Cold Weather Hunting

[Swede]

It is hard to draw your bow when you have a lot of bulky clothes on just to stay warm, and it may be impossible to draw your bow when you get too cold. There are several alternatives to consider, but I am wondering what you Whitetail or other late season hunters do to deal with the dilemma?

[Lefty]

Rifle hunt

[Tigger]

Okay here are a few things I have learned.

1. Wind. You have find a way to keep even a gentle breeze off you. Blankets work well. Or some fabric around my stand as a wind and visual barrier.
2. Clothing. This is the test of all tests. I have finally settled in on a Sitka puffy, wool pants over puffy pants, and boot warmers. Merino wool socks are a must. Ditch the cotton. Pro Tip: if you bend your knees, where the fabric pulls tight over your knees will get cold because you forced the air insulating barrier away. Try to keep all clothing have some fluff.
3. Neck warmer. No exposed skin.
3b. Why 3b? Cuz I just thought of it and had to stick it in here somewhere. Bring a cushion to keep your buttocks warm.
4. Hands. Tough one. I wear choppers with chemical handwarmers. maybe super light gloves under the choppers.
5. Sticky handwarmers on my back and chest.
6. If you can bring hot chocolate or coffee (Yuck!) out to your stand that really will warm you up.
7. I have cooked Mountain House in my tree. Eating MH in a tree stand instantly elevates it to world class cuisine. Really.
8. Moisture management. You cannot get sweated up on the way in. Carry your excess layers. You should be cold getting ready at your truck. Warm up good and just be about to start sweating when you get to your stand. Do NOT have cotton base layers. They hold that moisture next to your skin and you will be cold later on.
9. Shoot a deer/elk. Nothing and I mean NOTHING warms you up more than climbing down and processing your kill.

[Swede]

Great ideas Tigger. That is information that other tree stand hunters can use. I got colder this season than normal as rain turned to snow. I am going to put some of your thoughts into practice. I can't legally build a permanent tree stand on Forest Service land and I may not go back to where I hunted this season again.

[7mmfan]

I have on long sits done the sticky handwarmer trick, kind of. I would tuck them into my neck gaiter, or hood, drop them down inside my shirt front and back, even untie my boots sometimes and stick them in my boots.

[Swede]

I like the stinky handwarmer trick too. I start mine after I get into the stand. They help a lot. I can't say the odor has been a problem, but I don't remember getting an elk either when using the two I have.

[7mmfan]

Not sure which stinky handwarmers you're using. Mine don't have any smell at all to them.

[Swede]

I misread your earlier post about "sticky" handwarmers. I thought you were referring to those that are filled with naphtha and are lit. I realize you were referring to the ones you stick to your tee shirt. I used ones supposed to "last up to six hours" this season. I tried two. They got hotter than a two dollar pistol but were both cold within an hour.

[Lefty]

Swede I just purchased an electric heated vest...I need to reduce the bulk for shouldering a gun when coming out of a layout blind. maybe that could help reduce upper body shoulder bulk.

I way over dress on the bottom 2,3,4 pairs of long underwear, then bibs over the top, then less clothing above my waist,, all so I can shoulder my gun.


I also have a Gerbling layout pad that my dog uses on cold days.
I'm to the point, If I can't enjoy the time in the blind or on the stand I won't go out
Reached -6 this day The dog was wrapped in a down coat with the electric pad underneath

[Swede]

Thanks Lefty. I have an EWool Pro heated vest. It is very good. It may be the best solution, but it does not recharge quickly in camp off of a 12-volt battery.

[Lefty]

Thanks Lefty. I have an EWool Pro heated vest. It is very good. It may be the best solution, but it does not recharge quickly in camp off of a 12-volt battery.

Battery and battery power is expensive. Keeping my CPAP battery charged at camp can be a challenge

[Tigger]

Opening deer hunting this week in MN. Temps will be mid 20s for lows and highs in the mid 30s. right at sunup, it will likely be around 25ish. Sitka has really done me good in these situations. Not super cold yet, but throw a little wind on 25 and it starts to sink in to tree stand hunters. My kids all sit in heated blinds. I think they are smarter than me.

[Swede]

I have an old sleeping bag that I think will work for those cold days too. They make some insulated tree-stand bags for that purpose, but they are expensive.

[Swede]

This weekend I took an old kid's sleeping bag and sewed an old bed sheet to make a cover for it. It seems to work like the $300 bags I see advertised for cold weather stand hunting except it is a little noisy. I want to dye the bed sheet and paint some patterns on it to make it more camouflaged. The inside of the bag is too slick, so I will sew something inside to make it quieter when I drop it so I can stand and shoot. Now, hopefully I get to see something to shoot at.

[wawhitey]

It is hard to draw your bow when you have a lot of bulky clothes on just to stay warm, and it may be impossible to draw your bow when you get too cold. There are several alternatives to consider, but I am wondering what you Whitetail or other late season hunters do to deal with the dilemma?

Maybe im just a sissy about cold, but it gets to me. Getting up into a stand before daybreak in single digit temps and trying trying to sit still up there all day until dark, its brutal.ill have so many layers of thick wool and fleece on that i can barely draw my bow, and ill still be cold. If i get to shivering and cant control it, i know i wonrlt be able to shoot anyway, so ill climb out of my stand, head back to camp and warm up, then hunt the remainder of the day, preferring to get into a different stand if wind allows. The worst part, climbing down at the end of the day, freezing cold, i have no coordination. Legs feel full of lead. Stumbling like im drunk. Not safe at all.

[Swede]

I have not sat out ln the real cold like you, but I know I can't draw my bow when I am shaking from the chill. I need to be fairly warm. A little cold is ok, but there is a point where it becomes a waste of time to stay up a tree and just shiver. I do not want to spend hundreds of dollars to deal with the problem either. I am trying to be comfortable on the cheap.

[Tigger]

I sat most of the weekend with no results other than a very unlucky coyote. Never really got cold. But it really wasnt that cold out either with highs touching 40. Yesterday was windy and that can chill you quickly. But I wussed out and sat in my son's enclosed stand. Actually, I didnt really wuss out. There was more deer activity over there.

[Lefty]

Swede I dont know if one can stay warm,,, and be too cheap.

I think its tough to hunt the cold and not spend some money.

Im sure Ive hunted a few dozen tims in sub -15 temps mostly out of my goose pit. Blocking the wind can be huge. My neighbors will start hunting whitetails sometime after Thanksgiving,,, And like a mentioned they might only hunt for an hour or so.

I just bought a Wetide $86.00 electric heated vest. I sat in my gro9und blind in 20 degree temps.

Im to the point Im want to hunt comfortably,,

[Swede]

Swede I dont know if one can stay warm,,, and be too cheap.

I understand and agree completely. For me it is a challenge. I know that elk hunting can be expensive, but I do now want it to become a rich man's sport. I remember hunting with my dad and brother. We somehow made do with a two-wheel drive short bed pickup. All of our equipment was in the bed of the truck and sometimes my mom and sister went along. My brother and I would burrow down under a tarp and between some sleeping bags. We had very little equipment, but we had a great time together and got some game on a regular basis.
Some of my thinking is that if I can go cheap, and do ok, then others can afford to go. As I said; it is a challenge.

[Tigger]

Swede, that is an admirable goal. I wish you the best. I also wonder if at some point you change your mind decide to take advantage of the warmer materials. I am anxious to see how this plays out. I chose comfort over statement.

[wawhitey]

Tomorrow im planning on posting up in one spot and staying anchored there all day, as long as the wind allows it. Pretty mild late rifle deer season here. Should be highs in the mid 30s. Last year this time was low teens, foot of snow. But still, even at say 35 degrees, if im just sitting still all day i get cold. Even with a few layers of good wool clothes. So tomorrow im bringing a heated vest up in my pack. When i get to my spot ill put it on under my heavy wool coat, and when its needed ill turn it on. Should be a game changer.
Really excited to spend some time in this spot, its just perfect. Ideal habitat and terrain all around, a perfect natural funnel for movement. Old cut along a creek bottom thats grown up over the years with larch and brush. Thick enough to provide deer a sense of security, while still giving me good visibility and shootability. And found a nice elevated peak of a rock outcrop in the perfect place providing a birds eye view that seems like god carved a little sofa in the rock right there for me, with a soft grassy place for my butt, a footrest, a perfect stump for a shooting bench, everything about it is just perfect. Deer numbers up there are a fraction of what they were 10 or even 5 years ago, but theres still deer. Got there 2pm today, a doe was moving through. 230pm an average 4x4, 3.5yr old buck showed up and man he was bird doggin, lip curlin, all worked up, obviously liked the smell of that doe. Could have taken him at 150 yards but didnt. Let him go and he was on the hunt. At 315 the wind did a big shift and was exactly wrong for me, so i bailed. Dont want to ruin that spot. Its basically my entire focus now for the next 6 days. Going to be conservative about it
If the winds not right im out.

[Swede]

Best wishes Whitey. Let us know how it goes. I have a good, heated vest, but it is hard to keep the batteries charged in camp. It can be done.