Hunting in rain?

[Amudgett]

Rubber gloves finger electric taped over barrel

 

[MrTom]

If its an all out rain when I am looking to leave home, I stay put. Light drizzle can mean great hunting as can light snow so I'll go in those conditions but the stand has a roof. I got caught in a major blow this last fall and it was no fun with rain falling horizontally and I headed out of the woods but just as quick as the squall started it ended and I shot my buck when I turned back for the stand. Getting caught in a pop up storm is one thing. Heading out into a storm is another and that I won't do.

 

[GreenMtnHunter]

Just noticing your "handle" - I live in the same neck of the woods as the VT radio personality, Arlo Mudgett. He's a good guy and a great neighbor.

 

[Hook]

I agree with Dowling. The older I got the less tolerant I got with bad weather. When I was young I would wrap the end of the barrel with saran wrap, cock the hammer & then wrap the nipple area with saran wrap & then let the hammer down to half cock & then hunt in a hurricane . The only time I hunt in the rain now is when I get caught in it & I am prepared for that. As you get older, the more of a fair weather hunter you become.

 

[gman57]

If drizzle or light rain is forecast I take my chair blind out and stay nice and dry regardless of what comes down. Then I hope it stops before I have to pack up and leave.

 

[snapbang]

I have found that hunting in foul weather is productive. I guess the animals don't expect people to be out. The wind interferes with there hearing and sight. If its foul on a day I intend to hunt I plan my hunt accordingly.

As for my gun. I have been through all of them with a fine tooth comb. I know them inside and out. After a day of getting soaked I will completely disassemble them and flush them out with WD40, oil, grease, or whatever is needed. I have never had damage to my gun from foul weather hunting. Including my dear Ruger M77 in .243 Winchester with a Swift 4-12. I had to abandon it against a tree in Wyoming when for 3 days we got 44 inches of snow and 70 MPH wind. I through it in the truck and took it 1300 miles home before I was able to get it cleaned.

My guns are not closet queens. They have a job to do and like tools they get a little bumped and bruised once in a while. The bumps and bruises are usually fond memories.

A side note. I took a couple young fellows goose hunting years ago. I had a unfired Browning auto in 20 gauge that was never shot and let the lad use it. He dragged it over a sharp stone and the result was an impressive scar. At first I was upset then reminded myself its only a gun. That gun makes me smile.

 

[JIMYJAC]

my solution is let the youngins do it and report back to me! That said back in the day i did it all the time. LOL

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I will hunt in a light drizzle if i can set under shelter, in a blind, or just under a pine tree. I have ultra lightweight camo raingear always, jic. Not hunting in real rain tho. Sucks the joy out of hunting quick. If it starts raining hard while im out i will wait it out under some cover, it rarely rains hard for long. Snow on the other hand, light or heavy, still or blowing, that is the time to be out. And if i can i will cancel any plans but my own funeral to be out in the woods when its snowing. My only safe queen is the only sidelock i own, a renegade. That wont go out in anything less than a sunny day. As Bushfire said hunting in the rain isnt the problem, reloading in it is.

 

[shiner200gr]

I have to say I, like every other kid that grew up hunting blacktails in Western Washington, know all about hunting in the rain. It was either hunt in the rain or stay home. I rest my case.

 

[snapbang]

Hunting in the rain isn't the challenge, reloading is

amen

 

[alternate]

My younger son has shot a number of slammers in the rain. As for me, if I'm hunting out of my house and only have Saturday I'll play what ever cards I'm dealt. If I'm hunting out of a tent in the middle of nowhere drying my clothes and drying the contents of my back pack are a bridge too far for these old bones. Fortunately my older son is on the same page with me so I have someone to play setback with while we wait for his kid brother to come back grinning with another trophy or mad as a wet cat!

 

[shiner200gr]

Yes, and that's another time when musket caps really help. They come right off after being shot and the new one goes on easily and it doesn't matter if your hands are wet or if you fumble around and drop the cap in a mud puddle. No screwing around with rubber or foil or nail polish. You can carry them in the front pocket of your soaking wet levis. I lived dang close to the Olympic National Rain Forest and when you came home from a deer or elk hunt your fingers were shriveled up like prunes...we all wore tennis shoes to hunt in because there wasn't a boot made that would keep your feet dry and you have to hunt noiseless because the brush was so thick that most shots were slingshot range. We hardly ever got anything but head or neck shots.

 

[Rainorshine]

I have to admit I’m less gung-ho about hunting in the rain than when I was younger. But Michigan’s weather can change quickly so occasionally I get caught out in the weather. I always carry a poncho in my pack. A rifle tucked under a poncho that’s being worn stays fairly dry. I also tuck a garbage bag in the pack to cover up the pack if I’m sitting.

 

[Bad Karma]

I’m sticking with the #11 caps. Remington work well for me but I have never had a moisture related failure to fire with any brand of caps that fit snugly on the nipple.

 

[wildcat2]

I don't hunt in the rain or even fish in the rain any more, I hunt and fish for enjoyment, rain is not fun. Plus to easy to lose a blood trail. If a front is on me and know it's going to rain soon I only take 25 yard shots at the most and I know I can double lung that deer. I use a baloon over the muzzle and have a leather cows knew over my lock. Besides the beautifull sidelocks with top grade wood in them do not get weather abuse. After 60 years of harvesting a lot of game I don't need to prove myself to anyone.

 

[shiner200gr]

I fixed the "Hunting in the Rain" thing, totally and completely.
I moved to the eastern side of the state. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.

 

[mnoland30]

I guess at 67, I'm not as old as most of you. Of course here in NM, I went years without finding out if the ultralight raingear in my pack works. It didn't. Most rain or snow storms don't last more than an hour. Some of the best hunting I've ever encountered has been right after the rain stops.

I always have a base camp to dry off in. I have a wall tent with a wood stove, and a Kifaru teepee tent with a tiny woodstove for backpacking. Once I was sitting under a tree, completely dry and happy in the rain when I remembered that I had crossed an arroyo to get to where I was. I practically ran back to the arroyo to find it already running about a foot deep. I was the last one to get back to camp, completely soaked, and we fired up the wood stove, dried out, and were out hunting again when the rain stopped.

I've used #11 caps for years without ever a misfire. I have had some hang fires in really cold weather. Winchester Magnum caps seems to have cured that. They make little rubber circles to go over the cap to keep the rain and snow out. I use a Safari sling, so I don't bother with the barrel condoms. I use Saran wrap over the breech area. My buddy reloaded in a snowstorm once, and had seven misfires that day. He finally used my gun.

 

[Gettincloser]

Remove the nipple and place a layer of plumber's tape over the face ( powder side) and around the threads. This does an excellent job of keeping the wet out of the powder, from the breech end. The cap blast goes right through it, so no ignition issues there.
If you tape, or finger cot the muzzle, make sure to remove it and ( de prime!!!!) patch out the bore after it warms up. You will get condensation behind the tape/ cot.

I will have to test that out! That would be a handy trick.

 

[Bad Karma]

I guess at 67, I'm not as old as most of you. Of course here in NM, I went years without finding out if the ultralight raingear in my pack works. It didn't. Most rain or snow storms don't last more than an hour. Some of the best hunting I've ever encountered has been right after the rain stops.

I always have a base camp to dry off in. I have a wall tent with a wood stove, and a Kifaru teepee tent with a tiny woodstove for backpacking. Once I was sitting under a tree, completely dry and happy in the rain when I remembered that I had crossed an arroyo to get to where I was. I practically ran back to the arroyo to find it already running about a foot deep. I was the last one to get back to camp, completely soaked, and we fired up the wood stove, dried out, and were out hunting again when the rain stopped.

I've used #11 caps for years without ever a misfire. I have had some hang fires in really cold weather. Winchester Magnum caps seems to have cured that. They make little rubber circles to go over the cap to keep the rain and snow out. I use a Safari sling, so I don't bother with the barrel condoms. I use Saran wrap over the breech area. My buddy reloaded in a snowstorm once, and had seven misfires that day. He finally used my gun.

Same here in Colorado... the only time I begin to sweat it is when we get one of our heavy snowfalls and these days I’m likely to just head for the barn when that happens..

 

[ppg1949]

You can use a cow's knee that covers the lock for flintlocks on a percussion gun also. I use CVA cap holders to seal the cap to the nipple. But you can use aquarium tubing or any fixable tubing that fits on the nipple. I use a finger cot on the muzzle. To reload quicker I use speed loaders. Good luck.