Always a deer down wind

[CritterGitter]

Somthing i dont understand is how to hunt the wind sometimes . So you have a big white oak dropping acorns. Deer seem come to it from different directions every time. What do you do then , hunt on a calm day ? No matter which way the wind is out of ill get busted

 

[Trnr]

For me, this is a hard question to answer as there's a lot of variables that play in to how I hunt an area. Variables like what your goals are, buck/doe, size of parcel able to hunt, trails, terrain, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly no expert, but I can tell you how I would approach the situation. I suspect there will be some pretty good advice offered through this thread.

Generally speaking, I would look for the "main" source of travel to the tree. I know you said they come from all areas, but I would look for what appears to be the 'most' use approach of the deer and hunt down-wind. To be completely honest, I don't know that I would hunt the tree specifically. I would look for the most used trail, back track it for a reasonable distance, and hunt the down wind side of the trail. That way when the wind swirls, it won't bugger up the area surrounding the tree (if that makes sense). IMHO wind direction/swirling and deer approach are two separate factors so I'm only speaking in generalities due to this. I would also look to hunt this particular area in the mornings, hoping to play the morning thermals.

 

[CritterGitter]

Yes that does make sense . I do know of a main area they come from, a trail along a ditch , im up on a ridge facing down the ridge towards the ditch , tree straight down in front of me , and i do feel like im too close to the tree now . Maybe 30 yards. When i found the tree/acorns/deer sign i looked for a tree and set up . May need to hunt the travel path to those acorns instead like you said

 

[Ski]

The truth is tough but it's the truth nonetheless. If you're not getting busted then you're not in a good spot and not close enough to kill deer with a bow. Bow hunting is tough. It's an awesome feeling when you're able to get deer within range and they never know you're there, but that's not how it usually happens.

I hunt mature bucks with a bow. Rarely do I bow hunt for does. Pretty much every deer I see gets to pass right on by. I don't even grab my bow unless I see a rack frame that could be large enough to be the buck I'm after, or equivalent. Only two out of my six sits so far this season have I had deer within bow range & none of them snorted at me or caught my scent, and I've had numerous deer within range every sit. What usually happens is they come by and then catch me on the downwind side or they catch my ground scent from my walk in. It's almost always a deer I could have easily shot. But that's an accepted risk I take. It's a numbers game. I have to be on top of the deer for a bow shot, and when I have half a dozen deer filtering through the woods all around me, chances are good one will peg me. Every deer in that group will run off snorting, taking with them all of the deer in the immediate periphery. And that's ok. Eventually I'll catch big boy by himself and I'll finally be able to punch a tag. I bet I get snorted at 1000 times for every buck tag I punch.

 

[diamond hunter]

Great post

 

[UCStandSitter]

The truth is tough but it's the truth nonetheless. If you're not getting busted then you're not in a good spot and not close enough to kill deer with a bow. Bow hunting is tough. It's an awesome feeling when you're able to get deer within range and they never know you're there, but that's not how it usually happens.

I hunt mature bucks with a bow. Rarely do I bow hunt for does. Pretty much every deer I see gets to pass right on by. I don't even grab my bow unless I see a rack frame that could be large enough to be the buck I'm after, or equivalent. Only two out of my six sits so far this season have I had deer within bow range & none of them snorted at me or caught my scent, and I've had numerous deer within range every sit. What usually happens is they come by and then catch me on the downwind side or they catch my ground scent from my walk in. It's almost always a deer I could have easily shot. But that's an accepted risk I take. It's a numbers game. I have to be on top of the deer for a bow shot, and when I have half a dozen deer filtering through the woods all around me, chances are good one will peg me. Every deer in that group will run off snorting, taking with them all of the deer in the immediate periphery. And that's ok. Eventually I'll catch big boy by himself and I'll finally be able to punch a tag. I bet I get snorted at 1000 times for every buck tag I punch.

This. If you wanna play the game you gotta be willing to lose.

 

[muddyboots]

I usually in the afternoons hunt around a food source. I try to hunt with the wind blowing away from where I expect deer to come from. Sometimes they come directly downwind and never smell me. I shower before every hunt. No scent soap. I spray with no scent. Also I use ever calm. I hate deer scents. Except that one. It seems to work. I have very good luck with deer close but knowing im around. Usually when they pick me off it's my fault. There is always one directly behind me that I don't hear at the exact time I want to pick up my binos. Lol. They are gonna find u sometimes.

 

[Headhunter]

Somthing i dont understand is how to hunt the wind sometimes . So you have a big white oak dropping acorns. Deer seem come to it from different directions every time. What do you do then , hunt on a calm day ? No matter which way the wind is out of ill get busted

this is why, to me, hunting the wind means basically nothing until you get to your stand and then it still may not mean a lot.

 

[TboneD]

On a typical morning in a tree stand your scent may stay high enough the deer doesn't smell you. That's if it doesn't spook from the ground scent I left, of course, but I try to keep it simple and not overthink it. I just try to make sure the majority of the acorns I'm hunting over aren't downwind. More time they spend in a spot the better chance they'll smell you.

 

[DeerCamp]

Only thing I have found is to try and scent mitigate as much as reasonable, and then climb up as high as I can.

I don't recall ever being wind busted above 25'.

Then again, I'm sure I was and just never knew it ;)

 

[30-06 type of guy]

I don't care about the wind anymore. Wash my clothes hang up some tarsal glands and hope for the best. Been solid the last 3 years or so

 

[BSK]

The truth is tough but it's the truth nonetheless. If you're not getting busted then you're not in a good spot and not close enough to kill deer with a bow. Bow hunting is tough. It's an awesome feeling when you're able to get deer within range and they never know you're there, but that's not how it usually happens.

I hunt mature bucks with a bow. Rarely do I bow hunt for does. Pretty much every deer I see gets to pass right on by. I don't even grab my bow unless I see a rack frame that could be large enough to be the buck I'm after, or equivalent. Only two out of my six sits so far this season have I had deer within bow range & none of them snorted at me or caught my scent, and I've had numerous deer within range every sit. What usually happens is they come by and then catch me on the downwind side or they catch my ground scent from my walk in. It's almost always a deer I could have easily shot. But that's an accepted risk I take. It's a numbers game. I have to be on top of the deer for a bow shot, and when I have half a dozen deer filtering through the woods all around me, chances are good one will peg me. Every deer in that group will run off snorting, taking with them all of the deer in the immediate periphery. And that's ok. Eventually I'll catch big boy by himself and I'll finally be able to punch a tag. I bet I get snorted at 1000 times for every buck tag I punch.

Great post. If you're not getting busted from time to time, you're not hunting in the right spot. At least that's true for those not hunting over big open fields.

 

[Ski]

Oh I still pay close attention to wind, and choose where I hunt based on it. It helps a lot. But nothing is iron clad, especially if you're "in" the deer. I try to minimize as much as possible how often & how badly I get busted, and the wind plays a huge role in that. There are certain stand sites I will only hunt on a particular wind. That is especially true for bedding areas. It would be foolish to ignore the wind and hunt a stand with your scent blowing straight into bedding. There are times i set up so my wind blow diagonally past the edge of the bedding area, which is still pretty risky, but sometimes you have to let the deer have the wind. We're not the only ones basing our movements on wind. It's how deer survive.

 

[BSK]

Oh I still pay close attention to wind, and choose where I hunt based on it. It helps a lot. But nothing is iron clad, especially if you're "in" the deer. I try to minimize as much as possible how often & how badly I get busted, and the wind plays a huge role in that. There are certain stand sites I will only hunt on a particular wind. That is especially true for bedding areas. It would be foolish to ignore the wind and hunt a stand with your scent blowing straight into bedding. There are times i set up so my wind blow diagonally past the edge of the bedding area, which is still pretty risky, but sometimes you have to let the deer have the wind. We're not the only ones basing our movements on wind. It's how deer survive.

Because all of our hunting is from "fixed" stands (either ladder stands or shooting houses), I create a list each year of all the stands available, and which wind direction they can be hunted in. This really helps protect the longevity of each stand, as we have some hunters that aren't as keen on how to hunt the wind. Before each hunt, we look at the wind direction and then the hunters go down the list of stands that work in that wind direction, choosing from the list. And of course, being the anal data-nerd that I am, the font of the stand's name tells you what type of stand it is, and the color of the name tells you how long the stand has been in that location! o_O

 

[hitek7]

Hunt the thermals.

 

[Ski]

Because all of our hunting is from "fixed" stands (either ladder stands or shooting houses), I create a list each year of all the stands available, and which wind direction they can be hunted in. This really helps protect the longevity of each stand, as we have some hunters that aren't as keen on how to hunt the wind. Before each hunt, we look at the wind direction and then the hunters go down the list of stands that work in that wind direction, choosing from the list. And of course, being the anal data-nerd that I am, the font of the stand's name tells you what type of stand it is, and the color of the name tells you how long the stand has been in that location! o_O

I have no doubt you're just the best hunting buddy . Seriously though that's a great idea. One hunt with the wrong wind and it could spell disaster for that stand for weeks or the rest of the season.

 

[BSK]

I have no doubt you're just the best hunting buddy .

To say the other hunters roll their eyes at me would be an understatement.

 

[fairchaser]

The wind is everything in understanding how deer travel and avoid danger. Our main sense is our vision and there's is their smell. I try to approach with the wind in my face and set up with the downwind side being open or over an obstacle like water. Deer will avoid that or risk exposure. Also, get as high as possible. I will generally get 30 ft if I can. Even so, you might still get busted! When I rifle hunt, I take advantage of the longer range of the rifle and keep distances of at least 100 yds or more from the deer, often as much as 200-300 yds. This also preserves my stands from over pressure.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Also, get as high as possible. I will generally get 30 ft if I can. Even so, you might still get busted! When I rifle hunt, I take advantage of the longer range of the rifle and keep distances of at least 100 yds or more from the deer, often as much as 200-300 yds. This also preserves my stands from over pressure.

Agreed. Most of my stands are 25+ feet. I also try to hunt on ridge tops more often than not. I truly believe this helps, especially when there's a 4-10 mph consistent wind. I've shared these illustration below in the past and think they are worth mentioning again (not mine, but got off The Hunting Beast).

Once you get off to the sides and in the bottoms, you have to be very diligent on all aspects. Especially for bottoms but also tops, my top three focuses are 1) access, 2) knowing how deer use the terrain in general but mostly to their advantage and 3) understanding how wind and thermals act and counter-act.

 

[CritterGitter]

This is all interesting, never known what thermals were, i watch the forecast and pick my spot accordingly, but once in stand it's usually different, or completely wrong , then i usually just spin around and think welp I'll hunt this side today lol

 

[Mr.Bro]

Question? How many of us have enough properties that we can pick a new spot when ever the wind changes?
So if the winds not right we simply don't go huntin?

 

[recurve60#]

Rubber boots my friend and hunt whiteoaks on the flats. Hills are a no go.

 

[Ski]

Question? How many of us have enough properties that we can pick a new spot when ever the wind changes?
So if the winds not right we simply don't go huntin?

That's what public land is for!

 

[Ski]

Rubber boots my friend and hunt whiteoaks on the flats. Hills are a no go.

I sure wish Rubber boots kept me from getting winded! About the only thing they do for me is keep my feet dry when I cross a creek.

 

[Mr.Bro]

That's what public land is for!

Yeah right!

 

[Ski]

Yeah right!

Hahaha yeah that was a lil tongue in cheek. But not completely.

I actually do hunt a lot of public. It's not what it was pre covid though. There are lots of people now. But I still enjoy it. Just gotta work a little harder.

 

[Mr.Bro]

Hahaha yeah that was a lil tongue in cheek. But not completely.

I actually do hunt a lot of public. It's not what it was pre covid though. There are lots of people now. But I still enjoy it. Just gotta work a little harder.

I really want to know how many.
I really doubt anyone just stays home if the winds are wrong. Unless your retired you probably don't get to pick your days.
I suspect most of us don't have more than 1 place to hunt.

 

[Rakkin6]

The best advice I could probably give is pretty basic. Hunt high and let the thermos do some of the work for you. Be has careful has you can in eliminating or keeping has much of your scent to a minimum has possible. I hunt from at least 20' up but depending on the area and the angles with a bow I will get 25'-30 if the angles aren't to drastic.

Another option might be instead of hunting the tree hunt their travel route a couple hundred yards away. They may have a staging area kind of like they do on field edges before coming to feed in the evening.

Sorry if these have already been mentioned I didn't read every response. Best of luck to you and remember where a harness.

 

[BSK]

Question? How many of us have enough properties that we can pick a new spot when ever the wind changes?
So if the winds not right we simply don't go huntin?

Why would you need to change properties? I guess if your hunting property was 5 acres or something like that.

We have a stand for every 10 acres of land, and on any given wind direction at least a 1/3 are huntable. But then we plan it that way when deciding where to place stands (take into consideration wind direction when planning stand moves/placement).

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I really want to know how many.
I really doubt anyone just stays home if the winds are wrong.

I primarily hunt one property, with the exceptions of a couple leases on the plateau I hunt the week of thanksgiving with the in laws.

All properties are different - I get that and their layout is key here. If you had some flat open land with minimal timber, I could see how this could be an issue bowhunting. Gun hunting, many of those spots can be more lenient due to poking out at a distance. We have a good chunk of land, but even if I divided it out into 25 acre chunks, there would still be plenty of opportunity. It is all hill country with 95% hardwoods and 5% food plots. Rolling hills of hardwoods provide multiple opportunities.

Short answer, no I will not sit at home. On days the wind is very bad hunting our land (S wind), I'll simple go to a less intrusive spot where a S wind may produce something and maybe scout on the way back gathering intel. I may just need to take my climber or saddle and tweak my location. I do set up several lock-ons for every wind direction. It's just getting there could be worrisome.