I killed an eight point once while on the ground after a doe just bust past me and he seen me but he was after thst doe . 10 yd shot .
The Rut and Hunting the Wind?
- Thread starter UTGrad
- Start date
30-06 type of guy
Well-Known Member
I don't hunt the wind. I call way too much and that buck is just gone circle me anyways. Call me stupid if you want idc. I'm in deer every hunt. I have way too much confidence in my scent regimen. I make my own spray and spray my whole washer and dryer plus the lent collector then run an empty load with ALL SF detergent and ALL SF dryer sheets. I put my clothes in a bin with cut up cedar afterwards. Have another bin in my truck I put whatever I'm wearing and carrying for the next hunt in there and they don't come out until I'm parked at my destination. I just know what works for me
I have 1 stand In particular that is at the base of a steep hill on a big creek bottom. Doesn't matter what the forecasted wind is said to do. It never follows suit in that bottom. Always swirling. And the deer literally come from every direction. When I want to hunt it. I just hunt it and don't look at the wind.
FLTENNHUNTER1
Well-Known Member
If I relied on wind direction exclusively I would never be in the woods. I have hunted out of state the past week and had swirly winds almost continuously.
I was sitting this morning on the west side of a scrape trail. Pulled out some milkweed and it floated directly to the trail. Was forecast to be east wind. I didn't get a deer but I sure got snorted at lol
ADR
Well-Known Member
I trust an east wind forecast less than I trust a fart after eating spicy chicken wings and drinking beer all night
Bgoodman30
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- Nov 21, 2016
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Not always.. Had a big wide mature bruiser several years back chasing a doe right towards me. He hit my scent cone at full speed and slammed on the brakes with his front legs, turned and bounced over the hillside like he had seen a ghost.. Later that afternoon my buddy bumped him walking to the stand about a half mile away and he swam across the river never to be seen again....
I have been super paranoid about scent control ever since.. I will push the envelope during the rut though and will hunt interior stands for the first time around 11/8 if the winds are favorable.
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
No the great thing about hunting and this site is how many ways there are to kill deer.
I've just come to the conclusion that I'm going to spook deer and get busted when they whiff me. Unless you're sitting in an enclosed blind 300yds away from the deer then you're in danger of being winded. I hunt aggressively in the thick with the deer so getting winded is just part of the hunt. But I see lots of deer and kill my fair share so it's an acceptable nuisance for me.
Bgoodman30
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Yeah same here sometimes I get frustrated and just want to say screw it.. The only way no not get busted on this farm is to have your wind blowing over the road or the river..
30-06 type of guy
Well-Known Member
You are correct.
Excellent analogy.
I always pay attention to the wind. Are they less apt to bolt if they smell you and are locked onto a doe, maybe and maybe not.
AT Hiker
Well-Known Member
So what are you going to do if the wind is "wrong"? Not hunt?
Assuming you got multiple stands to hunt, then play the wind. If not, then hunt whatever you got, when you got time.
Last time I checked, a buck dogging a doe could care less if a 18 wheeler is barreling down the interstate at 80mph or some dumb Tndeer hillbilly is sitting in a tree stand, he is going to get that doe.
Could things be better and you play the upper hand? Absolutely, but when you got a couple week window to take advantage of their weaknesses go for it.
Something else to ponder. I've recently discovered one of my best stands for a north wind now has a neighbor set up on our property line. If that neighbor hunts that stand on a north wind it will blow directly to me.
Assuming you got multiple stands to hunt, then play the wind. If not, then hunt whatever you got, when you got time.
Last time I checked, a buck dogging a doe could care less if a 18 wheeler is barreling down the interstate at 80mph or some dumb Tndeer hillbilly is sitting in a tree stand, he is going to get that doe.
Could things be better and you play the upper hand? Absolutely, but when you got a couple week window to take advantage of their weaknesses go for it.
Something else to ponder. I've recently discovered one of my best stands for a north wind now has a neighbor set up on our property line. If that neighbor hunts that stand on a north wind it will blow directly to me.
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
While you make decent points, you still imo have to put as much in your favor as possible to consistently kill big deer. And yes we have a lot of stands set up for a lot of winds.
