Registered User
Simply,is it worth hunting in the rain.
Many books and dvds don't mention hunt of not in wet weather.
Is it that rabbits wait until the all clear,then come out to feed,do pigeons
feed regardless of the weather,could corvids be tempted to a dead rabbit during a downpour?
Books seldom hint to answer the weather question.
I am happy to go out and sit in a wood store and wait,
but would I be wasting my time
Thoughts/advice please
Many thanks
Alan
Registered User
From my experience;
Lamping rabbits is great in a fine drizzle.
Crows don't mind a bit of light rain.
Foxes don't really mind the rain.
Forget pigeon shooting ( shotgunning ), unless you can find a heavily loaded sitty tree and get underneath it.
All in all, some great reasons to stay in and watch the telly
Put on heading 270, assume attack formation
Ultra MK3 hunter
I never see rabbits in the rain - but they do like coming out soon afterwards.
Maybe the grass is more succulent when it's wet?
But I must say I'm a fair weather shooter nowadays, the main reason being my hatred of having to strip down a wet rifle afterwards.
More work, if done right.
Rust or warpage, if not done at all!
Last edited by mikemorton; 02-12-2009 at 08:57 AM.
Born To Be Mild.
HRPC Hunter Field Target
Agreed , you can sit there all day long Alan in the rain as I have done and see nothing but you have the added bonus of sitting in the dry which is good .Originally Posted by mikemorton
As Mike says you will see them soon after and I'm sure the grass looks tastier , that or the fact they have been starving hungry waiting for the rain to stop ?
atvb
Dave
]Never explain. Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe it anyway. ~ Elbert Hubbard[
$20 happy endings a speciality
Laying about in mud and pissing down rain, getting soaked to the skin and also getting your gun soaked.........hmmmSimply,is it worth hunting in the rain.
to that!
$20 happy endings a speciality
Christ do you remember the last time we went to Daph's place?
We didn't even bother getting out the car!
Like stair-rods!
Ultra MK3 hunter
And we still managed to get soaked!
Rabbits 1-0 Mike & Jamie
That day, at least.
Born To Be Mild.
Registered User
inever bother mate i just leave it for the lamping if its raining, i have been hundreds of times when raining to no prevail,its very disheartening getting no kills and soaked threw to the boxers and to top it off having to clean and oil up the gun
happy hunting
He's Spartacus, Sir - not me!
you`ll find woodies dont seem to like flying in the rain , so if you can find a local spot where they roost near to feeding areas you could do ok.
ive never done very well with rabbits in the rain , even the wind appears to put them off on the shoot i go on and those that do venture out only seem to go about 5 ft from the warren entrance.
suits me those as iam not a tinkering type person and get no pleasure from stripping , drying and cleaning a wet gun.
If you can read my signature,thank a teacher.If your reading it in English thank a soldier.
Renaissance man
I am out in all weathers and it is fair to say that pigeons sit in the rain and do not like to move. their feathers work like roof tiles but if they move they get wet through them. Rabbits sit in the burrows but if it is raining for a long period, will come out a little way from their holes. They come out after to eat . I suspect there are 2 reasons for this first they get wet and use energy to dry out but also the rain limits their hearing and they feel more vulnerable. Corvids dont seem to like the rain either for the same reason as pigeons. Ducks are immune to rain.
I see much more after the rain as things start to move. Rabbits like it dry underfoot if they can find it so the woodland rides and short grass areas are the place to snipe a few.
Birmingham Small Arms Ultra .22,Tasco World Class Scope.
Weirauch HW 77 .177 springer.
Instigator of the YCHJCYA2PDTHFH Club on this forum (I think).
Registered User
i hunt in all weathers, ive had plenty of rabbits in the rain, im not talking light drizzle either, i mean proper rain.
i also had my best ever decoying session on woodies on a day when it rained on and off all day and the action didnt slow down during the downpours, ended up with 76 but i agree, on most wet days the woodies dont seem to fly as much, still its worth checking your own individual shoots to see whats going on during wet spells. observation is a hunters best tool
tlhIngan maH. taHja
I have had decent bags in lighter drizzles.
If you check out John Darlings secrets, he reckoned slight drizzle, light wind and no moon were the best rabbiting conditions to go shooting in. I for one will not be arguing with John Darling.
It is also easier to get a lot of fluid into your system when the food you eat is covered in water droplets rather than just relying on the dry grass natural water content.
Most rabbits rely on their foodstuffs for water - they dont trot off to the nearest waterhole and tell the buffalo to FO if you catch my drift.
Personally, if I am shooting from a vehicle and it starts to rain, we dont stop. If its been peeing down for a few days, we dont go out especially as golf courses seem to get prissy if you drive a 4x4 when the ground is sodden.
They will be there a few days later when it aint raining so your call
In a battle of wits I refuse to engage with an unarmed person.
To one shot one kill, you need to seek the S. Kill only comes from Skill
Banned
When it rains on my shoot all the woodys flock to a massive tree at the far end.. youve just got to get there before they do, and if you do, let the fun begin...
last time i was out, it was hammering it down and i bagged a magpie, got back took my rifle from the stock and gave her a nice going over with some gun oil refitted the stock job done..
Registered User
Your springer's always look nice, is that a standard stock?
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