Wind direction

[TRIGGER]

Please help me with the biggest struggle I have. I know wind direction is VERY important but I just don't know how to use it to my advantage. The property I hunt has trails EVERYWHERE. I have hunted all over this property for three years. (185 acres) and have seen deer come from every direction at any time of the day. As soon as I think I know which trail they will use I set up on it for a certain wind direction and ill be gosh darned if they don't come in from behind me and wind me. It's a vicious cycle that's getting frustrating. Also my favorite spots are down in the bottoms where the wind is NEVER constant. Well it's constantly inconsistent. Am I the only one with this struggle? Am I missing a very important part of the puzzle?

 

[rem270]

Thats how it is on my place with an exception of 2 or 3 stands. I mainly wash my clothes in scent a way, shower in scent a way before i go and spray down good and hope for the best. Killed 2 of my biggest deer that came straight down wind of me.

Oh and when the rut kicks in i like to drink a small bottle of tink 69 and burp twice every 15 mins.

 

[in the dog house]

Oh and when the rut kicks in i like to drink a small bottle of tink 69 and burp twice every 15 mins.

LMAO!!!!

 

[in the dog house]

I climb as high as possible. kinda hard to do during bow obv.

 

[TRIGGER]

Oh and when the rut kicks in i like to drink a small bottle of tink 69 and burp twice every 15 mins.

NO WAY I would have been too embarrassed to admit it but now that you bring it up that's what I do too. Not too bad but leaves a heavy aftertaste.

 

[catman529]

Yeah wind is all over in some places. Sometimes I can hunt the wind right and sometimes I just hope it works out.

 

[EastHipster]

Try for a crosswind if you can.
If you are calling, don't be surprised if they circle downwind to check you before they come in.

I try to place natural barriers behind me when possible so I don't get outflanked.
Especially if I can use natural Funnels within Funnels to predict where they might come from.

 

[BSK]

Am I the only one with this struggle? Am I missing a very important part of the puzzle?

No, you're not the only one. Unless I'm hunting a ridge-top, I know my scent is eventually going to move in all directions. And you can't always predict where the deer are going to be traveling. All you can do is learn how wind is effected by terrain, how thermals work, and make your best guess as to most deer travel in the area. But deer coming in from behind, or catching a swirling wind, is just going to happen. You can stick to the ridge-tops, where the wind is most consistent, but the deer will figure that out and shift all their daylight movement to the bottoms.

Of course, taking scent control to the limits also helps, but if a deer is down wind, they are going to smell you. How they react depends on how strong your smell is. The less scent they catch, the less violent they will react.

 

[BHC]

This yr it has been my goal to be as scent free as possible. And hunt with out considering the wind. I keep a log and this yr a big thing I'm looking at is how deer are traveling in regard to the wind.. Thus far I've seen 16 deer and been smelled twice. Both times the deer were already with in 50 yrds, only once did the deer pitch a fit and run back the way it came blowing like a maniac.but I was hunting on the ground and I realized after that hunt that my boots were starting to stink. So I'm wearing diff ones until I can clean those out really good! May just retire them.. But the majority of deer I've seen we're traveling into the wind... So there was no staying upwind of them.. A few were not but they were in locations where they had good visibility for the most part. So the deer already had some sense of security.. Who knows how they approached those areas prior to reaching my stand.. I'm not saying deer always travel into the wind, cuz they don't. But I believe they are always using it to there advantage unless they have a strong sense of security where their at at that moment...

 

[BHC]

In your case your suggesting many times you think u figure them out and set up so the wind is blowing from them to you. But then as luck would have it they come in from the other direction putting the wind from you to them... I dunno the terrain but IMO once they reach a field or open woods that's when they'll travel a crosswind, because they made it their safely and can now rely somewhat on their eyes and ears. And hopefully pick up on anything before it gets too close due to the cover and terrain. But other types of terrain they'll usually walk with it to their face or back depending... Some say deer walk quartering into the wind, but to me that's just walking into the wind. If the wind is NE and you see a deer traveling N the wind is in his face.. Maybe something for you to consider....

 

[Hunt 365]

when the wind swirls in the bottom, gotta get way up, like 30 plus feet in a tree, or up on the best vantage point you can, and get above their noses. I have found that, plus doing the best you can on predicting the wind direction, works with deer within 75 yds or so. After that, unpredictable. However, you should consider a popup blind. Just close the flaps on an upwind side, make sure you don't get the breeze flowing through the blind

 

[fairchaser]

Playing the wind is like playing chess or playing the odds. Rarely is anything a sure bet. But, if you play the odds, eventually you will win. That's why I don't understand when I hear folks not hunting at all because they don't have an ideal wind. I realize you may only get one shot at a mature buck and you don't want to blow him out by hunting your best spot with the wrong wind, but a mature buck will never put the odds completely in your favor. UNLESS! He's following a hot doe. If you talk to many hunters who have killed mature bucks, it rarely happened the traditional way. A good hunter understands the situation and uses it to his advantage.

 

[feldmutze]

You can't get above their noses. They still smell you, but just think you're further away....

 

[fairchaser]

You can't get above their noses. They still smell you, but just think you're further away....

I can't tell what a deer thinks..... Only how they react.

 

[BSK]

Hunting in steep valleys, you absolutely CANNOT get above their noses.

 

[PcDeer]

This is something I struggle with in most of my set ups. I hunt a lot of deep hollows coming out of clear cuts where the wind swirls. I just scent proof as much as I can and hope for the best.

 

[BSK]

This is something I struggle with in most of my set ups. I hunt a lot of deep hollows coming out of clear cuts where the wind swirls. I just scent proof as much as I can and hope for the best.

And that's all you can do. I try to set stands as far up one hillside or the other that still allows for a shot to the bottom, but that is exceptionally problematic for bow-hunters.