Fahrenhiet not that Celcius stuff. So how cold ?? Tomorrow morning they are talking 16 below here with a -24 wind chill. I am entertaining the thought of going out. When Troy was out here the first time... we hunted when it was 15 below one morning. Not much of a wind. A few of the other mornings were 5 - 10 below. The coldest for me started the afternoon at 15 below ( that was the high for the day ). By the time the hunt was over it was pushing 20 below. It was the last day of bow season and I almost got a shot at a doe. She needed to go another 10 yards to get within range. I found 3 sheds. Had to laugh when I got back to the truck... I had one hell of an icicle mustache... snotcicle for you southern guys. My wool glove was frooze to my grip on my bow. That was back before hand warmers. That night it dipped down past 30 below. Tim
Oh and this is where the saying... " separates the men from the boys "... comes from I believe. Now the wife thinks it is... " separates the insane from the sane ". But what does she know ?? :p Tim
-28 below. That was In northern Wisconsin In 1991 or something like that. I've done many hunts here In Minnesota In that -15 to -20 below. Shot a doe In 2008, It was -16 below. That's the coldest I think It's ever been when I've shot a deer. Shot a doe this evening, It was 0. Felt like a heat wave compared to the last few mornings and evenings I was out. We had -11 the last 2 days while I was out hunting. I'm sure Fitz has hunted In colder temps then I.
I've hunted late season here in PA before where the temps hovered around 0 with -10 to -20 windchills. It's no picnic, I don't care who you are. Chemical handwarmers, and LOTS of them, will make it more bearable. One thing I noticed from hunting in the west as apposed to hunting here in the east is that it always seemed warmer out there with the lower humidity. 10 degrees out there felt like 30 degrees here in the east. Its not only cold, its downright damp here and it cuts right through you.
Steve... congrats on the doe tonight. I wuss out at 20 below. Didn't you guys have fairly strong winds today ?? That is usually more of a deciding factor if I go out our not when it is cold. Just no place here to get out of the wind. Tim
with the bow only about 18-20 below but one muzzle loader season I did 2 days at 25 and 30 below(minus 50-60 windchills)...had to stop still hunting every couple hours and build a fire so I could feel my toes again on that one...also woke up those mornings with all the water for dishwashing frozen in the buckets inside the camp...thanked goodness for 3 woolen blankets and an old army sleeping bag - and all the bucks I saw had dropped thier horns already(2nd weekend of Dec)...prob'ly same year as Schultzy but thought it was 92 or 93 as I was in college then.
We have high humidity out here. We aren't one of those drier areas. 83% right now. Same in the morning but gets a little better through the day. |Winds from the SE are just plain nasty and cold here. Tim
Shot a doe with black powder when it was -34 windchill. I ended up gutting her in the shop because I was so cold. It was the last day of black powder and I shot the first deer to give me a shot. That was back before I had the gear I do now. I sat Chirstmas morning and it was -23 windchill and I was just fine for a 4 hour sit. I recommend Sitka Fanatic to anybody now.
Thanks Tim. Wind wasn't bad today but the last few days were not so friendly. Some where In the mid -30 windchill I think It was. I hate hunting In cold weather but with one tag here ya gotta do what ya gotta do If your still without. I'm soooooooooo happy I'm done taking off a million layers of clothes after hunting. That's gotta be the worst part for me. Oh and pulling the bow back sucks when your upper body Is so tight with clothes as you know.
3 shirts pants with a pair of light weight camo pants over those when really cold. wool socks insulated bibs insulated jacket I wear my uninsulated camos over that. One face mask from 10 to -5. 2 face masks for anything colder. foot warmer in each pac boot at 10 below or colder hand warmer for each glove from 0 and 10 below. 2 per glove tomorrow morning. I don't have really heavy gloves as I don't like shooting with them. Keep the hand warmer on the back side of my hand so they don't interfer with shooting. I buy all my winter hunting gear big... including shirts. Nothing fits tight. I look like a very big marshmellow man. Tim
You are insane !! Starting to think the wife maybe on to something. Tyler hates the cold but when it comes to shed hunting... we been looking at 10 - 20 below. We cheated though... every couple hours we would work back to the truck and warm up. Then drive to another spot and start looking again. We did really good one day and ended up with 16 sheds. I scored on a main frame 6x6 set and a big 5 pt. Kept the camera inside my shirt pocket. Would only be able to snap a couple pictures before the camera would freeze up.
Wow! You guys are a lot tougher than I am. I killed a doe 2 weeks ago when southeast Kansas saw its first snow of the year. Temps were hanging around 20-24 degrees and sustained winds at 30 mph gusting up to 50 mph. I don't know what the wind chill factor is on that, but all my camo layers and hand/foot warmers only had me out for about 3 hours. Thankfully I ended the night with a kill, that warmed me up!
I start crying when temps go below 32. I may still hunt but I am whining like a 2 year old in my head. I would not be hunting in any minus temps. Southern MD is as far north as I will go.
Coldest ive ever deer hunted was around 10 degree's with a little bit of a windchill. But during duck/goose season... mid to late january.. ive hunted in the negatives... I spent many morning as a kid in the middle of the river wondering WTF i was doing out in the frigid cold..
Did a hunt in -10 last year. Would not hesitate to go colder. Cold is cold once you hit 0 and below, can't tell much of a difference. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
Sooooo glad Im not the only one! I cant seem to do much below 30. It doesnt help that I dont own heavy clothes. I bought a "nice" jacket last year thinking I would be good. Turns out its lighter then my normal jacket with just a wool vest on the inside. So I took the vest out and use the vest with my normal jacket, but still not enough. I need to get a good suit for the 30-0 temps...but they dont make that stuff cheap these days...
probabaly coldest calm day was 10 or so below. hunted a 20 below wind chill once with the gun. that was long ago though. i get enougfh of that crap at work so it isnt fun any more
I think the coldest I've sat out is in the -18 range. Been out scouting & shed hunting into the -30s. If it's calm, I'll go out. I'd rather be in -20 thats calm than 0 with 10-15 mph winds.
You guys are insane! The coldest I ever hunted was about 10 degrees, and damp, and it was pure torture, but I actually shot a deer that morning! The steam puffing out of the deer's sides as it ran off was a sight. It's tough to shoot a bow when bundled up like the kid in A Christmas Story. Besides, the deer get scarce late in the season where I hunt. Seeing nothing while freezing half to death is just not enjoyable. Count me out!
