Kyle Carroll's Outdoor Journal
The Outdoor Journal
Kyle L. Carroll
HAND WARMERS
The subject of staying warm on the deer stand came up recently on a program I was listening to when some hunters from Florida asked about how to deal with the much harsher weather in Illinois where they were headed to hunt deer.
The simplest advise to them was to be prepared to dress in layers and have some way to deal with the wind. The host mentioned Gore® type fabric or something as simple as a rain jacket over your outer most layer. Other things were discussed but I thought the most practical advice for bow hunters especially, but anyone who is planning to be outdoors for several hours and not be able to walk or move enough to keep your body temperature up, had to do with hand warmers.
When I'm bow hunting for long stretches and the temperatures drop down into the 30's or lower, I usually put one in each pocket. This lets me wear a lighter glove, including a fingerless wool glove on my right hand. I've found on cold days with no sun, you can put one of the small hand warmers on the back of your neck. The heat is nice, but to me, it's almost a psychological improvement because it feels like the sun is on the back of your neck.
The hunters on the podcast I was listing to mentioned the stick on “body warmers” as well. They suggested you could put one over each kidney on your back. They say this works because the kidney is so close to your back that warming them up allows the warmed blood to circulate through the rest of your body, warming you up. The same type body warmers, ( just a larger hand warmer) can be stuck to your sternum as well.
I've also heard of the small hand warmers being slipped inside of your gloves on the back of the hand. Most of the blood headed to our fingers passes fairly close to the surface on the back of our hands. Placing the hand warmers there ears the blood on the way to the fingers.
One thing is for sure, we are headed in the time of year where we can test these suggestions out. Let me know if you have a good idea not mentioned here.