Cold temps

Tennessee Deer Sporting & Deer Hunting Community Forum

Help Support TNDeer | Tennessee Deer:

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change.
I'm debating on calling out of work just so I can go sit in it! 3yrs ago I bought some Cabela's mt050 extreme bibs and parka. I feel like I may actually be able to get a solid test run out of them with windchill of 3* 😁 they're nice once on stand but it's not been cold enough to walk in with them on.
 
It depends on why I am hunting (meat or mature buck) as to what I am willing to endure, but my clothing/layering system for cold weather hunting is good down to 15-20 degrees as a low, assuming it warms up some during the day. Of course, when you add a stiff north wind (sustained 10-20 mph), or a cloudy day (no sun), it will quickly reduce the time required to make me uncomfortable. The goal is to stay "comfortably cool/barely chilled" on days like today, assuming you are in an exposed ladder stand or climber (what I hunt out of).

With that said, I did not hunt today due to family commitments, but a lot of good mature bucks died in SW TN. From social media to my friends texting me pics, some really good ones were killed today. I also saw a few mature studs on trail camera photos moving in daylight today.
 
I'm no stranger to teeth chatter freezing while hunting but at the end of the day only one of the bucks on my walls was killed below freezing and it was still 28*. Eventually I decided that if I'm going to be so uncomfortable that I can't enjoy myself then I'm not going to go at all. Juice ain't worth the squeeze.
 
Had I been at home I'd have probably stayed in bed today but was at the lease an hour and a half away so I went and sat for a while in a box blind and no heater. Got a bad ankle I tore up in high school and again in college and it's the first thing that gets cold. This is what it showed this morning.
IMG_0972.webp
 
14.3 when I woke up. It's not the cold, it's the wind. It was howling. That's a big nope for me. The wind kills me. I'm staying next to the wood stove. Rode the e-bike out about a mile and changed batteries and card for 2 cameras. I was done after that
 
With that said, I did not hunt today due to family commitments, but a lot of good mature bucks died in SW TN. From social media to my friends texting me pics, some really good ones were killed today. I also saw a few mature studs on trail camera photos moving in daylight today
Interesting!

I have seen before on cold days that I would see little movement in morning sit, but then walking our or driving around, see deer out in middle of day.

I'd have to be motivated (with some good pics or something) to have sat today or tomorrow morning. Instead the freezer is full and the bed is warm.
 
Most deer save energy and do not move while it is this cold , theytypically wait till after 10 AM and get up and move . yesterday on my cameras. I saw very little to no movement until 10 o'clock from 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock. I had about 10 different bucks on camera get up and start moving around to different feeding areas. It's definitely not worth sitting in the cold like this if the deer are not moving the wind in Nashville was brutal yesterday morning, and not sure if I was in a deer stand if I would've been able to handle it.
 
They are moving pretty good here right now. Three of my cameras been sending pics for the last 5+ minutes. Looks like a group of 5 antlerless in my clover, the other cameras are on a trail and a scrape line trail.

If my back hadn't been bothering me, I would have been in a stand this morning.
 
The wind is the biggest factor when it's brutally cold for me. I don't enjoy days like yesterday at all. I've not seen much movement where I hunt during times like that, so these days I try to hunt during better times. So to answer your question, when wind chills or actual temps are in the teens all day, I doubt that I will go. That ain't too fun for me, and never has been.

I'd like one more deer, and there's still three weeks of season left,
 
I'll sit out in the teens but single digits keeps me home. I killed a nice 10 one morning when it was 17 degrees out. I also saw a stud another hunt on a 12 degree day on a south facing ridge. I still kick myself for not being ready when he came by. I was doing everything in the world to stay warm. My wife bought me a heater body suit last year and I've used it once. I think it'll help it's not been put to the test yet though. If I wasn't home watching my sick little boy you can bet I'd be in a tree.
 
Often times it seems like the deer don't move much until it warms up some. The first few days of cold weather they seem to be less active.
I have noticed the same thing. I have about12 cameras running on 32 acres. Not much gets on or off without passing at least one camera. Since yesterday morning (Sunday) i have had about 20 pictures of deer. It is the same doe fawn or BB and it is just passing through, i thing to warm up.

I also think some of these trail cams take pictures when they get cold to warm up. 😂 There were 563 pictures off my property and another small tract I have to hunt and there was 0 pictures of animals. They were just pictures of the woods. Nothing is moving.

I did see about 5-6 in a field on my way into work this morning, but not much else. I would bet they wait until this afternoon to move.
 
Last edited:
I slipped on my cabelas goose down coveralls and almost went to sleep I was so toasty. These don't come out often, but when it is cold they are my go to. Very light weight coveralls also. The only exposed skin was my eyes and my cheeks. I have wool power 200 gram merino wool next to my skin and that was all. All good the rest of the way.
 
I have killed a few pretty good bucks when the temps were in the teens. I really should have gone this morning, but pretty bad discomfort in my back would have made for a miserable sit in these temps. There was actually good activity here this morning, decent yesterday morning too but no good bucks seem to be passing my cameras or being seen on our property since the decent 8 I passed up a couple weeks ago. Figure he got killed by the baiters behind us. Sure would be nice to have some bucks shows back up, I could get a little more motivated.
 
I didn't get to go this morning but, it was 9 degrees on my front porch. I can usually get enough clothes on if the wind isn't blowing.
 
In my younger days it didn't get too cold ...hunted in 9 ° with a wind chill of -9° but not anymore . My back once I start shivering starts hurting so I've learned to stay home . Killed hundreds of deer and they just don't light my fire like they once did . Being nearly 72 with a bad back , plus bad knees ain't fun treking around in the woods much anymore . Hunted this year more than the last few and could have scored but not with something I would want to fool with . Now a big buck would trigger something up in my soul 😉
 
The coldest ive hunted for deer is around zero. I hardly ever hunt out a shooting house any ways. All about layers. I have found like others have said. Around that 15 degree mark, our deer seem to not move. Middle of the day gets a little surge. Just what I saw yesterday. Went duck hunting instead yesterday.
 
At this point in my "career," it's less about the deer and more about making sure I'm enjoying the day and not doing something just to do it.

This morning would not have been enjoyable.
I'm exactly the same way Trapper. I've killed more deer than I can count. Literally hundreds. I no longer have that "fire" to kill like I used to. Now, hunting is about having fun and simply to "have hunted." If it's not going to be fun, my interest level drops dramatically.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top