Where do deer go in storms

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Deer Assassin

Deer Assassin

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Kingston Springs
Just curious in bad bad wind
Storms and tornadoes

Where do deer go?

Deep in bottoms

Up high on ridges
Thick thick
I don't know
 
I've seen em just hunker down where they are in bad thunderstorms. On super windy days I've seen em hang out on the edges of fields where they can at least see danger.
 
Depends on the type of storms. Have seen them lay up on edges during ice storms, then seen them move to fields as limbs were crashing down. High winds, watched them hide in gully's and bottoms. Floods, who knows. Always figured they would take to high ground in floods, but sure doesn't seem to be the case around here.
 
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Got caught out in a severe thunderstorm. Raining so hard I walked up almost face to face with a good buck. I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me. He just turned and walked away.
 
As the storm rolled in this morning I decided I'd try to move to a real thick creek bottom that would for the most part be out of the worst of the elements. Blew every deer in the world out of there trying to sneak in
 
I would guess in a cedar thicket or a cedar thicket in a deeper draw. A friend of mine hunted a cattle farm years ago with several large sinkholes that were grown up with trees in and around them. The rest of farm was open and the surrounding farms were mostly woods. He killed a lot of deer in the mornings just by setting up on the downwind side of sinkhole.
 
double browtine said:
I would guess in a cedar thicket or a cedar thicket in a deeper draw. A friend of mine hunted a cattle farm years ago with several large sinkholes that were grown up with trees in and around them. The rest of farm was open and the surrounding farms were mostly woods. He killed a lot of deer in the mornings just by setting up on the downwind side of sinkhole.
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Great observation.

In my ridge-and-hollow terrain, in heavy rain and wind deer head as low as they can go in hollows where they can find evergreen cover to block the rain. That means cedar thickets or pine plantations. They will also look for evergreen cover on the lee side of a ridge.
 
I guess today wasn't technically a storm but I had a great hunt this afternoon. Saw 2 nice young bucks - both 8pt , 2.5 yrs old about 3:30 and a doe and yearling. The doe and yearling bedded down about 75 yds from me in the open grass with a stiff breeze and sleet falling on them. They were right next to 10 acres of standing milo/ millet nice and thick and cedar and drainage areas on the adjacent side. It just seems those other areas would have been much better for them in this weather, they stayed till after dark when I slipped out . I later saw 4 does and 2 more older bucks come right by them and go right over and bed down in the millet/ milo. I just thought it was odd all the other deer went into the cedar / drainage area or milo millet except those other two bedded down with no protection from the wind and sleet. Maybe they were hot natured.
 
Not too many Hollars in West Tn. There is a bedding area that a Tornado went thru quite a few years ago. A lot of root balls and blown down trees . Good sanctuary that I only go into when I have too. Covered with bedding area's. That's where I see em coming out of after a storm passes through.
 
I dont know where they go... but jeez, the downpour and lightening stopped at 745 this morn, I got out of the truck, and saw 5 bucks and 3 does from 8a to 10a this morn (that's a LOT for my local lease) They were loving the cold front!

I LOVE to be in the woods 30 minutes after a well defined front moves through!
 
This is a great thread, which reminded me of a post season scouting trip after a snow storm last year. I found a lot of deer sign in a small wooded area along a power line. This area is in a valley with several cedar trees.

After reading the first few posts yesterday afternoon, I packed and hurried to that spot yesterday for the last hour of light. I didn't shoot any thing, but saw 8 does and 4 bucks, who all came out of that spot, which is a very small 150 yards x 100 yards. The bucks were all too young, but now I have a confirmed area deer like when winter storms come in.
 
When I was a lot younger and did not have the "intellect" I have today, I hunted in all weather. My philosophy was, I can't shoot one if I'm not in the woods. I would sit in a tree stand with lightening storms and/or high wind, and even still hunted some during these conditions.
In my 40+ years of hunting in bad weather, I have determined that you can't really depend on deer to do the same thing every time. I have been in stands at the edge of fields and it seems like every deer in the county shows up. Then the next storm there are none. Same with pine or cedar thickets. Sometimes they move to the thickets, other times they are nowhere to be found. Occasionally if they are not in the fields, they are in the thickets. And vice versa. And sometimes I don't see any no matter how much waiting or walking I do.
Once, while still hunting in a torrential downpour, I was easing through pine thicket in west Tennessee and walked up on about 30 bedded bucks (no shooters) and does. All were 10 to 40 yards and didn't know I was anywhere near. Most seemed to be asleep. I just eased back out and didn't spook them and didn't see any more the rest of the hunt.
All my personal experience proves to me is that deer are not predictable during storms. And if you are going to hunt in sever weather, invest in a great rain suit!!!!
 

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