From Mild to Wild

We've hit 50 or better three times this December in central Iowa, and we'll likely do it at least one more time before the year is through. While this comfortable weather may be good for traveling around the holidays, it can actually make for a difficult late season hunt.

Warm weather really slows down the deer feeding patterns. In years past when there's a late season thaw, it tends to send the bucks into a nearly nocturnal feeding pattern. So if you've been seeing less mature deer movement lately, don't be alarmed. My theory is they are wary from the hunting pressure, worn down from the breeding season, and when it's warm they don't move as much. Physiologically, warm blooded animals don't have to burn as many calories to stay warm when the temps are above average. Also, their thick winter coat probably works a little too well when it's sunny and temps are in the 40s/50s. So it seems, if they don't have to move, they wont. A quick glance at the long-range predictions below and you can see this pattern should be here to round out the 2011 hunting season.

Warm Temperatures are Expected to End Hunting Season

So, I have slipped back into ambushing transition areas and travel corridors as my primary hunting strategy. Deer are still pretty spooky, so I try not to over hunt one particular area. In fact, I'm saving my more reliable hunting areas for those days when the mercury and the snow are both falling which will hopefully happen at least twice before the season closes.

In the meantime, enjoy hunting in these early season temperatures! We will see one strong surge of cold air rushing in for the start of 2012. Freezing temps and strong, cold wind will stir up some good quality movement Monday January 2nd and Tuesday the 3rd. The rest of season is looking very warm. Click here for more information on this wild pattern straight from the Climate Prediction Center.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Winter and Late Season Muzzleloader Have Begun

Shotgun season ended quite warm, but the weather was very enjoyable to sit in. According to the DNR, 70,000 deer were taken during the recent hunting seasons -about 30% below 2006 harvest levels. More on that story here. Game activity for us was best in the morning and our group of hunters ended up filling 6 tags to close the weekend and the season.

While winter officially kicks off today (Dec. 22nd) deer have been settling into the wintertime feeding pattern for the last few weeks. Late Season Muzzleloader is in full swing. In my opinion this season is the second best time to tag a big buck. The first of course is the rut, and the pre-rut early season runs a close third place due to patternability. But during Late Season deer are even more patternable. They group together and feed in good numbers, crowding food sources to restore their weight before the dead of winter.

When the weather turns nearly intolerable, I'll turn to my muzzleloader. Taking advantage of the harsh conditions can really pay off for hunting Iowa game. One of the best strategies I use when planning a day to hunt is to focus on "high pressure" days. These are usually the days with the coldest lows on the 7-day forecast. These days see especially high activity levels when the winds have been strong and then relax. I usually try to hunt the evening before and the morning of the days with the coldest low temperatures.

See if that pays off in your neck of the woods and good luck!

Excellent End to Shotgun 2

We have had a real wild ride so far this fall and this week was no exception. Central Iowa started in the deep freezer last weekend with single digit lows to open up the second shotgun season. Wed. Dec. 14th Des Moines came close to record rainfall and record highs with 0.56" ( just .05" shy of tying the record) and a high of 56 (not quite the 60 they had in 1975). The only creatures who know just how crazy this weather has been better than outdoorsmen, are the game we pursue!

This is our season! Hunting season! My natural element.

Now the cold side of this storm system will swing on through and it will present Iowa with words hunters should welcome from forecasters; Canadian, Cold, High Pressure. Thursday the winds will be strong as this high roars into Iowa, but after it settles in we're looking at reasonably light winds and great temperatures. It will be the type of cold that is tolerable to the hunter, and great for game movement!

This time of year, the rut is winding down. Deer are switching to survival mode full time and the bucks can finally slow down for the buffet since they wont be distracted as much. Under light hunting pressure, deer will be hitting the food sources hard in the evenings, trying to pack on the pounds before the true chill of an Iowa winter settles in. If you're party hunting and doing drives, deer bedding areas aught to produce well for morning pushes. Plotting an ambush to take advantage of natural feeding activity sounds like a solid plan for the afternoon and evenings. I'll be focusing on areas with sanctuary from the orange army right next to row crop fields and other food sources.

Thursday will be a 3 of 5 star day of hunting with the best movement in the evening. Friday should be a 4 or 5 of 5 star day. High pressure will create a nice cold start, a few clouds will try and fill in giving the sky a look like it might storm and both feeding and travelling activity should be high. Another plus is the shotgun pressure will be relatively light. Saturday and Sunday both look like nearly perfect days to hunt with lows in the 20s, and highs in the 40s. Keep track of that 7 day right here on myabc5.com.
On another note, licenses for the 2012 hunting season and the special January Antlerless season go on sale Dec. 15th and more information can be found on my links to the right under Iowa DNR.

Good luck this weekend! We'll talk more about Late Season Muzzleloader after I fill my shotgun tags!

Rain Dampens the Middle of Shotgun Season 2

A strong area of low pressure is pulling out of the desert southwestern US, and moving towards Iowa. As a southwestern storm system, you can expect it to bring 2 things: warmth and moisture. We will see enough warmth, that this storm will be entirely rain. We could also see some new daily rainfall records as upwards of an inch will fall in central Iowa.

The daily rainfall record for December 14th in Des Moines, IA is 0.61" set back in 1992. There is about a 95% chance that record will fall with several rounds of rainfall starting Tuesday afternoon and lasting through Wednesday evening. The rain wont be the only thing falling. The barometric pressure has been high the last week or so thanks to an arctic high pressure close by. Now the pressure will steadily fall until Wednesday night, and that can be a very useful hunting asset.

I've hunted many rainy days in my life. When the temperature is cold (30s) and the rain is anything heavier than sprinkles (enough to get you soaked), I have found deer movement to be light and usually the animals are immature. But this doesn't mean rainy weather is a bad thing! I have sat several evenings where it rained steadily all afternoon, but right at sunset it let up to just heavy mist and drizzle with fog. Every one of those evenings featured great deer feeding activity and shot opportunities. My theory is low pressure spurrs strong feeding activity, but heavy rain dampens this movement significantly. Heavy snow on the otherhand, has never slowed the deer down at my end of the field. I relish the days where I'm covered in snow as the flakes are falling and the deer pile into the fields. So it will be important to watch the forecast the next few days as this storm moves in. Keep track of the radar here, and any breaks in the action moving your way should result in an excellent evening ambush.



My 2003 2nd Season Shotgun Buck. Thanks to Rod and Cory
Simon for inviting me along for the hunt!



Here's my hunting weather forecast, Tuesday evening will be 4 out of 5 stars for hunting. Wednesday morning will likely be a 2 out of 5 stars hunt. Wednesday evening will be 3 out of 5 for most of eastern Iowa (worse if the rain stays steady), but western Iowa (west of highway 169) should bump up to nearly 5 out of 5 stars to hunt. Over there, the rain will relax to just drizzle, mist and dense fog as the barometric pressure falls to the lowest point it's been in 10 days. Deer can probably sense the cold winter wind is just hours away and feeding activity should be very good! Thursday the deer will be in security cover most of the day with strong cold winds driving across the state. This is excellent for stalking deer in the bedding areas, but horrible for stand hunters. We'll talk about the weekend in my next blog. Good luck!

Cold, Snow-Covered Shotgun 2 Opener!

Over 1/3 of the lower 48 is covered with at least a little snow. With each day winter is sinking further south and settling into the Midwest. In central Iowa we've had 4 out of the last 5 days below freezing -more like January than December. Thursday night central and southern Iowa picked up a light snowy gift for shotgun season.




This image is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Snofall Analysis. More info here http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/

 

The heaviest snow fell just south of I-80 in western Iowa, leaving only the NE 1/3 of Iowa snow-free. Here's a look at where the snow band set up last night courtesy of the National Weather Service.

 From a weather standpoint snow does several things: cooler days, colder nights, and it often makes clouds. Cooler days result from refrigerating effects and the white color reflecting most of the suns energy. So the suns rays don't really warm us up much. Bitterly cold nights result when the sky clears and the wind is under 10mph. Cold air then settles and pools over the top of the ice/snow sending the mercury way down. Low temperatures will often be 5 to 10 degrees colder over snow pack than snow-free areas. Fresh snow cover can also create clouds as it melts or the moisture sublimates (goes straight from Ice to Water Vapor). Bottom line, snow is cold and great for hunters (see my blog from November "Snow is a Good Thing").

Low Temperatuers Opening Morning. Brrrrrr. More info
here: http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/dmx.php

Perhaps the most obvious is visibility. White snow really highlights the deer hiding in timber which gives hunters one more advantage, especially for deer drives. Cold weather also makes deer patternable. It forces them to use the topography and vegetation to help keep them warm and they also need to eat now to burn calories and survive the frigid night-time temperatures. So many deer will now fall back on the late-season bedding areas and preferred food sources. Southern facing hillsides that shed the snow first, often still have areas of green grassy vegetation deer sometimes find attractive. Otherwise, corn fields or standing bean fields are late season favorites of mine. In the morning, I'll hunt heavy travel corridors leading to these late-season bedding pockets and for the evening, I like to be overlooking a food source by early afternoon.

Opening day looks like a 4 star hunting day, and opening weekend will feature above average hunting weather. Keep track of the forecast here. Enjoy and good luck!

Slight Chance for Snow, Good Chance for Success

We've got one more chance for snow this week, but don't expect too much out of it.

This graphic is courtesy of the National Weather service and it gives a good general idea of where our next snow is headed. But I think this estimate is on the high side and if anything with this storm changes, it will be less snow as the storm tracks further south.

Regardless, the weather for the Second Season Opener looks fantastic. If we take a look back at November, rutting and breeding activity peaked the 11th through the 18th in central Iowa. Fast-forward and the secondary rut should peak 28 days later which would place it just in time for the end of shotgun 1 and opening weekend of shotgun 2.
Plenty of shotgunners are reporting rutting activity recently. Rubs, scrapes and mature bucks with their noses down after does suggest we're in a mini-chase phase of the secondary rut. From December 8th until December 15th bucks will be actively roaming and seeking out those last does. This combined with the cold temperatures and high pressure will make the first few days of Shotgun 2 really good hunting.

Here's a glance at the extended outlook for Shotgun Season 2. Our pattern looks seasonable and relatively dry. So expect deer to transition back out of subtle rutting activity and into a feeding pattern.

Beautiful, Cold Weather for Shotgun 1

We've got the coldest air so far this season blanketing the state this week. Check out our 7-day forecast here, and you'll notice central Iowa will be in the 20s and 30s for the rest of the first shotgun season. This is nearly perfect weather for hunting Whitetails on what is considered to be one of the two most important hunting seasons for harvesting deer and managing Iowa's Whitetail herd.



Big deer love cold weather!

 According to the DNR "The Iowa DNR expects that nearly 90,000 hunters will be heading to the woods and fields during Saturday’s opening day for first shotgun season. Iowa’s shotgun deer seasons are the most popular among hunters and account for more than half of all deer harvested." Read more by clicking the Iowa DNR link to the right under "Chris' Weather and Outdoor Favorites."

From my field notes, below average temperatures often coincide with peaks of game movement. Surviving cold temperatures means spending time in food sources like corn fields or other grain fields. Hunting pressure and changing habitats often force deer into sanctuaries which then drives them to "commute" a bit more to the fields. This can create a favorable opportunity for an ambush, especially as deer become more patternable.



Rutting Activity is Increasing



I am really excited to report an increase in rutting behavior. The other day, I watched as a large 10pt buck chased after a medium sized doe. His nose was down and the chase was on. Scrapes are being refreshed and rubs are also showing up like the one pictured below. These are subtle signs that central Iowa is approaching the secondary peak of the rut. This stage is generally just a shadow of the exciting activity we usually see in the middle of November, but when combined with our cold weather, it really increases the odds of tagging a trophy with the gun.

In my next blog, I'll try and pin down the best days to hunt the secondary rut and I'll also have an extended weather outlook for the first week of Shotgun 2. Safety first and happy hunting!

Shotgun 1 Storm

I hope you have good gear if you’re planning on heading afield for the Iowa shotgun opener! A large winter storm is brewing and this sloppy weather will put your water-proofing and dedication to the test. Just a few degrees will make all the difference between a snow-filled evening with success or a soggy, cold and potentially fruitless opening day. So let’s unravel the details!

Courtesy National Weather Service

Central and eastern Iowa start the day with a southeasterly breeze with cold rain showers in the morning. An icy mix could start us off near Ames, Boone and Carroll and light snow will begin in the morning in NW Iowa. Winds will shift to the east around midday and become a stiff northeasterly in the evening. Temps will be in the 30s and it looks like it will be “warm” enough to keep things rain for much of the state before it changes to snow. Cold air will sink down from the Dakotas during the day and NW Iowa should see several inches of snow throughout the day and into Saturday night.

Low barometric pressure, combined with snow falling will make for spectacular hunting in NW Iowa. Deer feeding activity will start early and it should feature an above average number of animals in preferred food sources like corn fields. Unfortunately for the rest of us, a cold rain is not typically good weather to hunt. From my field notes, I have not had a single successful hunt where the rain was anything heavier than sprinkles and the temperature was in the 30s. It can be done, but observed deer movement under those conditions is substantially less than a normal day. The only saving grace would be a break in the rain. Click here to check out our radar to see if you're lucky enough that your evening sit will catch a break. If the rain backs down to a light drizzle, mist, and fog go hunt! It will eventually get cold enough for snow in central Iowa, but that will probably be after dark and I’m only expecting about an inch or two at best.

Forecast snow accumulation on ground by Sunday a.m.

Sunday morning the sky should clear out a bit revealing a fresh blanket of white from Creston to Des Moines to Waterloo and points northwestward. A cool and primarily northwest breeze combined with high barometric pressure will make Sunday (especially evening) my pick for the best natural deer movement. I think the only deer moving on Saturday are the ones getting pushed out of their bedding.

Saturday’s storm will bring a variety of weather. Keep tabs on the latest advisories and details on our website and with the National Weather Service. Good luck and stay safe!