Play the weather game when deer season peaks in the Carolinas

Unseasonable heat or cold, rain or wind can make taking a big buck a longshot, unless you know how to play the weather. Try these tricks.

Anticipating opening day gets almost every deer hunter excited, even though sitting in a stand in the heat doesn’t seem like the ticket for killing a mature buck. If opening day doesn’t rattle a hunter’s cage, the peak of the rut will. Yet, when the calendar is on target and everything looks to be falling into place, Mother Nature’s fury can stifle the perfect scenario, leaving even the most-skilled hunters empty handed.

Weather plays a pivotal role in deer movement and the success of any deer hunt, but when the rut arrives, a cool, seasonal morning with a light prevailing wind isn’t always delivered. Often, hunters are greeted on the days they have available to hunt by torrential downpours, gale-force winds or 90-degree days that make success an unlikely result. However, unsavory conditions don’t always end the chances of taking a good buck, either.

According to Jonathan C. Shaw, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s lead deer biologist, said only one facet of weather has been linked to deer activity.

“For the most part, there is a weak relationship between deer activity and specific weather variables,” he said. “However, one that sticks out is temperature. Deer tend to be less active during either extremity, hot or cold.

“In the Carolinas, deer feel comfortable when temperatures are around 50 degrees, and there is still a good bit of activity 10 degrees above and below.”

Rick Grubbs, owner and operator of Waccamaw Hunting Services in Hemingway, S.C., weather forecasts have a direct impact on his hunting decisions and stand choices for his hunters on the 5,000 acres he manages. And extreme heat during the middle of the rut is his least-favorite variable.

“When it is 85 degrees (but) it’s supposed to be 50, the rut tables and feeding charts are practically worthless. Hot weather during the rut is the worst weather condition imaginable,” said Grubbs (843-833-9817). “Mature does are feeding at night, and bucks are right there with them. But the early mornings when weather is the coolest can be an ideal opportunity to encounter these deer on their way to bed down for the day.”

Although hot weather is often an action-killer, heavy wind and excessive downpours bring their own challenges. However, moderate wind and rain often creates opportunities and can bring hunters one step closer to bagging a trophy buck.

“As long as it is not a monsoon, hunting can be really good on rainy days. Bucks can smell receptive does much better under wet conditions and will take advantage of it. A light drizzle is the best,” Grubbs said.

Sometimes, fall rain is more than a light drizzle. A heavy downpours shuts down almost all wildlife movements.

“Studies show deer stay relatively inactive during heavy downpours,” Shaw said.

However, as soon as the rain subsides, strong periods of activity will often follow.

“Immediately when the rain stops and the pressure starts ris ing, it is a good time to be in a tree stand, because the deer will be moving strong,” Grubbs said.

Hunters should keep a watch on weather radar during periods of storms to determine when the rain might end. Even though hunters may still get a little soaked, the moment the rain stops, the deer will be on their feet shortly afterwards.

Wind creates opportunities, too. A light, prevailing wind always benefits deer hunters, allowing them to pick stands downwind of a deer’s expected approach route. But too much or too little of a good thing doesn’t help.

“Animals don’t move as much with no breeze at all, and it is usually hotter. Then, when it is blowing like hell, deer get nervous. Everything is moving and they aren’t sure if it is the wind blowing through the bushes or a grizzly bear is about to jump on them,” Grubbs said.

Shaw said there’s no research to connect wind or lack thereof with overall deer movements.

“There are no known relationship between deer movement and periods of high wind,” he said. “Studies show deer will continue to move, but they will stay in areas where the wind is blocked with more available cover around.”

Grubbs noted that heavy winds often slack off somewhat just before dark, and deer are likely to make a move towards a feeding area at the same time.

Because wind and rain create significant noice in deer territory, whitetails will rely even more on their sense of smell to keep them out of harm’s way.

“Under these conditions, I tell my hunters need to depend on their eyes more than their ears,” Grubbs said. “We shift our hunting strategies some and hunt more open areas like open bottomlands, open woods, and food plots where you can see a long way,”

The opportunity to sit in a deer stand is often limited by work, family and other commitments, and hunters can’t always pick days with favorable weather conditions. On the bright side, periods of extreme weather create specific opportunities and intense movement of wildlife that can be much more predictable.