Warm Weather Hunting?

mmattockx

mmattockx

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Did some searching and only found bits and pieces of info.

Inexperienced hunter here, bagged 2 deer last year on my first ever season of big game. Opening day in my zone is next wednesday, November 3. Projected weather is a high of +19C. Yes, that is correct and not a typo. It will be like hunting in early summer weather. From what I have read, warm weather slows down deer activity and minimizes the amount of daytime movement.

My zone is in eastern Alberta (WMU #164, east of Hanna if that helps anyone). It is mostly rolling farmland, typically crops, with isolated patches of brush scattered around. Last year we stalked and pushed each clump of brush and tended to drive the deer out with our activity. Once they were bedded down for the day, there was no movement to speak of unless we forced it.

Since it is going to be pretty balmy next week, does anybody have any hints or tips on how the warm weather will affect our hunt and what we can do to counter it?

Thanks,
Mark
 
I'd stick with hunting early morning and late afternoon. My bigger concern is that if I got an animal in the morning, to cool the meat down quickly to avoid spoilage.

I'll be hunting further north than you, temps will still hit the low double digits, but thankfully temps will cool off by the weekend.
 
What you did last yr is always an option. My only suggestion would be to glass the area well before you stalk/push, or better yet do some spotting at dawn before the season starts.

I'm more concerned about getting the meat cooled down quickly. I think we're going to skin them immediately where they fell, gut them, and break them down to: front legs, torso, hips and back legs. I'll also have 5 gal of water to rinse off any blood asap, and get them into gamebags and shade. I see now they're calling for a high of 10 here, so it won't be too bad, as it'll prob. only be 10 for an hr in the middle of the day.

Good luck.
 
work the shade sloooowly, i f there is a breeze glass exposed bedding areas, creek bottom land is good, If there's stock grazing and a lack of water and your on good term with the owner stake out his water supply.
 
Thanks guys. In my rookie stupor I hadn't even considered cooling the meat on a warm day. Last year, every day was below freezing or just above and the deer were typically frozen stiff when we got home and had to hang them. I will mention it to my partner and we can think about what we will do to deal with that issue if wednesday turns out as warm as forecast.

Mark
 
Dunno how hardcore ya wanna go, but one of my co-workers has built himself a cooling box. It's a simple plywood box with a window mount air conditioner mounted to it. A portable meat cooler, if you will. The genset has to run to cool things down, but it can cool a warm carcass down in a hurry.

That may seem over the top, but may be worth keeping in mind, as one wanders through the Garage sales in the 'hood over the years.

If you really expect warm weather and not-cool-enough nights, Ice is probably the best bet. A couple layers of tarp around the outside to use as insulation, and as much Ice as you can gather together. Use the stuff you bring to cool the meat down. It may be worth checking around for a hotel that uses an ice machine, that may let you scrounge a few 5 gallon pails of ice at a time, too.

Cheers
Trev
 
Try and find those sleeping spots before they get to them. It's still getting cool enough at night that they are moving around, but once the sun hits, they are going for a nap.

Early mornings with a spotting scope to try and see where they are entering the coulee or bedding area and where they are laying down. Then, once they've settled down, go push the bush.

Then, in the evenings with about an hour worth of shooting time left, watch those same spots again as they try and come out for the night.

Peterson's Hunting Mag actually had a good article about this just a while ago and suggested thinking like human guy. When it's hot all we want is beer and sleep. Same thing for a buck... water and sleep.

Just my opinion. We're having the same troubles here in Saskatchewan.

Best of luck!
 
saskgunowner101 said:
If you're not too far from home, just pack the body with frozen 4 litre milk jugs and/or bags of ice.
Click to expand...

casterpollox said:
We freeze two litre pop bottles and take them with us during archery season. Same idea. Loose ice makes a hell of a mess as it melts.
Click to expand...


Good thoughts, I will be bringing some of both for cooling purposes. We are only doing day trips, so we just need to keep it cool until it is hanging.

Mark
 
Update.

Yesterday was opening day and I managed to get this mulie doe late in the afternoon. Weather was 12C, so the frozen milk jugs were a good idea and worked well. Hopefully, I can add to the tally this weekend and get the large buck that was hanging around with this girl.

100_1573.jpg


Thanks for all the tips, they were a big help.

Mark
 
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