Warning: Major Storms

The West will enter a period of extraordinarily active weather with the potential for heavy rain, flooding, and a highly dangerous windstorm with the potential to be an historic event.

What does this mean for deer hunting? What do bucks do during a rain or windstorm?

When the wind is howling and the rain is falling deer will be bedded in cover. They will move, but only a short distance and along very carefully planned routes that protect them from the elements of predators. This is due mostly because their main senses are hindered. They can't hear, smell or see as well during intense wind and rain.

After the storm passes and things calm down most hunters get out of the cabin, campers and tents in full force. Well, the deer do the same mostly because the bad weather had kept them from feeding at night.

This sounds like it is contradicting, but some interesting research found at Mossyoak.com 20 Years of Deer Research n Deer Movement states

The most-important factor that increases the likelihood of a deer walking around in daylight hours is temperature.

* "The amount of cloud cover or the lack of cloud cover is the second most-important factor impacting deer movement. Rainy weather isn't good. Cloudy skies are somewhat better for spotting deer movement.

* "The third factor impacting deer movement is wind velocity Mossyoak.com article states interesting research that says they have seen a linear relationship regarding wind speeds. In other words, the harder and the faster the wind blows, the more deer sightings and deer kills they recorded during that 20 years."

An ideal day for hunting deer will be a cold day with clear skies and high wind velocities.

I guess it would be fair to say that this weather front coming this week could be the perfect storm for your hunt.