It’s Wet Out There!

The woods sure are wet, and the swamps are filled to the brim. As I write this, it looks like we have a pretty good storm growing in the Gulf of Mexico, set to dump a good bit of water on us still. I’ve no idea yet where this one will come ashore, but it’s unlikely that we’ll not feel at least some of the bad weather it’ll be carrying with it. Might as well give up and stay home, right? No way!

Now, I’m not encouraging anybody to go hunt in a hurricane. But, as the barometer bottoms out, preceding the storm, game will go into a very extended feeding pattern. And again, once the storm is beginning to subside, game animals, especially deer and wild hogs, will be on their feet, taking advantage of the abundance of new-fallen acorns blown down by the high winds.

It’s hard to stay dry while hunting during these periods, but there are some great PVC rain suits out there to help out in that regard. Personally, I prefer just to get wet. Even though it’s still quite warm out, the wet can drop your body’s core temperature and bring about hypothermia. To counter that, I carry a thick camo hoodie in my day pack, and when I feel myself first beginning to shiver, I put it on. Wet or not, it aids in insulation and keeps me comfortable even in the wettest of weather.
For us traditional bowmen, keeping our fletching dry and in proper form is a definite concern. Once the feathers get wet, they fall flat against the shaft and will no longer steer the arrow correctly. One simple hack I use is to borrow some of Granny’s Aquanet hair spray or some other commercial brand of the stuff, and spray the feathers down well. It helps them to repeal the water and retain their steerage for that all-important shot.

Now, folks, I wanted to share with you a note I received from a longtime friend and proud grampa, Dave Criswell. Dave sent me a picture of his eldest grandson, Tanner with a fat porker the 11-year-old invited home for supper. He used a .35 Whelen cartridge to deliver his invitation to supper and the savory little swine accepted. Congratulations Tanner!

Many of you may remember Tanner as the winner of the youth class at the Mudfish tournament I hosted last May. He is one mighty fine young outdoorsman and I’m proud to see him learning to follow in old Dave’s footsteps.

Now, if any of you have any comments, questions or even a story of your own you’d like to share, reach out to me at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!

Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.