What a wacky, weird year this has been. Well, it started out more or less normal in most areas of the country, but as the summer wore on, and it’s evidently still wearing on, normal went out of the window many weeks ago. The usual mid-to-late September cool down we experience here in the Ozarks has just not happened. In fact, as of October 24th, it still hasn't happened. 

It’s that significant change in the weather that flips a switch, both in outdoorsmen and in the game that the time draweth nigh!  That time being hunting season.  Oh, I know those bowhunters get started when it’s still uncomfortably warm out in early September, but for us sane folks, we have to ease ourselves into a hunting mood.  There’s certain things that have to happen.

It’s not just that it’s oddly warm for late October.  It’s also oddly dry. Like a tinderbox with an old bird’s nest in it dry.  In the south we don’t have to worry much about wildland fires like folks do out west. This is generally because of the regular rainfall to keep things just damp enough not to get away from you, an active forest service that does regular controlled burns in the springtime, and winds that tend to stay in the dead still to nice breeze range most of the time. 

Enough is Enough!

However, this year things are a bit different. The whole country west of the Mississippi river has been unseasonably warm for many weeks. Yes, fires have ravaged the west in Idaho, Wyoming, and a few other places.  This heat and lack of precipitation have led to our 4 state region being exceptionally dry. Cars that drive across tall grass are sparking fires alongside highways. Errant cigarettes or just careless firebugs have started a few fires too. 

Anyway, I said all that to say this.  I PROTEST. Kids shouldn’t have to sweat just to walk down the street for Halloween. This is absolutely ridiculous. Maybe some outdoorsmen can get over this weird weather and get afield, but I just can’t get my mind or heart into it. 

The Weather May Leave You Skunked

But what’s more, a drought can and will change the way the game in your neck of the woods behaves.  How so?  Friend, if you don’t have water, you likely won’t see any deer. Yes, they have to eat, but they also have to drink.  Many watering holes and streams are bone dry and that means your deer are moving to places where they can get to water easily. 

And then there’s tracking a deer you’ve shot.  Heaven forbid you make a bad shot, and have to track it for more than a few hundred feet, you run the risk of wasting the harvest should it take several hours to find it.  The next day? Forget about it. The most important thing is to make a good, humane shot. 

I hope we get a break in the weather soon. And that is not a request for a diametrically opposite weather pattern either. Is it too much to ask for a few days of light rain and the temperatures easing down into the normal range, if only for a few weeks? 

For those airgun hunters in the south, midwest, and west, best of luck to you. You might need it this year!