sioux falls south dakota buck

 

From this new book from the Boone and Crockett Club, interesting weather data as reported by thousands of hunters that shot monster bucks for the record book.

–93 percent of those giants were shot on dry days; half the days were sunny, and half were overcast

–the wind was calm, 5 mph or less, on 85 percent of the days when the big bucks were killed

–8 out of 10 of the monsters were shot when the temperature was 50 degrees F or less

My take on the numbers: Regarding the 93 percent that were killed on dry days, I bet if we look deeper inside that data, we’ find a pattern that consisted of dry, high-pressure days after a cool-to-cold weather front, something I’ve blogged about a lot. Those 2-3 days after a front blows through an area are great hunting days.

While calm to low-wind days are definitely best for big bucks, I was surprised at the high 85 percent number, and the 5 mph or less. I’d have thought 10 mph or less maybe.

We all know that the cooler the better for big deer, and this data reaffirms that. However, I do add that during the very best rut days of November–those 2-4 days of the peak when old bucks are on their feet in daylight–hunt all day even if the temperature soars to 70 or more, because a buck’s desire to breed does will override the weather and all other conditions.