Activity during rain?

[RockAndSage]

Anyone ever notice mule deer up and about more when it's raining?

Any patterns or even interesting one-off observations with that?

 

[graniteghost]

I’ve noticed anecdotally that during a light misty rain I see a lot of deer activity. During heavy rains they seem to tuck away. I’ve always assumed it’s been due to the fact that they feel more protected and will stray further from cover as the fog is doing that for them.

A group of bucks I chased during archery a few years ago I would seldom see when it wasn’t raining actually. Thankfully it was a wet fall so I saw them often.

 

[mavinwa2]

In my experience, in a heavy downpour rain, the muleys tuck tail & take cover in heavy, thick brush, timber.
A choice area that is out of or protected from the wind.
But when that storm breaks, that is the time to be hunting.

This is a last day of the season, young 4x3 WA State high country mule deer buck, taken after a 2-day storm broke. I too had taken cover for 3.5 hours underneath some thick pines, keeping relatively dry with my raingear on. Storm broke, winds & thermal shifted at 4:30pm, fog came in & out....and the deer were everywhere below me in the basin. Feeling damp and cold, I had only 30 minutes of hunting light left. With over 50 deer below me, I had to act fast to fill my deer tag within the last hour of the season.
A 225-yard downhill shot and the buck tumbled head over hoofs, down into the bedding pines. A small fir tree stopped its progress, thankfully as another 20 yards was a near 60' vertical drop off a cliff.

I didn't get back to spike camp until 11pm, after processing, deboning and hanging the deer meat in a tall pine. Took me the next 1.5 days to pack out the meat solo.



Image of my last trip pack out. Left the Browning Belgium scoped 300 Win-Mag locked up at base camp. Brought along the old family Winchester, 32 Win-Spl as predator protection.

 

[willfrye027]

I love to be out when an afternoon shower breaks.

A few years ago in Idaho wife and I were holed up in the tent for about 36 hours during some heavy downpour. We were snoozing and the rain started to let up. I heard something that sounded like chewing/munching right outside the tent and there was a bachelor herd of 5 bucks in camp, with the closest being 10 yards. They were eating mushrooms that were sprouting up in the pine needles of thick timber.

 

[RockAndSage]

Great info, thanks all.

 

[kota]

I have killed roughly 1/3 of my lifetime bucks right before a storm, to where it started raining as I was cleaning them. I don’t even own rain pants cause it storms so infrequently in the areas/season I normally hunt. I haven’t had the same success hunting when the storm breaks, but have definitely noticed a big increase in activity at that point too.

My theory is that they know a storm is coming but don’t know the magnitude, so they always feed before it. Sometimes it’s a big storm and they hole up til it breaks, and sometimes it’s not significant enough to change their routine and you don’t see that same activity spike after it breaks.

 

[MTGunner]

In the rain last Monday. These are back yard pics. MTG

 

[RockAndSage]

I have killed roughly 1/3 of my lifetime bucks right before a storm, to where it started raining as I was cleaning them. I don’t even own rain pants cause it storms so infrequently in the areas/season I normally hunt. I haven’t had the same success hunting when the storm breaks, but have definitely noticed a big increase in activity at that point too.

My theory is that they know a storm is coming but don’t know the magnitude, so they always feed before it. Sometimes it’s a big storm and they hole up til it breaks, and sometimes it’s not significant enough to change their routine and you don’t see that same activity spike after it breaks.

This is making a lot of sense, I'm hoping we're seeing a bit of a pattern with what everyone's sharing.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Seen good deer activity in an all-day type rain, not so much during storms. Before or after storms though…