Extremely cold weather hunting

[Christophero]

Spikebuck, I appreciate your informative post explaining, without condescending words, why the original poster probably had a misfire at the time of need. I don't have a flintlock rifle, yet, but will listen to your counsel when I ever do.

Having learned through years of experience with cap guns there is always something to discover to insure the gun goes off when desired. I imagine flintlocks are even more finicky on that account.

It is good to know there are fine folks on this board that are willing to share their knowledge without swatting a fella down for asking a question, even if he happens to use creative writing. Just because we are an older crowd, on average, than other shooting and hunting forums it shouldn't give us the idea that a grumpy or smart-elick answer to an honest question makes us more endearing.
Thanks

 

[juancho]

I understand all that has been said here, and most of the old timers are correct.
However (I may be old but not an old timer) , I do bring the gun inside the trailer at night.Even at -18C, or 0 F . It never got wet or failed to fire.
I seal the pan with bore butter and use over powder wads topped with a PRB.
In the morning wipe the bore with an oiled patch followed by a dry one , and the day goes on.
After over a week of doing so , it went off when needed and brought home the bacon.

 

[FishDFly]

For us folks south of Dallas/Ft. Worth we do not see temps of zero except in a lifetime experience.

Do deer really get up and move when it is zero or below or are they hunkered down in the woods and dreaming of spring?

 

[Spikebuck]

Do deer really get up and move when it is zero or below or are they hunkered down in the woods and dreaming of spring?

Severely cold temps take a toll on their energy reserves, so they must get up and feed. They will ride out a storm, but when it passes, they are going to be up and feeding. In winter, it's usually coldest after a storm passes because of high pressure, clear skies, and north winds.

My 2013 buck was shot in double-digit below zero air temps with 30 below wind chills. This was a buck that was cementum tooth-aged at 7.5 yrs and was basically nocturnal, but broke his own rules to get up feed in bitter cold.

But our Northern whitetails are built to take brutal weather. The Minnesota DNR has a Winter Severity Index (WSI). It is defined as:

"The Winter Severity Index (WSI)is a general measure of winter conditions based on the premise
that prolonged cold temperatures and deep snow can reduce overwinter survival of white-tailed
deer. In Minnesota the WSI is calculated by accumulating a point for each day with an ambient
temperature = 15 inches.
End-of-season values 180 indicate a severe winter."

So think about that...if there was 14" of snow on the ground, it could be below zero for 3 months running and that would be considered a MILD winter on the deer! :shocked2:

 

[FishDFly]

You hunt in a different world than I know.

I had a neighbor that taught me a lot about deer in the south.

I got up one morning and went hunting, about 25 degrees or so, did not see a thing.

I went to his house to help him go to town and load feed for cows. On the way it was about 10AM and the deer were out and about in the fields on the way to town. Mentioned to him how come I hunted and did not see a deer and now they are out.

He asked, do you eat frozen lettuce?

He said if you get up to hunt and when looking out your bathroom window and you see frost in the field under the mercury vapor light, go back to bed until 0830.

Sage advice in Texas.

The man taught me so much.

 

[Curt]

Richard
I live in N Ind and the deer around here feed at night mainly in the bean,corn and hay fields.,acorns durin the day .The predators seem to be a bigger problem than the cold weather.We have a 10 acre field in front of the house and you can see them on a full moon night pretty regular.All animals seem less weary at night around here. Curt

 

[FishDFly]

Richard
I live in N Ind and the deer around here feed at night mainly in the bean,corn and hay fields.,acorns durin the day .The predators seem to be a bigger problem than the cold weather.We have a 10 acre field in front of the house and you can see them on a full moon night pretty regular.All animals seem less weary at night around here. Curt

Deer hunting in Texas, in November we often hunt in shorts and T shirts, or it can be in the 30s.

When folks talk about hunting when it's is around zero we have no concept of that temperature. Our deer are wimpy when it very cold, they head to heavy woods and lay up until the suns starts warming things up.

Moon phase, our deer and cows follow it. Watch the cows and the deer are doing what the cows are doing, out and about or laying down.

Full moon, I do not hunt until about 10 am. or so. I have learned a lot by watching the moon phase on my game cameras and the pictures on them. The other thing I watch is the temperature and the number of pictures. When it is bitterly cold, no pictures.