Hunting the Blizzard.. during and after?

[Coach1310]

Good day all.  I am in the Pequot Lakes/Pine River/Emily area.  We have what I would say is close to blizzard conditions and with my kids not having school, would love to get them out in the woods today... fresh snow in the woods and snowing is an awesome natural sight to see.  What keys would you guys say are important hunting during and after a snow storm?  Do we just cautiously move along... walk a bit, scan for some time, walk some more... we have no stands in place... or hang out outside thick swamps or stands of pines where the weather is calmer and deer are protected?  Just not sure the best way to go about it.  

 

Enjoy the snow... it is Minnesota after all so was going to happen eventually!!

[hoppe56307]

It just switched to snow here is little falls, had been rain, go out and get that big old swamp donkey.  I would hunt the edges on the bedding areas as they will most likely be sitting tight, unless he has a hot doe around.

Edited November 18, 2016 by hoppe56307

[nofishfisherman]

I'd also be looking for thick cover.  Some of my areas have nice stands of pine that the deer will hold in and another property has a lot of thick scrub brush and tall grass that the deer hunker down in.  Best bet is to hunt along the edge and hope one of them gets antsy and goes for a short stroll.  They probably won't be making big moves so you'll need to be tight to the bedding areas to hopefully catch them on a short walk. 

 

If you're with the kids just be careful moving around on the ground if you're on public land.  Visibility may be poor and people do dumb stuff.  Otherwise it could be a fun day out in the woods even if you don't see anything.  The woods are a different place during a snow storm.  Hopefully you'll be able to pick up some tracks that you can follow and take the kids on a good old fashioned stalk.  Doesn't matter if you ever catch up the deer I'm sure the kids will have fun with the excitement of tracking it. 

[Coach1310]

Thanks for the info guys.  I'm hopeful the weather backs off just a bit so I can feel good about driving to the woods.  I wish I had a nice ground blind set up somewhere near thick cover... could be a fun sit in the snow!

[nofishfisherman]

Do you have a blind at home?  If not you could pick one up pretty cheap at Menards or some other big box stores.  They actually work awesome in wet snow.  I've hunted out of them in early storms like this when the snow is wet and sticky. I just set the blind up and in about 15 minutes the snow had stuck to all sides and it was virtually invisible.  

A buddy was hunting out of another blind a ways away and mid day I walked over so we could go get some hot food and as I approached his blind I could not see it at all even though I knew exactly where it was.  He had to wave out one of the windows before I could see him. No need to brush it in or set it up early when it blends in that well. 

They do make for an enjoyable sit on days like this and its cool just to sit in the woods and watch the snow fall. 

[ZachD]

My plan is to hunt the patch of beans we left standing they are in the corner of the field next to tall grass and a swamp. My guess is they will be hitting them as the snow should have covered a lot of the other food available in the area.

[monstermoose78]

Get out there this morning

[paceman]

Yes they were moving pretty good Saturday Morning. Had 5 within bow range the first hour. None I wanted to take.

[Bear55]

Too late now but the Thursday before and Saturday morning would have been great hunting. Find the bedding cover and get in close.