bodied 140 class 8 point walking right through my shooting lane and into the nearby brush. In the wet leaves and noisy rain, he had walked right past me, and I had no shooting lanes where he was headed. He also seemed to be on a panic-stricken mission, and displayed the same odd behavior of the first buck. I’d seen much rutting and chasing in my day, but this behavior was much more than that.
I blew a few grunts his way and he stopped, as he had now ascended the hill behind me leaving us eye to eye. He stared back for several tense moments, and started to return, but sensing something was off he briskly moved up the hill and out of sight. So disappointing, but bucks were moving so I was staying put.
Just ten minutes later, another medium-sized 8 point snuck behind me in yet another frantic search for a doe. Sniffing here, running there, and with none found he moved on into the thick slash ahead and up the hill like the other bucks had done. It was cold in the bone-chilling rain, but the whitetail action couldn’t have been hotter. Would it cool off just as quickly? I’d seen this many times before, and knew it would have to end at some point, especially with no does in my immediate vicinity. I was wrong.
At 9:51 AM, a large body darted through the brush straight at me. Seeing a wide rack briefly turn sideways as he ran, I could tell he was a shooter, but he showed no signs of slowing. Once again, this buck looked panicked to find a doe, and I knew in an instant he would be past me. I simultaneously grabbed my bow and gave a mouth grunt, stopping him just off center of a small hole in the brush.
Immediately looking at me, I drew and squatted until my pin covered his vitals, and fired at the exact same moment he pinwheeled right to escape. It all happened so fast (about 8 seconds total), I wasn’t sure I had hit him, but the flash I saw of yellow nock and green fletch looked true. He ran off, acting a bit hurt, and disappeared into the thick timber mix.
After twenty minutes I felt I needed to assess the situation and see any sign before it washed away. As I walked up to my arrow sticking in the dirt, my stomach sank. White belly hair lay on the ground and the arrow was covered in nothing but bile. This was not what I wanted to see. I spent the next half hour looking for any sign of blood, but found none. I searched about 150 yards in the direction I saw him head, hoping to see some signs of blood or him piled up, but found neither. Backtracking, I tried again but had the same results. The evidence seemed to point heavily toward one conclusion: the wheeling buck was only struck low in the stomach, and finding him would be near impossible. I didn’t push any further, but headed back to the truck to regroup and gather my thoughts.
The next morning I went back to search. I had accepted he was probably long gone, but had a nagging feeling that maybe I had hit him better than the sign suggested and that a thorough body search was in order. Sending up a prayer, I headed off toward the last place I saw his nose pointed: a ridge that led down to a thick creek bottom. If he was hit mortally, I figured he would bed here and if lucky, I would find him stiff in his bed. Looping down toward the ridge bottom, I walked parallel to the thick brush below. To my amazement, after just 50 yards, I saw the brown body of a big clean ten point laying perfectly in a beam of sunlight, as if placed there for me to see.
Applications for Deer Hunting in the Rain
As stated, the con’s of hunting in the rain definitely came to light in this experience, and I’m sure many are saying, “that’s why I do not hunt in the rain.” This is fair enough and sometimes the best decision one can make. I personally, however, will be hunting the cold November rain every chance I get due to what I saw this particular day, which I would describe as frantic and intense buck movement. So let’s break down my theory as to why this is possibly the best time to be in the woods of the entire year for a whitetail hunter to catch such intense action.
Rain Hunting Factor #1: Peak Rut
Being the first week of November the stage was set for buck chasing anyways. Does were getting hot and buck chasing was winding to a crescendo. This was the first key, the powder keg but not the spark. It explained bucks being on their feet and seeking, but not the frantic part that led to such intense movement. It is my belief the rain greatly intensified this.
Your Response: Be in the woods in November – duh!
Rain Hunting Factor #2: Inability to Smell
With all the rain washing and removing all doe estrus scent from the ground and possibly the air, the bucks could not keep tabs on where does were. This I believe was the spark that triggered the chain reaction of fast-paced frantically moving bucks. Bucks couldn’t smell where does had been so they couldn’t cut a track to find one. They couldn’t smell the air probably much better, and if they didn’t have line of sight on a doe, they were absolutely beside themselves trying to get it. This forced them to move and move a lot to somehow bump into one with their only real sense left, their sight.
Your Response: when rain is in the forecast, seriously consider setting the alarm clock.
Rain Hunting Factor #3: Thick Brush
What made it even worse for the sense-inhibited bucks was the fact that the property where the does were hanging was thick. This further inhibited their only sense left (eyesight), leaving it poor at best. Their only chance, again fueled by raging hormones, was to move a lot and hopefully catch sight of a doe at close range. This led a lot of bucks by my stand that morning, and directly contributed to my success.
Your Response: find the thickest doe bedding on the property and let the bucks come to you.
This combination, I believe, led to the drastic buck movement I experienced that morning and the tagging of a brute Ohio buck. And, is the reason I will definitely risk the cons in the future, of hunting in the cold November rain.
HIGH IQ TAKEAWAYS AND CHALLENGES:
- List your pro’s and con’s to hunting in the rain on a piece of paper. Which side wins? Pre-decide conditions you will, or won’t hunt the rain so come season you can make a good call.
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