A hot weather ?

[Phopkins]

All yall passing on 8 and 10pt deers make me sick

You better find some dramamine because that won't be the last one I pass this year. LOL

 

[woodsdog2]

All yall passing on 8 and 10pt deers make me sick

It sounds haughty and like I’m a deer snob but believe me… this year I’m really trying to be much more selective. I’ve really gotten back into bowhunting more seriously over the last four years and when I know there are some more mature deer on the property I’m hunting I’m really pushing myself to be much more selective. If I don’t I’m out of the game until firearms and although I am not a bowhunting purist, each year I’m leaning more and more to that. I just enjoy it so much more. I’ve resigned to only hunting turkeys in the spring with a bow now as well. Can’t really understand it just how I’m maturing with my hunting. I’ll probably jinx myself by taking the more selective approach this year but I’m strangely not worried about that either.

 

[GraySquirrel]

I actually like hunting and being in the woods.

If the sun is up, and I won't get drowned or blown out of the tree, I go out.

Deer don't vanish when the weather isn't perfect, hell they can't even fly.

My hunting opportunities are limited enough as it is. If I get free, I'm going for it. Definitely can't kill anything from the couch. I live in north Alabama and if I waited on the weather to be just right, it would be all wrong again by the time I got in the woods.

I'm going in the morning until the monsoon starts. Freezer is empty and I just might see a bobcat or coyote to make a new quiver or shooting bag out of. If I don't kill a big buck, I'll still manage to enjoy myself.

Different strokes I guess.

 

[philsanchez76]

I've always been told "The Best Time To Hunt Is When You Can" & You Can't Kill One On The Couch. I Agree w/ Maybe Staying Out of Your Favorite Spot For Now, but I Gotta Hunt Somewhere.

^This! I have one spot on some public that is just dynamite but my access is bad (only one way in and out so no choice). Essentially I can access for that hunt only and then in the overnight hours all the deer will know what's up. This is fine for does etc they'll be back a day or so later, but I don't want to tip off MR. Big yet. So I will stay out of this spot until things are perfect. In the mean time, ill keep hunting some other spots and maybe get surprised! I just love being out.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Geez guys nobody said don't hunt at all. I still go out to hunt when conditions aren't perfect but think of it this way. How many of you go out when it's pouring rain or the winds blowing 35 or it's a blizzard? Not many because we all know the deer won't move as much or at all in those conditions. Same when it's hot. In the north anyways. It's supposed to be 72 degrees here Monday and the rut should be heating up but am I gonna hunt Monday? Probably not. The highest temp on record for this coming Monday is 74 here. The deer have their winter coats on and my guess is their not gonna move much during the day but the temp is going to drop down to about 36 overnight Monday so you can bet your azz I'm going to be in a tree somewhere early Tuesday morning. I can already see the parade of monster bucks running back and forth in front of my stand

 

[Phopkins]

Definitely not a deer snob. I just like to hunt. If I shoot the first middling buck that goes by then I'm down to one buck tag. If a 135 inch buck goes by next I'm going to shoot him, then my buck season is over. I enjoy my time in the woods and prefer to pass deer over ending it (the rut) early. Unless the buck is big enough to warrant it.

I haven't shot a doe in a dozen years cause if I get 2 bucks the freezer is full. My wife told me not to shoot 2 bucks this year anyway. Of course that'll depend on what crosses my path.

 

[Weldabeast]

When u have to rely on public land with quotas u don't get to choose ur hunt days at all. They set the dates before season even starts.... Could be 95 degrees or could be during a hurricane....I dislike really hot days too but if that is what is dealt that day that's what I'll be dealing with...I have the mindset like some of u guys....the animals are out there 24/7...yeah, they probably gonna be hunkered down but walk around enough and u eventually find them...or die of heatstroke whichever comes first

 

[Chimney7]

Years ago when I was in boot camp, my drill instructor told us, you guys are going to go out to the fleet and meet all kinds of old salts with all kinds of stories, listen to their stories, but form your own opinion about things. Don’t let someone else’s negative opinion about this or that become your opinion, find out for yourself.

I think that should be applied across all walks of life. Especially deer hunting. With the internet and podcasts these days we all get to share our experiences with each other, which is helpful, but can be detrimental as well. The US is a very large and diverse place. What is whitetail gospel in this region, is not even relevant in that region.

take all these responses with a grain of salt. Jeff sturgis is very knowledgeable about private, managed hunting grounds. Put that fella on public land in PA like they did on the THP public land challenge a few years back, and he looks lost. Not a dig at him at all, just an example of how different whitetail hunting can be.

The point im trying to make is read up on all the stats and opinions, but make your own opinions. Are deer moving as much in heat as they would in cooler weather, probably not. Are you basing your hunt around movement, or bedding and known travel routes?

Can you kill a big buck when it’s hot, of course you can. Is crappie fishing on point in the fall(literally and figuratively for all you anglers), absolutely! Do what you want, and make your own opinions.

 

[BenG]

If you have the days off no matter what, yeah of course hunt. But if you have a limited number of days and you have to pick and choose, well then I’m not wasting days off when it’s 70 plus.

 

[Phopkins]

If you have the days off no matter what, yeah of course hunt. But if you have a limited number of days and you have to pick and choose, well then I’m not wasting days off when it’s 70 plus.

I would take 70 in mid November over 32 in mid December.
The chance of a decent buck going by in mid November is higher than any other time of year unless you have one monitored and know what he's going to do next.

 

[BenG]

Years ago when I was in boot camp, my drill instructor told us, you guys are going to go out to the fleet and meet all kinds of old salts with all kinds of stories, listen to their stories, but form your own opinion about things. Don’t let someone else’s negative opinion about this or that become your opinion, find out for yourself.

I think that should be applied across all walks of life. Especially deer hunting. With the internet and podcasts these days we all get to share our experiences with each other, which is helpful, but can be detrimental as well. The US is a very large and diverse place. What is whitetail gospel in this region, is not even relevant in that region.

take all these responses with a grain of salt. Jeff sturgis is very knowledgeable about private, managed hunting grounds. Put that fella on public land in PA like they did on the THP public land challenge a few years back, and he looks lost. Not a dig at him at all, just an example of how different whitetail hunting can be.

The point im trying to make is read up on all the stats and opinions, but make your own opinions. Are deer moving as much in heat as they would in cooler weather, probably not. Are you basing your hunt around movement, or bedding and known travel routes?

Can you kill a big buck when it’s hot, of course you can. Is crappie fishing on point in the fall(literally and figuratively for all you anglers), absolutely! Do what you want, and make your own opinions.

I know this wasn’t your point but thing is Jeff has hunted PA public and has been successful. Most guys aren’t going to succeed in a few days. Odds are when you have that many hunters someone will get one, but the odds for any one person going out to an unfamiliar location and being successful on a above average deer are very low at that time of the year.

Sorry, I don’t know why it bothers me when people bring up that public land challenge and act like they all struggle

I would take 70 in mid November over 32 in mid December.
The chance of a decent buck going by in mid November is higher than any other time of year unless you have one monitored and know what he's going to do next.

Oh, yes I agree with that. It’ll cool down next week though.

 

[Dsabhunt]

As I showed in a previous post. I shot a nice buck on Thursday night before sunset in 65 degree weather. A major factor into why I went was that it's November and that when the bucks around here start chasing and that exactly what he was doing. The weather wasn't the greatest but it's the right time to be in the woods.

 

[raisins]

It's been brought up a ton, just getting yalls take. With lows in upper 50s and highs pushing into the low to mid 70s would you still go out? I'm on my cross country vacation dealing with the current Temps. My worry is gunk up my properties pushing my deer onto others where they'll meet the neighbors. The last few mornings have been mid 40s with very limited movement. Would you all go for it or hang it up and go fishing?

On a small property, I would only hunt bad conditions if I could do so without much impact (hunt towards perimeter with a wind that will not spook too many deer). On large pieces (like big tracts of public land), I would just go to a spot that is not a "honey hole". I have spots that are sorta "throw away, maybe I'll get lucky, but if not then I didn't spook any target bucks and still got out of the house and had a shot and saw nature".

Keep in mind that with the rut you'll likely get new bucks on your property. That's a good thing. If you spook one buck, then hopefully another will cruise in later from off your property. But don't take this idea too far. In that case though, I'm mostly worried about ground scent and scaring away the does that are the buck magnets.

 

[raisins]

This kind of ties into the public vs private difference maybe? If you’ve done a great job managing some private and not pressuring it, seems like those warm temp chances would go up slightly. As to where on our local public you ain’t seein nuthin. Dunno for sure

Yep, a bunch goes into that probability estimate. Good private land during a heat wave is probably better than over pressure public land small parcels in ideal conditions.

 

[raisins]

My brother shot a nice 8pt this year during the October lull. It wasn't the "rut" and it was 72 degrees. He was surrounded by deer.

Why not?

I still don't understand it, but there are days when the deer are out and there is no reason why that I can understand. The other day, I took the evening hunt off because it was so warm. I drove out to my brother's in the country to visit, and there were does everywhere in the fields when driving back right before sunset. There was no front coming or going. Just a typical warm/hot evening in late October but there they are. I see this happen several times each year.

 

[Maverick1]

As I showed in a previous post. I shot a nice buck on Thursday night before sunset in 65 degree weather. A major factor into why I went was that it's November and that when the bucks around here start chasing and that exactly what he was doing. The weather wasn't the greatest but it's the right time to be in the woods.View attachment 75295

Same here. Same situation, Friday morning. Tag filled.

 

[raisins]

According to Mr. Sturgis, that's bad advice. But I tend to agree. Being a person who must work fulltime and manage my vacation time or other forms of PTO, I value getting out whenever I can.

I like Jeff, but his advice is usually conditioned on the types of private parcels he helps manage. He also talks about balancing hunting and life, which is good, but it is a person to person thing.

 

[bigmike23]

Couldn't agree anymore with Kyler. A little story that drove it home for me. It was roughly 10 years ago.
In PA rifle season we go up for the first 3 days of rifle to our cabin. Its 1000 acres. We had 18 guys spread out on it.
On the first day it was piss warm 60° with a very slight on/off drizzle. Out of 18 guys only ONE person got a buck. My father and it was a scrawny 6.
For the second day a front came in throughout the first night that plummeted the high from 60 to 30.
By 930 we had 6 bucks down, 3 of which were the targets we had on cam. It's that dramatic of a difference.
Wait for the right conditions

 

[philsanchez76]

But mark drury said it was go time on his app?

 

[Plebe]

Couldn't agree anymore with Kyler. A little story that drove it home for me. It was roughly 10 years ago.
In PA rifle season we go up for the first 3 days of rifle to our cabin. Its 1000 acres. We had 18 guys spread out on it.
On the first day it was piss warm 60° with a very slight on/off drizzle. Out of 18 guys only ONE person got a buck. My father and it was a scrawny 6.
For the second day a front came in throughout the first night that plummeted the high from 60 to 30.
By 930 we had 6 bucks down, 3 of which were the targets we had on cam. It's that dramatic of a difference.
Wait for the right conditions

PA rifle season starts when? Saturday after Thanksgiving.