Hunting More Effectively During A Snowstorm
Picture this; Frigid temperatures dropping into the single digits, 40 mile an hour winds howling over prairie, and snow falling so heavily that you finally understand what it’s like for those figurines living inside of snowglobes. If you were thinking that I was describing the Arctic in the middle of January you’d be wrong, I was talking about right here at home in Eastern Montana this October!
Montana’s general hunting season opener is in two days and conditions are not looking to be your usual 50 degree, perfectly comfortable Autumn day. In rapper Drake’s words, things are looking to go zero to one hundred real quick. A storm is coming whether we are ready or not, and it’s looking to be a nasty one. There’s going to be a lot of adversity right off the bat for the 2020 general hunting season, but harvesting a quality deer, or elk is not out of the question.
This opening weekend is going to be a record breaking one, and I’m not necessarily talking about Boone & Crocket. No literally the temperature lows for this weekend are actually going to break decade old records, that until now were never anticipated to be broken. For example, Sunday nights expected low is 1 degree, and the previous record was back in 2002 at 15 degrees. Before you roll your eyes and say “It’s Montana, cold shouldn’t surprise anyone anymore.” hear me out. Look, I know that Montana gets cold. Between the ever-changing, and at times erratic weather behavior you never know what Montana is going to throw at us. But, this is a new low (literally) even for the 406. We can argue about weather all we want but let’s take a look now at what you can do to gain an advantage over other hunters as conditions worsen.
DISCLAIMER- Before I start the list I have to put out a disclaimer for safety. I’m going to stress this as much as I can. Be smart, and be safe! If conditions are too brutal just stay home. There will be days where the weather finally clears and you can get out safely. However, if you are planning on going out in the storm make sure to take the proper precautions. Pack extra food and water, bring chains for your tires, bring a shovel (to get unstuck if necessary), and pack plenty of warm clothes. Keep safety at the forefront of your mind. I’m not advocating for unprepared people to go out in a nasty Winter storm, but if you’re in good shape, good health, and have the experience, and knowledge to safely hunt in a Winter storm then this list is for you.
Proper thermal regulation will amaze you at how warm you can remain even in the worst conditions imaginable. We cannot control the weather, and if you’re anything like me there’s no weather too bad to go hunting in. With that being said this weather is no joke, so going prepared is essential not only regarding your hunt, but your health and safety as well. A nice base layer of long johns, and a warm under shirt is the foundation for your warmth. After that you can layer in more shirts, sweaters, hoodies, etc. But on the outside you want a nice insulated coat that will protect you from moisture, and winds. Good heavy pants, and quality boots will make a difference. The longer you can remain warm and comfortable in the field, the longer you’ll be able to stay. That obviously equates to more opportunity. Let’s look at this as a formula. Duration + Frequency= Opportunity. In summary, if you dress appropriately it will help you to stay longer in the field. When you can stay longer in the field you have higher chances of eventually seeing animals.
Even when the weather is perfectly fine a large majority of hunters will drive some backroads, hike a few ridgelines, and call it a day. That works for some people, but if you’re looking to escape the crowds, and find a trophy quality animal chances are they’re not hanging out right near a road. Now throw in a Winter storm into the mix. An even greater number of hunters are either going to drive the roads during the storm, or just stay home altogether. A very small number of hunters during any kind of inclimate weather activity are going to throw on a pack and head into the field, so if you’re one of those dedicated few then chances are you’ll have a lot of land all to yourself. Generally these animals will be significantly less pressured as well so it gives you time to make a solid play after them, and they won’t be so jumpy. This one really is self-explanatory. Get away from the crowded roads, and hike into different places to find bigger, less pressured animals. This simple tactic can pay dividends in the right areas.
At some point the storm will pass, and the weather will clear up. Even if it’s a small window of time eventually the weather will calm down just long enough for the animals to get up and moving again. After being forced to hunker down during a storm, the animals will get up and feed at the next opportunity of improved weather. This can be one of the most productive times to be in the field, as activity levels can skyrocket and encounters become more frequent. Again, sitting right on the road waiting for an animal to come to you doesn’t always pan out. So being out in the roadless areas, right after a storm can produce opportunities, and encounters like you’ve never seen before.
During major storm activity generally the animals are going to be bedded down somewhere out of the major winds. Although rain, snow, or high winds can make spending time behind optics difficult, if you can find a spot where you’re not getting hammered so hard you might have a chance at glassing up something bedded down. Whether it’s a herd, or just one animal finding them in their beds can give you a solid opportunity to put on a stalk and get within shooting range. The most difficult part of this tactic is going to be waiting for a shot opportunity. A bedded animal presents a difficult target, so you may have to wait for the animal to stand to present a good shot opportunity. If you’re not willing to sit out in bad weather for an animal to stand up sometimes it may help to use a call, or make a sound that might draw it’s curiosity towards you, and possibly might even be enough to get it to present a shot opportunity.
If there’s fresh snow on the ground that means one thing, tracks. If you’re savvy enough to be able to identify tracks, and come across a set of tracks in the snow, it can be beneficial to hop out and follow them. I’ve personally used this tactic many times before with elk hunting. My father taught me that when driving on a road in fresh snow you’ll often come across tracks, and once you find them you park and get to walking. This tactic is not for the faint of heart however. There will be times when you trek miles, upon miles feeling like you aren’t gaining any distance on the animal you’re tracking. You can judge how fresh a track in snow is by gauging just how much fresh snow has fallen into a set of tracks. Older tracks may have accumulated a bit of snow into them, yet if you’re on a very fresh set of tracks they’ll have little to no new snow in them. Keep in mind that judging the amount of snow within a track is generally only helpful if there’s snow actually falling as you’re tracking. Otherwise it can be very difficult to decipher exactly how old the track is. Ultimately with this tactic the goal is simple, follow the set of tracks until it leads you to the animal. It’s important to be stealthy so as to not let the animal know you’re on its tail, otherwise it could end up in the next county before you ever even see it.
If you’ve made it this far into the article it’s safe to say you’re pretty serious about getting into the woods during this upcoming storm cycle. We here at Adahy wish you the best of luck this season, and hope everybody can slap a tag on something! Please remember that your safety and health comes first, and to take all the necessary precautions before heading out into the field during a storm. The tips, and tactics included in this article have helped me countless times to tag an animal during the worst weather imaginable, and I hope it can help you to!