With a Very Rainy Saturday Looming, Is It Worth Heading into the Maine Woods to Deer Hunt?

When it comes to Maine pastimes, deer hunting is probably one of the most popular and long-lived.

Each and every November (and outside of November if you bow or muzzle load hunt) folks from all around Maine take to the state's vast woodlands in search of that ever-elusive whitetail deer.

Maine has a very rich history of deer hunting with tens of thousands of permits being issued every year with several opportunities for hunters to purchase additional tags depending on the state's assessment of the deer population.

And while bow hunting and muzzle loading remains popular in Maine, it is without a doubt that the majority of Maine hunters primarily deer hunt during November's rifle season. And, at least for most people, it doesn't leave a ton of time for sitting in the woods unless you use vacation time or come down with a week-long "cold."

What this means is that a lot of people are only able to get out into the Maine woods on Saturdays.

So what happens when one of those Saturdays calls for less-than-ideal weather? Well, depending on who you ask you should either cut your losses and stay home, or get out to the stand because your luck could still be good.

We wanted a bit more of a definitive answer, so naturally we took to the interwebs. After checking a few sources, we decided to grab our information from Game & Fish's Pro Tips for Hunting Whitetail Deer in the Rain article.

According to an excerpt from their article,

In general, rain means nothing to whitetails unless it's pouring cats and dogs. When this happens, all wildlife (and human life) activity stalls until the storm is over. But when rain is light or only a steady drizzle falls, deer just go about their business as if it were a sunny day. 

They go on to explain that during periods of light rain, whitetail deer are likely to use the dampening effect to their advantage and move around more freely because of the limited scent trail they leave behind. Light rain makes it harder for predators to track them down.

However, if the rain is falling more intensely, these very same deer become much more likely to bed down and remain dormant for the day as they wait for the precipitation to pass.

As we take a look at this weekend's weather, the forecast is calling for rain pretty much all day on Saturday with precipitation totals nearing half an inch for some areas of Maine. And while that doesn't seem like a whole lot, that would convert into about a 6" snowfall.

So, if it were me, I would probably just hang back and enjoy the warmer confines of my living room tomorrow.

However, don't take our word for it, do what your gut tells you.

Happy Hunting!