If you haven't already, definitely go check out The Wired To Hunt Podcast with Mark Drury. Deer understand that impending weather is on the way and as a result they begin to feed in order to survive hours (or days) of inactivity and/or limited food. In this graduate-level course, we'll teach you about deer biology, behavior, and ultimately, how to become a better hunter. Whitetail deer are smart, like humans (well, some humans). Still, each week I drive over seven hours, even if its just to spend a few hours of one day in the woods. Therefore, supporters of the claim that barometric pressure is a significant factor in whitetail deer movement believe it is important to hunt the beginning of a low-pressure system, when the storm is knocking on the front door rather than when it has already blown the door down. If these minor weather events occur within the first or last few hours of daylight, it seems to have an even bigger effect on whitetails. It requires you to have the right equipment and know the right times to hunt. How Deer Respond to Hunting Pressure. Things heat up noticeably in rutting season, roughly from late October to December, when bucks are more likely to drop their guard. In both previous examples, where deer showed a behavioral response to hunting, forests or bottomlands were a prominent component of the landscape. 40 inches, be extra cautious while driving to avoid hitting a deer. Whitetail Deer Movement and Barometric Pressure: Secret Weapon or Urban Legend? The danger in waiting too long is that while the pressure may be falling, the weather has reached the point that the hunting is no longer good.
So while it is not the direct reason for deer movement, some hunters may want to use it as a reference. Here are those times. His final words of wisdom: "As a whitetail hunter, the bottom line is that you need to be in the field during the rut. How studying the weather can change your deer hunting season. The rut's going to happen regardless of weather conditions, " Dr. Jacobson explained. Sadly, it seems that sportsmen are paying the price for the busy lives they lead. I am sure you have all heard meteorologists say on the news that we have a "high-pressure" system heading our way, or vice versa, and did not really understand way that truly entailed.
Non-front-related weather events, such as pop-up showers and storms, will encourage deer to move as well. That said, if the conditions for the upcoming days look favorable, scheduling hunts for the days when peak activity times coincide with sunrise and sunset might indeed lead to increased sightings. It's now the night before opening morning and the hunter drifts to sleep, feeling as though tomorrow's hunt will go exactly as planned. How does this affect deer movement? Since I have such limited time, I try to spend days in the woods with the best weather, which I base upon high pressure systems. How to pressure cook deer meat. It's no coincidence that he plays close attention to weather conditions, and he loves to hunt during the rut — a time when even the wisest whitetails make fatal mistakes. Notice the decline in pressure starting Sunday and the resulting rainstorm on Tuesday. He had packed his Black Widow recurve in the truck just in the hopes of getting free from his electrical job. Deer don't have smartphones with weather apps to forecast what's to come, but they sure do sense it, and their sensory organs seem to be a whole lot sharper than ours.
When the air molecules are less dense and loosely packed, it is a low-pressure system, and clouds and snow or rain can follow. Early in the season, high pressure might be slightly above 30. For the beginners, barometric pressure is simply the pressure of the atmosphere measured by a barometer. "I've had spots where that puff of smoke leaves my stand, goes through the woods, circles around and comes back to me — no matter what the wind direction is! It's only natural for us hunters to pay more attention to the weather as deer season approaches. Best rifle scope power for deer hunting. "I'm way more sensitive to the wind during the rut, " he explained. We also looked at three other indicators of deer activity and each time found the same basic pattern where activity declined throughout the weekend, remained low on Monday and Tuesday, and began returning to normal levels on Wednesday. Although deer hunting season varies from state to state, and even from county to county, the need to factor in the effects of weather and pressure is always an integral part of a hunt. You should almost always set up your hunting situation for the wind to be in your face. Come winter, whitetails can spend as much as 90 percent of their time bedded. The barometric pressure can be the best weather indicator for increased deer hunting success.
Little, A. R., S. L. Webb, S. Demarais, K. Gee, S. Best barometric pressure for deer movement. K. Riffell, and J. Gaskamp. Perez has encountered almost every imaginable type of deer herd, and just about every weather condition under the sky. To take advantage of these pressure changes, I recommend getting a hunting-specific barometer like the AcuRite 00250. That said, if you have places where the deer are lightly hunted, or you have access to spots with good, thick cover where whitetails like to lay low, you can enjoy some exceptional bowhunting this month. Weichert's fascination with weather began in his teens, when he noticed that he was seeing more deer during periods of wet snowfall or cold, light drizzle.
If you find that your hunting behavior is highly predictable, then consider developing a plan to break out of the "rut. " If they can't hear well, they don't come out to graze. While we may not be able to find a major change in movement statistically, a small 2-5% increase in movement, while not statistically significant, could be all we need to get that target buck to travel a bit further than his daily routine. He has nearly 50 years of bowhunting experience, harvesting more than 80 Pope & Young animals during this time, including several trophy whitetails. "If you see leaves falling in multiple directions, that's a bad situation, " he said. The "Solunar Theory" was something that John Alden Knight created in 1926. So if the winds are strong, pickings will be slim, not to mention the chances of making a clean shot for a bowhunter. When the overhead/underfoot coincides with dawn and dusk, you have a perfect storm of deer movement. You can pontificate about how weather conditions influence rutting activity until your blaze-orange turns blue — and maybe you'll be correct. 10 Best Times to Deer Hunt. Researchers are looking for statistically significant and consistent correlations. The bitter part, of course, is the fact that whitetail season will soon end for another year. As you might guess, then, the best time to be there is as soon as the storm lets up enough for the deer to finally get a bite. In addition to other weather conditions that can help you hunt more accurately, it features air pressure in inHg to two decimal places and indicates specifically if it's rising or dropping to increase your chances of seeing mature bucks.
Deer are also highly adaptable, capable of employing a variety of behavioral changes to avoid hunters, depending on the situation at hand. On calm, northern early season days when the air is cold and the ground is still warm, you can ignore the wind in the mornings because the thermal effect of heat rising from the ground will keep your scent above the deer. If you are a serious hunter, and want to see some serious movement, head to the stand and deal with the weather. Hunting deer, especially mature bucks, involves a constant balancing act between getting into positions that allow shot opportunities while trying to keep deer unaware of your presence. Feeding areas]or food plots as soon as the pressure starts to drop. Changes in barometric pressure in general are some of the best times to hunt. An entirely different response was seen by Mississippi State University researchers who monitored adult bucks in Oklahoma that were exposed to one hunter for every 75 acres. Hunting is a lot like a game of chess. Jeff Sturgis of Whitetail Habitat Solutions targets fronts in similar manner.
You can also use your own intuition and start hunting when you feel the first bites of a storm like the first gusts of cool wind. Other times, you might successfully harvest the deer you're after, but it usually doesn't happen quite the way you had planned, and your success can often be attributed just as much to luck as skill. Water condenses into clouds and then falls as rain. So Should You Hunt Whitetail Based On Barometric Pressure? High winds can stifle deer movement, and the ones who do choose to move are usually quite nervous, making their movements quick. When the high-pressure cold fronts move through, it means the temperature will be dropping and the wind will be increasing from the pressure change. Well, in an effort to assist with your planning for this year, we've combed through forecasting data, spoken with our resident whitetail deer hunting experts — Christian Berg, Clint Casper, Eddie Claypool and Bill Winke — and come up with what we believe just might be the best hunting dates for the 2022-23 season.
A lot of the research suggests that deer move best when the barometer hits 30. But it does mean the wind direction is favorable for them in some way. However, with the new moon on the 25th and moonset shortly after last light on the 27th, we're going with this date as our pre-rut pick. Why does the pressure change? Although barometric pressure is a very crucial element to deer movement, it is difficult to judge.
The wind often blows from the southwest to west-northwest during the initial day of the front. The deer makes a move. Perez also believes that cloud cover can be an important ally during the rut. 40 inches, the number of deer increases exponentially. An examination of large scale hunting data found some additional detailed insights as to the relationship of weather and deer movement. The deer activity for both bucks and does increases drastically. Although the one thing I know for sure about nearly every aspect of deer hunting is that no one can be 100% certain about anything.
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