bowhunting in the rain


beagleboy

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Re: bowhunting in the rain

i was always kind of against hunting in the rain , whether its drizzle or downpour. because of my fear of losing the blood trail... but i have hunted in a little rain this year and the amount of deer i saw is enough to make me get out there even more when it rains.

i guess i just need to take only shots i know i can make with a high probability that i know will result in a quick kill that wont go far.

with bow thats a lot to ask for because even with perfect double lung hits a deer can go 100 yards or slightly further.

i have changed my thinking . but i sure like better tracking conditions for a swift recovery to my deer..

Shoot Strong

Tony

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Re: bowhunting in the rain

I managed to recover my deer this year with no bloodtrail (after it raining all night), 250 yrds from where I nailed it. I never did find my arrow though, even after going back later and trying to walk all the routes that led to where I eventually found him.

I haven't hunted here in around 31/2 weeks because it's been raining and blowing almost every day.

I don't like bow-hunting in the rain for that very reason. It sure makes it impossible to trail an animal, especially when you have to leave it overnight and by morning all sign is washed away for good.

If it doesn't smarten up here soon, weather-wise, I might just have to hang the ol' bow up and grab the shotgun this year (as much as I hate too). It sure has been a wet one so far.

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Re: bowhunting in the rain

Yep, sure do hunt in the rain, and yep I do worry about losing a blood trail. Because of that, what I do is shorten my max shot from say 40 yards down to 20, or maybe even inside 20 to make darn sure I get a good shot.

The only bad story of hunting in the rain came about 4 or 5 years ago. I shot a deer, watched it run off and I sat for about 5 minutes. My truck was the opposite way of where the deer ran so I decided to get down, get my gear off and loaded up, then I figured by the time I got back the deer would have plenty of time to expire (it looked like a real good shot to me, right behind the shoulder).

I can distinctly remember walking back to my truck and looking up and seeing a few stars beginning to pop out as dusk settled. It was a beautiful clear sky. 10 minutes into the blood trail, the skies opened up with a downpour. confused.giffrown.gif. Completely washed away the blood trail. Came back in the morning to pick up the trail, but only found the back half of my arrow about 50 yards away from where we lost the trail. Never did find the deer.

Still baffled by that one. Only thing I can think is that I hit her shoulder and didn't get enough penetration to get vitals.

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Guest mnarcher

Re: bowhunting in the rain

I like to hunt in a the rain as much as I do when it is not raining. I usually see more deer when it is raining for some reason. I don't think they like to get wet tongue.gif

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Guest brule_wisconsin

Re: bowhunting in the rain

Hunting in a light rain is my favorite. It seems every time I hunt in the rain, I see lots of deer. They move. Also, if you shoot a deer anywhere in the lungs, the deer won't go far. I shot a buck once in the rain, there was some blood, most was washed away, and it only ran about 110 yards. So it is definitely worth hunting in the rain.

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Re: bowhunting in the rain

Rain makes deer harder to track after the hit. Depends on typically how difficult it is to find the deer after the shot in your area when it's not raining. IE. If you know you need a blood trail to retrieve the animal in the area you are hunting, don't hunt in the rain.

Some places bloodtrails are not as necessary as others. It's up to you to honestly decide if where you hunt qualifies or not.

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