Hunting in smoke

[derrick454@]

I was out in it yesterday in Boise and had a horrible sore throat this morning. Sinuses are all messed up too.

Yeah that’s what my wife said. I left just in time and you couldn’t start a fire if you wanted to where I’m at!!!!!

Wonder if they use those super tanker planes for fires anymore?


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[saskhunter]

I find that whenever I can actually smell the smoke, is about when I revisit if I really want to be out hunting or hiking. From experience, a haze or light smoke you can't smell doesn't affect animal movement much or my performance. But the moment it gets thicker and I start smelling it, the animal's pattern is a messed up and my throat, eyes and sinuses get all fucky and I wake up with smoke boogers.

The only time I'm outside when it's significantly smoky is when I'm fighting wildland fires...

 

[IdahoElk]

Smoke is really thick today.

 

[ODB]

I was out in it yesterday in Boise and had a horrible sore throat this morning. Sinuses are all messed up too.

My wife works downtown and said the hospital reeked of smoke everywhere even inside. Very acrid smoke. Sucks.

 

[spike camp]

I read that and wondered "why on earth would he be hunting in Maryland". After a bit I realized it was probably Mule Deer.

Ha!
Thought the same thing…thanks for the clarification!

That looks pretty smokey.
Locating will be what it is..if you can’t glass well, you’ll likely have a tough time locating deer.

As far as the smoke, I think it’s personal.
My buddy and I were in really thick CO smoke a few years ago…like ash on the tent thick.
Buddy didn’t have an issue, but after 2-3 hours of hiking, and going lower, the smoke got to me and I puked a few times while my buddy laughed.
I don’t think of myself as particularly sensitive to things like that, and I was even surprised how much it affected me.
Good luck!

 

[.204smokechaser]

Animals won’t care.

Make sure you’re staying up on hydration and good calorie intake. I do better when my body feels good. Usually takes me 2-3 months to feel like I recover from fire season. The particulate matter is no joke.

 

[psirus7]

AQI can change from ridge to ridge and most weather-quality AQI sensors will be in population centers with the vast majority of data in remote areas being an estimate or pulled from public Purple Air PM2.5 sensors (which are surprisingly accurate). YMMV, but any actual long-term exposure above 300 is going to be pretty bad for you and unfun. I’ve chased Elk in N.Idaho at 200-300 AQI and movement/vocalization of animals is very much “off”.

 

[HighUintas]

Why not get a mask that filters pm2.5? I can't remember the brand, but there are some that are designed more towards heavy exertion use (like running or hiking) so that they're more comfortable and easier to breathe if you're breathing heavy.

If I lived up there where you regularly get pretty bad smoke, I'd get one and hunt in it. I used to run in a mask in the winter in SLC when the inversion would get extremely bad. It wasn't fun, but it worked. Now I just use a treadmill.

 

[Rotnguns]

Hey all, hoping for some advice on my current situation. Opener is tomorrow and I am currently near Ketchum where the AQI is in the 300-400 range. Hoping for some advice on locating deer when vision is this severely limited. Also wondering about how unhealthy hiking is in this stuff. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.

I volunteer at a local food bank Friday mornings running carts and unloading food to clients. Yesterday, air quality was in the purple range, about 210. I'm paying for it today - coughing and irritated throat. I wouldn't be out very long in 300+ unless absolutely necessary.

 

[trepuah]

So a little update for everyone. I decided to go out and give it my best effort to get above the smoke. Found a saddle at 9800 and set up for glassing. Ended up only seeing goats still cool though. Headed back to the trucked to go to a different area I scouted earlier this year.

 

[turbobrick]

I shot my pronghorn buck in horrible smoke, my wife also had the shorter than tag in that same unit two weeks later. The fires were mostly out by her hunt, and it was like hunting two complete different units. There was no chance we were going to spot them at any real distance, so I harvested the first good buck we came across. The animals were definitely acting different in the smoke, I felt fortunate to be able to fill that tag that year.

 

[Huntfam]

Hey all, hoping for some advice on my current situation. Opener is tomorrow and I am currently near Ketchum where the AQI is in the 300-400 range. Hoping for some advice on locating deer when vision is this severely limited. Also wondering about how unhealthy hiking is in this stuff. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.

Hunted Montana in smoke 2 years ago and it was not easy. Smoke definitely makes it hard to breath and can become unsafe if exposed to for a period of time. Be safe and plan accordingly.

Hey all, hoping for some advice on my current situation. Opener is tomorrow and I am currently near Ketchum where the AQI is in the 300-400 range. Hoping for some advice on locating deer when vision is this severely limited. Also wondering about how unhealthy hiking is in this stuff. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated.