Upcoming cold weather

Also note every rooster you shoot wont be eating limited food a hen could be eating or taking the best cover since they are bigger and stronger. If the area has more than 1 rooster for every 13 or so hens you are helping next years hatch in several ways. Better hen survival leads to more hens nesting, less roosters eating food leads to healthier hens and better clutches, too many roosters fighting in spring and not all hens get bred. Do your part as a conservationist and shoot some roosters!! We will be out all next week helping next years bird numbers. :cheers:
 
Also note every rooster you shoot wont be eating limited food a hen could be eating or taking the best cover since they are bigger and stronger. If the area has more than 1 rooster for every 13 or so hens you are helping next years hatch in several ways. Better hen survival leads to more hens nesting, less roosters eating food leads to healthier hens and better clutches, too many roosters fighting in spring and not all hens get bred. Do your part as a conservationist and shoot some roosters!! We will be out all next week helping next years bird numbers. :cheers:

Shoot the roosters, If you watch birds feeding in a field the roosters are incredibly like chickens. The hens will scratch through the snow and when they find something and start pecking the rooster will run over and take over her bare spot forcing her to start over. Smart birds, but very narcissistic. Don't push them out of thermal cover after 4 though, they might not make it back to a safe roost. Owls will work on them early in the morning when it's like this as well.
 
There is no problem with you hunting it is just that you should do it smart. If you bust a bunch of birds out of cover 10 minutes before sunset it's hard on them. Hunting from 10 until 4 is not nearly the issue.

I will say though that it will be miserable. It is a little different for locals because many hunts this time of year are short...if birds are shot or not. Is it worth travelling far for an hour of hunting each day?

I always recommend early to mid november trips to avoid this and hit the best weather and most crops out. I don't like hunting snow and cold that much. It's harder then most think. If I do go out this weekend I doubt I'll spend more then one and a half hours actually in the field...and those are the warmest days by far in the 10 day forecast.

Tim

This was the conclusion my brother and I have come to as well, in regards to going out there in NOV when weather better and crops out of field. We were talking about how the weather was when we were out there, but after traveling 14 plus hrs you are gonna hunt no matter what. Same thing happens with guys that travel to our area (NW Mich) to fish salmon, they go fish no matter how rough it is cause that was what they came to do vrs wait till conditions are better.
 
Hoping the forecast would improve,but it's getting worse! Nasty windchill, I may just have to postpone for a week.
 
Cold temperatures

I was thinking about heading out this week but with lows being -14 and highs around 5 degrees I might just wait. I don't mind hunting in the cold but that's cold.:eek:

My dog is ready to hit the road.....will it ever warm up?
 
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As a few SD residents noted, there is a big difference in getting out for one afternoon when the wind lays down and having a good hunt

vs.

traveling 100s or 1000s of miles to SD to hunt 5 days in arctic air.
 
We have 8 in our group and start hunting tomorrow. We plan our trip months in advance and take what we get. Two years ago same weetime in dec we were sweating, hunting in t shirts and also killed a rattle snake this year looks like cold gear and birds grouped up. If you dress right and hunt for hour or so blocks these temps are not that bad unless you are all time blocker so don't be that guy.
 
A couple pics from this weekend. Buzz is apparently too cool (or tired) to open his eyes for pictures. The wind sucked/blew, but we found birds on the public land again. Where I hunt, there's just not enough snow though. Birds are getting in a lot of running. Can't decide if I'm looking forward to next weekend or not. Hope the forecast is wrong.

Thought I'd pass this along. Any of you tried Musher's Secret? It's a wax type stuff (container actually doesn't list ingredients) for dogs' paws. Conditions the pads & helps minimize snow/ice buildup. It really works pretty well. I apply it pretty liberally on/in his paws (the whole thing - not just pads), armpits, abdomen & sac. Not sure if it's available in stores. I've bought it online. Pretty good stuff.

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i've been checking the weather every hour it seems, I really hope they change it come wednesday or thursday. I have a feeling my dad will want to back out. for our area, the high is around 0 which doesnt bother me, its the wind they are forecasting of 20+
 
this was one of my best hunts in 2013 on some MN public land, i was walking back to the truck, i had 1 shell left in the chamber, 2 roosters in hand, and my pup flushed a rooster out of some willows perfectly to finish our day
 
If you plan a trip, take it, don't let the weather dictate what you are going to do. No matter what the temp is, you can dress and prepare for it, and hunt accordingly. I just got back from 3 days of hunting in 0-10 degree weather in SD with wind chills in the negatives on 2 of the days.

From an avid late season pheasant hunter and ice fisherman, here is what I have found to help out.

1. Base Layer. Very valuable layer here, I generally use a cotton thermal layer, like some long johns and a similar shirt. Sometimes I will go with a Nike or Under Armour dry-fit type that wicks the sweat away.

2. Socks. I usually wear just a thicker cotton sock. I have found that a big key with my feet, is that I can't dress warm enough that they start to sweat. Sweat=moisture=eventually you'll be wet and cold. Sometimes I will go with a dry fit sock then a wool sock over.

3. Middle Layer. Generally a hooded sweatshirt. Sweatpants if I'm going to be wearing some bibs/overalls/snowpants.

4. Outer Layer. Carhart jacket on the upper body. Usually just my normal pair of pheasant hunting pants on the lower body. If enough snow or cold enough, I'll sometimes where some bibs instead.

5. Head. You Lose the most of your heat through your head. I wear an Under Armour facemask, similar to what football players would wear under their helmet. Allows me to cover my face if I need to, and keep my face open if I need to. Stocking cap over that. I have worn ski goggles before while pheasant hunting. 2 or 3 years ago I hunted the final day of the MN season in (from what I remember) about -20 air temp and -40 wind chill, I had to keep every part of my body covered, so the ski goggles helped there.

6. Hands. I struggle keeping my hands warm, even in 50 degree weather. I still haven't found a perfect late season hunting glove. I have very thick warm snowmobiling gloves, but I can't always get the safety on my gun clicked off when a rooster goes up as quickly as I'd like while wearing those. I generally wear one thicker glove on my left hand, and one slightly thinner glove on my right hand. Then I also put a handwarmer packet in each glove. I have not done this yet, but a friend recently told me to put a latex rubber glove on first under your gloves.

To sum it up, you will be surprised how quickly you can warm up in the field while walking. On these 0 degree days we have right now, dress light enough that you won't be drenched in sweat, but heavy enough that you aren't freezing for the first hour until body heats up. Remember its easier to take layers off than add layers on. Once I am moving in a field, I prefer to just keep going the rest of the day. Taking breaks allows your sweat to dry and freeze on you, then you just have to warm up again. Once your warm, your warm though.


Other things to consider when hunting these 0 degree temps.
1. Water: Still important for you and the dog. How will you keep it from freezing? Generally just keeping it in the cab vs. the bed of the truck is enough.
2. Small shovel in case you get stuck in an access if there is lots of snow.
3. Extra set of clothes in case something goes terribly wrong (you break through cattails and are now drenched).
4. Let a friend know where you are hunting at. Again, if something goes terribly wrong (you step in a hole and break your leg) you could die overnight in these temps. Always carry your phone on you while hunting, but some parts of SD also have pretty poor reception.
 
6. Hands. I struggle keeping my hands warm, even in 50 degree weather. I still haven't found a perfect late season hunting glove. I have very thick warm snowmobiling gloves, but I can't always get the safety on my gun clicked off when a rooster goes up as quickly as I'd like while wearing those. I generally wear one thicker glove on my left hand, and one slightly thinner glove on my right hand. Then I also put a handwarmer packet in each glove. I have not done this yet, but a friend recently told me to put a latex rubber glove on first under your gloves.

my coworkers give me crap about my hands, as they are ice cold while i'm at work in our office, needless to say, i have poor circulation. but, i did find an awesome combination for pheasant hunting. it seems like after 10 min of walking, my hands are perfectly fine and functional. I use a combo of polypropylene liner gloves (something like these http://www.militaryclothing.com/Pol...qiCblEsAkMWgaAnmt8P8HAQ&ad=75080675429)-which you can find in bulk at a cheaper price elsewhere; along with these swiss wool shooting mitts http://www.sportsmansguide.com/prod...ss-military-surplus-trigger-mittens?a=1800790

you need the liner paired with the mitts, otherwise the wind goes right through them. this combo works well for my finicky cold hands while pheasant hunting:thumbsup:
 
I don't typically wear a jacket if above 0 and wind under 10 mph. Double base layer and crew sweatshirt under the vest. If it is really cold or a little more wind ... go with top shirt of wool / fleece and my wind proof insulated vest.

That is what I wore today. Did put on waterproof pants today, albeit the snow was not going to melt on my jeans.

Real light single layer (uninsulated) gloves. Did not wear gloves if hunting or ice fishing above 0 F until three years ago.
 
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