Unforgettable Winter Deer Hunting Adventure: Tips for a Safe and Warm Experience

When I was about ten years old, my dad took us deer hunting in the southern tier of western New York.

The Great Winter Adventure

We took our family tent and sleeping bags. We had a Coleman heater that dad wouldn’t let us use while we slept for safety reasons. There were three feet of snow, and the temperature was around twenty degrees Fahrenheit. I was the youngest of my three brothers on the hunting trip. We camped in the yard of a friend of our father’s. We laid down some plywood in the snow and set up our tent on top of it to keep the floor dry. The wind was howling and battered our tent relentlessly throughout the night. We went to bed cold and woke up freezing, scrambling to get our hunting clothes on to warm up.

The Hunt Begins

We headed out into the state forest just a few miles away and split into groups. I went with the youngest of my brothers down the road to where a power line crossed. We climbed the snowbank and headed downhill for a hundred yards. The wind was blowing up the power lines, so we cut into the woods on the right side of the cut. We only went about eighty yards in and sat on our hot seats. Hot seats were styrofoam-filled plastic cushions used for keeping your butt warm and dry, and they worked great.

Navigational Challenges

We sat for a couple of hours with no action, so my brother got bored with the snow and wind and decided to head back towards the car. He started walking down the hill away from the car, and I asked if he knew where he was going. He informed me that the car was in the direction he was headed. I tried to correct him without offending him, but he didn’t believe me when I told him the car was up the hill to our right. I explained how we had left the car, walked up the road, turned right down the power lines, and right again into these woods. The power lines were on our left now, so we had to go uphill to our right.

A Helpful Stranger

While we were trying to work it out, another hunter walked up to us, and I asked him if the road was just above us, and he confirmed that it was. After a short walk, we popped out at the car, and I was vindicated. We laughed about it while we waited for dad and the other brothers to come out of the woods and head back to the tent heater to warm up.

Tips for Winter Camping

Overall, I can’t recommend this type of camping if you want anything that resembles comfort, but it was fun at ten years old. Here are a few pointers if you do:

• Barrier Between Ground and Tent: Make sure you have a good barrier between the ground and your tent.

• Ventilation with Heater: Have good ventilation if you are using a heater with any type of fumes being released.

• Cold Weather Gear: Buy the best cold weather sleeping bags and tent. Check out this highly-rated cold weather sleeping bag on Amazon.

• Camp Stove: A good camp stove for cooking and water heating. Here’s a recommended camp stove to consider.

• Wind Break Tarps: A tarp or two for wind break so your camp stove can actually work.

• Spare Clothes: The best cold weather clothes and spares for when you get soaked because you will.

• Compass: Bring a compass and take a reading for the direction you are going when you leave camp or the road. Also, take note that you have to go the opposite direction to get back. If you change direction, keep track of how far you have traveled in each direction. It’s easy to get lost when everything is covered by snow because everything looks the same.

  
  

Stay Safe and Warm

Let someone know where you are going and the plan you have when you get there. A compass does not need batteries to work, and if you learn how to use one, you will never be lost. Stay safe and warm if you’re brave enough to try winter camping.

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