Tire questions

I'm running BFG T/A's and they seem to suck in the rain.
I know that a lot of people run them but what does everyone think of them?
Not sure of the age of the tires but it do know they are 4-5 years old. They have plenty of tread on them but was wondering...
Do tires get hard after a while?
Is there a way to check how hard a tire is? I suppose not that it wouldn't help me unless I knew how hard the tire was originally........calling Frank ( the tire god guy) :lol: