Just wondering how cold does it have to be to keep you from going hunting. I'm a Pa. hunter so we get some bitter cold days. I used to be able to hunt all day no matter what Mother Nature threw at me but when I hit my mid 50's things started to change.

If the temp. Is 30 degrees and above I'm in for a all day hunt unless you throw in some freezing rain or sleet. From 20 degrees to 30 degrees I'm good for a four hour hunt. When the temp gets below 20 degrees I'm only good for a two hour hunt. I usually hunt the first two hours and the last two hours when it gets real cold. I found if I can keep my head and neck warm I can stay comfortable for a long tome. I sit 80% of the time so that sure makes a big difference.

I lasted about an hour one morning when it was 5 below.

I didn't want to be a chicken chit and head back to camp early, but finally did.

Don't ya know I was the last one back to camp.

LOL

Hi Will, PA guy here as well. I'm 46 and find the older I get the less tolerance I have for the cold. Last year on the first day of our second season (always the day after Christmas) it was -8 with the windchill when I left the house before daylight. My wife flat out told me I was an idiot when I kissed her goodbye. I was hunting with my flintlock and only was able to sit until about 9 a.m. before I couldn't take it any longer. The snow was really crunchy and not good for sneaking so I went home and thawed out. I went back out that afternoon and shot a nice doe around 3:30 p.m. I actually had to walk back to the house and warm my hands up and get fresh gloves before I field dressed her. I'd much prefer to sneak hunt below 20 degrees but sometimes that's not an option when everything is "crunchy". I'll walk awhile and post up for awhile until I get cold then walk some more. I try to dress as warm as I can and always take some snacks and water as digestion produces heat but sometimes, it's just too darn cold!

Another Pa guy here. I think a lot of it has to do with deer sightings, for me anyway. If I'm seeing deer I can last a lot longer in frigid temps. With that said I don't hunt that much if it's 10° or colder especially on windy days. The cold wind is what gets me to go home. If it's calm I can take much colder temps. The coldest I ever killed a deer with my bow it was 11° when we went out and 4° when we finally got the deer out of the woods. The deer hung in my cousins shed for 5 weeks until we had a little warm spell (at the end of February) and it was un-frozen enough to get the hide off. I will say, the deer tasted fine.

Interesting question. I really think that being outside and shooting a bow when the temperatures are in less than 20 F are two different things. Looking forward for the answers gentlemen - while drinking a cup of coffee, outside are -27C (-36C with wind factor) / -17F (-36F with wind factor).

I like to sneak/still hunt so I will still go out in 0 F temps. But is hard to have a day that isn't to noisy in those temps as the sound of everything seems to be amplified. Part of the reason I like it. Also gotta be out in a fresh snow.

Starting to get the dry eye symptoms:( and that will chase me back before the cold does.

I'm am X Pa. guy. Here in TX. I'm good if the wind isn't blowing strong about 3 hrs. in the 20's to 30's.

Grew up and still hunt western PA even though I now live in western NY. I find that when its below 20 in the morning it is unproductive for the morning hunts. I have better luck with deer movement from noon until dark. I think deer like to bed down to conserve heat/energy when it gets that cold and prefer to move when the sun is overhead.

Dang Draven, I got a cold chill just reading that post! Time for another cup of coffee.

I’m from NJ which is right near Pa. I live in Sussex Co which is the Northernest part. It gets cold here. I also was the guy that went in anything. Last year when I was sick I was in climate controlled buildings for almost 6 months. Idk what it did but it changed me. I don’t even like walking my dogs right now. Last time I was out was November. December is gun season here, now it’s bow season again but too cold to sit for me. I’d rather run dogs or check traps. I will shoot a bit mid day. Even those take lots of bundling up. Stinks cause I’m not old. Idk if I’ll ever revert back but I hope so

I'm usually good to hunt down to about 20 degrees, but if the wind kicks up and it's blowing 15 mph or above my time on stand is really limited. Used to be I'd be out all day regardless of weather, nowadays at my age (mid 70s) I just can't take it like I used to.

I wear a heater body suit and it keeps me warm. Just unzip to shoot.,

A little brisk this morning its 9 degrees F and with chill it's -14 -15 degrees F. And it's to get a little colder the next couple days. That might be a wee bit cold for hunting. Just have to love Mother Nature.

It's more wind than temperature for me. I can sit as long as i want to in a windless single digit temps. Add the wind 10mph and i start the shakes. I do have wind blocker garments. I did just add the Wooltimate parka to my collection and it may beat the cold and wind but have yet to test it.

hurt my hands duck hunting about 18 years ago & now that's my biggest problem when they get cold they hurt. I'm done deer hunting got all I need but definitely gonna work on getting a mess or 2 or 3 of squirrels

It's 17 degrees out right now with no wind. I'm heading out back to sit, ill let you know how long I last.lol

I think the problem with hunting in extreme cold is you have to keep moving and at a pretty good clip to keep somewhat comfortable and all that movement turns it into a cold walk in the woods rather than hunting. A few years ago before I got into my bowhunting renaissance I took the muzzleloader during the VT late archery/muzzleloader season and first day was single digits below 0. I lasted about 4 hrs but tracked a couple deer to their beds in some cut treetops. The next day was 10 degrees and 30 mph winds so probably colder than the previous day. I approached the bedding area from downwind and glassed from a distance and no deer but saw a thick patch of young softwoods just beyond the bedding area and figured that is where I would go to get out of the wind. Sure enough got to with 15yds of a doe before it went further into the trees and another was feeding about 25yds away and actually bed down at that distance from me. With a bow they were legal but not with the muzzleloader so I circled down wind about 100yds and took a stand hoping for a late rut scenario with a buck checking them out. I lasted about 1/2 hr and headed for the car as it didn't make sense to hunt at the rate necessary to withstand the cold.

For me it's never to cold, it's a matter of how ping I'll sit in it. If I'm dealing with sub zero temps I'll sit for what I think is the most productive time, which is the 1 to dark when the deer are feeding.

Here in Texas, if it dips below 40 everyone is gone. I can usually last a few hours in 10 degrees, though.

Indiana has gotten weird. When I was a kid it got cold in November. It was always a frosty cold morning. Now it might be high 60s. It goes from warm to freezing over night and a guy cant get acclimated to it. Mother nature is bi polar in my state.

Up here I have hunted all day at -25, but moving. Being a groundhunter helps because brush blinds still block the wind. If I sit I use a big sleeping bag. I sat on a run for several hours one crusty snow afternoon and never got cold. It was over twenty below on the little thermometer I carry and I was warm. My wife and granddaughter use heater body suits. Hare hunting, I hunt no matter what. Cold weather with dry air is ideal for my flintlock. All my beagles are excellent cold weather trackers and besides, a hare swamp is always warmer than a wide-open cut or hardwood ridge. I always build a fire, make a tea, and heat up sausage. My granddaughter loves it.

I'm usually good down to 20. What matters most is the wind factor. The majority of hunting clothes are not very helpful in strong winds. If they do have a wind barrier the goofs put it on the inside where it has only marginal value.

Consider how a snow mobile suit is made. The wind barrier is on the outside, and folks are racing around in sub freezing weather with the wind blowing 40 mph and they're fine. Downside is most of those suits are noisy.

My deciding factor is how much meat is in the freezer.

Having hunted MN for a number of years, I’m prepared to say that you PA guys don’t know from Cold. We used to get sub-zero F as early as the November rut, which is why I used to sit up in my stand with a down sleeping bag cinched up under my armpits and a couple big Nalgene bottles of scalding hot water under my feet. Those -100° boots just don’t cut it when you’re sitting. On the other hand, if you can get out of the wind and stay a little bit active, -50° F actualy isn’t all that bad. Or at least it wasn’t 30 years ago! LOL

I can still do OK if I’m active enough, but not my hands anymore. A few thoughts I’ve had as I’ve read through this thread....

Digestion does NOT really “produce” a lot of heat. ENERGY allows you to produce heat, but digestion requires good blood flow to your abdominal cavity, which can pull circulation from your muscles and your extremities… Metabolism in your muscles generates a LOT of heat, which tends to decrease (due to declining muscle mass) as we get older…

But being out in the cold can require so much energy just keeping warm that you cannot go all day long without food and you do need to stay hydrated in order to keep your circulation working well. All that steam that you see you when you exhale is coming directly out of your bloodstream and you’ve got to put it back.

Another real killer of cold tolerance, as a couple people have mentioned, is that most of us live in such climate controlled circumstances that we never have a chance to get out and get acclimated anymore. When I lived in Minneapolis, I always found that playing broom ball at night was my salvation because if you can get out lately dressed and work up a sweat that about 10° below zero, that seems to set you up to stay warm for the rest of the winter. Especially when I had a job that had me spending a fair amount of time in temperatures just above freezing every day, year ‘round.

Now.... forget it. I can do OK sitting out in a snowstorm as long as I have plenty of heat packs stashed in my in our pockets or they can heat up my kidneys, my groin, belly-pockets... Definitely need chemical heat packs in my pockets and/or gloves to keep the hands functional. For bow hunting, my best trick (regardless of what the temperatures are) is to really over- dress from the armpits down. That keeps my chest and shoulders free to move to draw or shoot simply by making sure that my lower half retains enough heat that I don’t start restricting bloodflow to the colder areas.

Wind is a killer, but seems like a productive spot will rarely have much of a breeze moving through. Certainly not at ground level, and if a good-sized tree trunk doesn’t provide enough cover to keep me sufficiently out of the wind, I think I’m better off down on the ground using it to my advantage, as opposed to just suffering through it...

Depends if it's windy or not. Without wind you can handle colder weather easier. Not so much with a chilling wind.

If it gets -25, I only go out to check on the chickens and fill the bird feeders. We don't have dry cold here in the northeast US, it's bone-chilling cold.

I'm pretty good to around 20 F if the wind is quiet and the sun peeks out now and then. I'm more happy if it's above 40 and under 80.

Cold is fine down to about 10 degrees. Cold and windy is out below about 50 and cold and wet is a no starter. There are lots of deer here and plenty of time to get one in tolerable weather.

I don't Bowhunt but we shoot Field-3D tourney whatever the weather, coldest tourney I shot here was -24C, normally it's somewhere between -10C and -15C this time of year.

I spent 5 hours in Forest yesterday getting ready for this weekends tourney, lot of storm damaged trees needed to come down, normally I do this job alone but had a lot of help yesterday as my health isn't 100%, I am VERY grateful for good friends.

My tolerance to cold has decreased as I age (I'm 72 now), but I've also been able to invest in better clothing.

I generally don't go out anymore when it's below zero, though I did kill a nice buck a couple years ago at 4 below zero F. The only day in almost 2 weeks that I got the right wind for that stand. Luckily, I got him first thing in the morning. Don't think I would have been able to stay out for more than a couple of hours.

Wind also has an impact. It it's 20 degrees or colder with a 20 mile per hour or greater wind, I tend to stay in. At least I won't stay in a tree stand then. Will hunt from the ground if I can get out of the wind.

One of the secrets to keeping you neck and face warm is those spanedo flage face mask..I use two or three of them at the same time over my head with eye holes cut out or just cut a full face hole in them..They can sure keep that cold wind off you face and from it going down your neck..I have been out in 25 below chill factor and the cold never bothered me..Plus there is no one else in the woods to bother you..

Was out for a couple hours. We've had snow for two days and saw lots of deer tracts and squirrel tracks. Came home for a hot bowl of Chili.

Being in my mid 50’s now I’m less likely to tolerate sitting in frigid temps. Besides my trail cameras tell me that deer movement decreases drastically when it 10 degrees or colder...deer are smart enough to know that they burn more calories digging for food in frigid temps then they can dig up.

I can still last a couple of hours in a tree stand in 0 to +10 weather. Longer in a pop-up. IF, there is little to no wind. When the wind picks up, I'm gone.

George X2, except we don't have any chickens :).

Up here in New England it's the wind w/cold that really gets to me now at 72. When I was younger it never bothered me as much. Now I just stay in by the woodstove with a good book.

I shot a doe 7-8 years ago in late January when it was below zero and the blood trail froze before it hit the snow...that was probably the last time I hunted in those temps.

I have thought about building a natural ground on my buddies property for late season real cold days and then run a buddy heater to make it more tolerable

When I was younger, I didn't care how cold it was. Now, when it's below 20, I get up early dress warm and put a stalk on the coffee pot.

The question should be, how cold is too cold to SHOOT A BOW?

I know the answer to that one - about 25 degrees. Not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES I've had the finish on the back side of my limbs come completely unglued while shooting in very cold weather. All three bows were re-finished and had a very nice gloss finish on them. All three bows were finished by well-respected boyers or bow restoration experts (I do not fault their work). Lesson learned - in low temps, I will not shoot a bow with a nice gloss finish on it.

That is a good question goldentrout_one and one I never really thought about. I will be interested to see if/how many others have had similar experience with bow failure due to cold temp. shooting.

Been doing this stuff since I was 5 yrs. old. 79 years ago. If there is a colder place than a horses back in the winter, I don't want to find it. I'm still good until -10 or so. Didn't hunt this year because of an injury. Always next year.

If it's calm and cold it can't get cold enough where I won't go out, but WIND mixed with bitter cold is another matter. Give me a nice calm cold day and a cedar swamp and I'm happy as a clam!

under 20 and I'm definitely not comfortable but will hang in there for a while...real or windchill in the single digits and I'm out.

That was a bad finish if it came off at 25 degrees. I've hunting in the past in temps between 0 and 15 and the bow wasn't an issue. Fred Bear and others have hunted polar bear in minus weather. And I've mentioned many times, and it's true, that the 2nd Byrd expedition to the Antarctic took selfbows along for exercise...and they used them, keeping them stored in a covered outside area at well below zero. None of the bows they took along were broken after shooting them in the cold.

LOL, Larry - I’ve heard there’s a wind tunnel through that pommel that has been the undoing of many a Brass Monkey!

I honestly can’t tell on my phone, though - is that a photo or a painting? Either way, I’d love to have that on my wall....

If there’s a guy on here who never wanted to be in that picture, I don’t know what was missing from his boyhood... but I’d dare say it was Important.

"hunted" not hunting.

Tomorrow low 15 high 30. Im doing a all day sit with my Heater Body Suit. That has changed everything. I no longer fear any cold day.

Tomorrow low 15 high 30. Im doing a all day sit with my Heater Body Suit. That has changed everything. I no longer fear any cold day.

Coldest I ever went out in was -23F, but that was a few years ago and maybe my "killer" instance was a bit stronger?? This year I filled my one tag in October, so didn't have to "man-up" for the late season.

Hunted in 6*, and windy in S. Tx a few seasons ago, very unusual, but the deer were moving (rut time). Mostly, if it's 20 or below, my butt is in my recliner watchin' football! And, no golf below 55* for me. I'm out there to have fun, not be miserable! And besides, here in TX, the deer don't like the miserable conditions any more than I do, unless of course it's the rut!

PA man here love the cold hate the wind

Minus 40, Celsius or Fahrenheit which is where the two systems cross. If it is sunny with no wind not too bad actually for someone born in December in an Alberta blizzard.

DDave

I have hunted in -20F temperatures on many occasions if there was no wind or I could get out of any wind. But as I have gotten older I don't like to hunt in that kind of cold anymore. My current metrics are air temperature has to be no more than -10F and wind chill has to be no more than -5F.

Our season ended on Jan 6th and that day it was a balmy 29F. Wind was blowing about 15mph but I was in a draw out of the wind so wind chill was nil. I prefer hunting in these conditions vs very cold temps. But in ND we often have very cold weather during hunting season.

Man I used to hunt regardless of the weather conditions and cold. Had to sit out a few blizzards hunting in Montana! Treestands in the wind when it was -10 in Minnesota! I can't hack the cold at all anymore. If it gets much below 40° I'm done!

I hunted from 5:30 to 11 today in MD. 28 degrees with 20 mph winds but we were duck hunting. Ice conditions around the water blind but we could cook breakfast in the blind. Bacon, egg, deer meat sandwiches make the morning bearable plus we can get out and walk around a little. When the temps drop in Jan we will duck hunt every weekend until ice closes the blind.

Cold, I have darn well about froze up in 40 degree wet weather in Oklahoma and stayed warm in zero in northern Mn., depends on the clothes, once the toes and hands go I go.

Coldest I have ever been is -27 with a minus 40 wind chill at high noon outside Jackson, Wyoming somewhere on Moose Wilson RD, it was in February and I wasn't hunting. Cold sucks at old age, but I love that place, especially when it's warmer.

GF, that's a photo. Winter gather in some big country, and everyone getting their country to ride.

I've spent a small fortune on warm boots over the decades. My left foot is my 'early warning system.'

Figure I can stay out down to 15 degrees. Below that, I'll play camp cook and stay by the stove ;-)

It was -17 checking traps this morning. Absolutely nothing moved. Just hares. Wore a Stanfield lambswool union suit with all wool outerwear and was warm. My saving grace in this cold is mukluks and unsourced wool mittens from Newfie.

Here in Wisconsin I will hunt down to 0 F but not two long especially if a wind. I am 83 and fortunately have good circulation as I can hunt down to zero with cotton socks and uninsulated rubber boots. My greatest issue is my damaged right shoulder, when it get cold I lose what little strength is left in it which makes it difficult to get to full draw. I stick a foot warmer on my second layer of clothing on my shoulder and this helps.

Here'e what has worked for me lately. Cabela' sells a ECWS (extreme cold weather system base layers) I bought a large and extra large and double base layer myself. That's very little bulk but exponentially warmer than more external layers. Then an Alpaca wool vest which keeps the core warmer. If the core is warm you shouldn't need as much on the extremities to keep hands/feet warm. I use women's knee high nylons, cut the foot off and that's my armguard; compresses bulky clothes up to the elbow during the shot. Lastly, I draw my bow several times every 30 to 45 minutes to keep my muscles/body ready. I am warm and ready for the shot.

Badger man, 83, good for you. Keep it up.

Pa. hunter also,and as soon as I get uncomfortable no matter what the temperature I leave the woods go home to the warmth of my basement, and work on bow building or arrows or some thing other than freezing.I,m 71,and had enough of that freezing when a was young.

-60F been in it once; and that was enough.

I love hunting to much to let the weather effect it. I'll hunt in most any condition as long as its safe to.

However one of my funniest hunts....I was hunting late season, for a week. temps were right around 0 or a couple degrees below every morning . I hunted couple hrs, morning and evening, But deer tracks in the snow proved deer went past my stand midday when I wasn't there. So climbed into the beech before dawn ready for a all day sit, was about -2...sat till 3:00Pm without seeing a thing and I was starting to really shiver. I wondered if I could even get my bow back so tried...lol...I was so stiff I couldn't get it back. Thought you gotta be kidding, sat here all day and I can't shoot right anyhow! I could barely climb down through the branches of the beech, feet and hands were to numb. but hey, what the heck...I was still out hunting!

I've used 1/2 my age as a cold factor. I'm 60 now so I generally stay in below 30 deg. ,unless roving or a 3d shoot. Stand hunting chills me out to quick, gotta keep moving.I work outside all week long and appreciate staying warm on weekends.

I have hunted in -35 but we were putting on drives not sitting still for very long . The last 3 years when I shot my buck it was 15 and 12 below zero but I have an insulated blind with a buddy heater going full. It was nice and warm in the blind but I had to go out and track and man it was cold with the wind blowing. My little grandson shot a deer a week ago and it was about 20 and it didn't bother any of us when we were tracking. I think we are getting acclimated which is easy to do in mild weather like 20 degrees as you are out more than when it gets really cold . Cant wait to get to Texas and hunt in some 70 to 80 degree weather in a month.

Left the house this morning to run my trap line. 35 below. Nothing moving, just a big buck using my snowshoe track and a weasel.

Badgerman just made my day you are an inspiration!

I hunt for fun if too cold its not FUN !

lawdy.. I ran a longline for years....winter trapping and being cold go hand in hand. Hard to stay warm when your water trapping always breaking through ice, getting wet ect...Wish I still had the time to do it, but with fur prices not what they were, doesn't pay like it used to, and I just don't have the time to keep doing it as a hobby.

You really learn a lot running a trapline. Just being out there every single day running the line teaches you. If you are a good trapper, you will be a good hunter, not to mention it keeps you in good shape if you walk it. I literally had to run at a steady jog to get mine checked in a morning. I learned to use a weed stem thin stick ect...stuck inconspicuously in the ground so I could check fox, coyote sets from a distance with bino's, if it was down I went in, otherwise I only checked and rescented them every other day up close. saved time. But wow, I could write a book about trapping and coonhunting adventures!

I learned what it was like to get wet and have your clothes freeze solid more than once for sure.

Shade Mtn, I outfitted my snowshoes the year with a harness made by a trapper in Fort Kent, Maine. Very easy to get off in case I break through the ice. They are very quiet too as with our snow I hunt a lot on snowshoes late season. We had so much in November, guys gave up. One guy almost died when he tried to get to his camp with his pickup. We found him stumbling in waist deep snow.

One thing I can tell ya is it's a lot easier to stay out in the cold knowing that cabin wood stove is just a couple minute walk away! Having said that, been pretty mild around here this winter.

Saturday I was up at the cabin in N VT with two sons. The two weeks hunting in Nov and Dec were colder than usual and we didn't have much firewood on hand. It had warmed up to low single digits and we weren't going to be out long cutting up a few dead cedars to supplement the supply for next time up. I was running the saw with leather work gloves on and finger tips got colder and colder but we were getting closer and closer to being done and then suddenly the tips were so painful I was nauseous and handed the saw to my son for the last couple of minutes. Never experienced that before.

Depends on how I feel that day and on how hard the wind is blowing. I have hunted at temps as low as -10 on several occasions.

You think you get less tolerant while getting older it's true for me but since health issues its worse. I have good clothes and would be warm if I went out but why for what. I need to go out to look at some claims and don't want to either. Only thing that drives me there though is the loot. And getting calls when you going to come see.LOL

I don't like the cold and having to turn heat up and put on more clothes in house.

the coldest that ever shot at a deer was minus 20 and windy, I missed, by a mile, I was cold. The coldest that I ever killed a deer was minus 12 and no wind. It had warmed all the way up to 25 above and I was shedding layers by the time I was dragging that buck out. That morning a spit a chaw of that gawd awful Levi Garret stuff out about 40 yards from where I was going to sit. It was just sit-in' there, steaming in the morning sun. Two fawns came by stalked up to it, took a sniff and one jumped straight up about four feet in the air.

As cold as I have been in some places at times, thankfully when most of my deer were killed this season I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt under a lightweight bug suit Ghillie. It's over and now we eat well.

I used to get up early and go hunting regardless of the weather.

Later, I would get up early, stand on the porch in my skivies, and decide yea or nay.

Now, I check the forcast on the computer and don't even bother getting up early.

A man's gotta know his limitations. :)

It is usually a lot warmer outside in the afternoon than it is in the morning. It is usually a lot warmer in bed than it is outside in the morning. I got up at ten this morning, it was cold outside, if it is still cold outside, I may need to take a nap this afternoon. It is going be really cold this weekend, breakfast will be served at noon.

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