STAYING WARM THE SECRET TO A GOOD HUNT OUT OF A STAND

By Pat Cardin: Outdoors Writer and avid hunter.

Nights are cooling down and there is a chill in the air early mornings and late evenings.  You can wrap up now and stay fairly comfortable for several hours on a stand.  But we do have firearm season and muzzleloading season to follow in late winter when the elements are more severe.

I am usually lucky or fortunate enough to tag a buck, at least during one of the firearm seasons, if not before. You can call it lucky, but it seems the more hours I spend in my stand, the luckier I get.

One reason I can spend those hours in the stand is the ability to be comfortable for several hours there. With the firearm seasons being set in November and December, warmth plays a large part of being comfortable in your stand. I have hunted many deer seasons, in all kinds of weather and through the years, I’ve learned to deal with the elements.

It’s hard to predict the weather, but here in Kentucky, you can almost bet that during the ten-day firearm season in November, we’ll have to deal with morning lows in the 20’s to 30’s and probably at least one day of rain.

I have found that layers of clothes are better than just one coat or coveralls. There is one catch though. Money! You’ll have to purchase certain clothes and accessories. You’ll “get what you pay for” and I suggest don’t buy according to the price tag, but rather, the quality of the item.

Here’s how to stay warm and dry in that stand.

First, let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. Cold feet have run me and other hunters out of their stands for years. I’ve tried everything from electric socks, more socks and even had friends buy boots that have an air pocket that the military uses in the arctic. Nothing worked until about 7 or 8 years ago I tried something called boot blankets.

Boot blankets are almost like they sound. It’s like wrapping your boots in a blanket and these wonders are rated to – 85 degrees! You slip these on over your boots and to add icing to the cake, slip one of the hand warmer packets in the tip of the blanket where your toes will be. It’s like toast! Icebreaker makes the brand I use and seems to be the best on the market. They are insulated with Hollofil 808.

One disadvantage is the bulk on the stand. These are not made to walk in and you must be pretty stationary when wearing them.

Next, we’ll keep those legs warm with insulated bib overalls. Make sure from the bibs to the coats you buy that you get fleece, hydro-fleece or wool, because the fabric is quiet when moving around. You’ll need to move and sometimes in the morning when everything is very still in the woods, your clothes can give you away just by the cracking or sliding noise they give off.

Buy bibs that have a full-length zippers. That is, they zip down your leg from waist to your feet. You’ll also have a zipper in front that zips to your waist too. With these, you can slip boots as large as pack boots through the bibs easily on the stand. Zip up your zippers and you’ll keep those legs warm.

The reason I choose bibs is the freedom it gives your arms when wearing a heavy coat or layers of coats. If you use a complete insulated suit, sometimes your arm movement is restricted and you can have to much bulk on.

We come to the parka now. Thinsulate or Goretex are good fill materials, plus the added silence of fleece or wool work well. Buy a parka that comes down over your waist and also has a hood. Most that have hoods have tall collars on them and can still stop the wind from chilling your neck, even if you don’t wear the hood. A good parka will cost $150 to $250.

I usually wear a lighter fleece jacket under my parka when the weather is really cold. It fits me tighter and holds a lot of warmth.

Let’s deal with the hands now. Besides my feet, my hands would always get cold. Now I wear a pair of camo jersey gloves to the stand. When on the stand, I use an insulated hand muff, like my boot blankets, they are also made by Icebreaker. The muff is round and about 15 inches long and feels like fur inside. Throw in another hand warmer packet inside and I haven’t ever found it cold enough for my hands to be cold on the stand.

You can either hang the muff from your neck or attach it to a belt. When that deer walks up, slip your hands out of the muff with your jersey gloves on and pick up your gun or bow. You now don’t have to worry about getting those bulky Thinsulate gloves in the trigger guard.

We’re at the top now and looking at the head. I don’t like anything to cover my ears, because I usually detect more deer by sound than by sight. I can usually just use a light camo mask like turkey hunters use, if the weather isn’t extremely cold. Its surprising how much warmth a mask will trap your breath and help your face and head stay warm.

If it is very cold, I’ll use a hooded type toboggan, balaclava or in extreme cold, I’ll use my hood on my parka. I give up some detection of picking up sound with the hood, but it is still better to be able to be comfortable on the stand and stay longer than getting cold and leaving the stand. Protect the back of your head and neck to help keep the chill off.

If you’re wet, you’re going to be cold this time of year. To help beat this I use the new dry-plus rain gear that is out today, which is very good and you’ll need this traveling to and from your stand. I bought one of the tree umbrellas on the market a couple of years ago after down pours on muzzleloading and modern gun opening days made it miserable in the woods. These umbrellas work very well and you can even take your rain gear off under them. The umbrellas sell for around $25 and are well worth the money.

Neoprene gloves will help keep your hands warm when wearing your rain suit. My gloves used to be soaked when the rest of me was dry. Neoprene gloves have ended those days.

Now, the key to all the clothes is not to wear them until you get in your stand. If you wear them while walking to the stand, you’ll perspire to much and therefore be damp when you arrive at your stand. I don’t even wear insulated underwear because this can also cause you to get to warm while walking to your stand.

I started using a pack about 10 years ago and it’s been one of the best investments I’ve ever made. Cabela’s has one that is called their Deluxe Whitetail pack and comes in various camo patterns. Make sure the pack you buy has side pockets and straps on the back. You’ll have to use not only the inside of the pack, but also strap some of your gear on it.

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Last modified: December 14, 2000 

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