Wind Speed and Deer Activity

[fairchaser]

Effective hunters are adaptable to the conditions. Wind is one of them. I usually don't see much in unusually strong wind for that area. I think about protected areas during these times to hunt. In calm winds, deer don't move as much either. I stay tight to cover and bedding as they will feed but not move as much. The best wind to hunt is steady 5-10 mph. Deer use wind to their advantage and understanding how they move in wind is key to hunting them effectively.

 

[UTGrad]

BOOM, just like that, I fixed another unpredictable wind problem

Nice box although at first glance I thought it was a Zebra cake.

 

[redblood]

Someone mentioned the wind this weekend and it got me thinking about my experiences deer hunting with wind or no wind. I prefer to have some wind moving in a steady direction on a hunt vs calm conditions or gusty winds. Ive sat in stand in the morning where there is no wind and deer sightings are generally low until the sun comes up and the air starts to move. On the flip side strong gusty winds slow down sightings as well.

What wind conditions do you all prefer? I have more confidence in seeing deer moving with intermittent or steady wind.

I actually prefer dead calm.

 

[Lost Lake]

If you really want to hate the wind, read up on the venturi effect of wind. It not only causes wind direction to be dictated by terrain, but also alters atmospheric pressure and even temperature according to the terrain. Suddenly a south wind doesn't necessarily have mean south wind anymore. It all depends on where your stand is located. True story. Throw in some thermals & it really gets confusing.

A bow hunter can drive himself crazy trying to figure it all out. How many times have you heard a hunter griping because their hunting/weather app shows a west wind but it's actually blowing from the east? They blame the weather man for being wrong but the reality is that they themselves don't understand the nature of how wind interacts with the earth.

If you think of air in terms of water then it gets easier to understand. Just like a river's current is flowing steadily along, it swirls and changes direction as it encounters obstacles such as rocks, logs, depth changes, etc. The overall general flow is constant. But there are eddies & swirl pools, updrafts & downdrafts, cold or warm pockets all along the way. It's exactly the same thing with wind as it blows across the landscape. And just like the downstream side of a big rock or log often holds a big fish, the downwind side of a knob or finger ridge point often holds a big buck. The same way fish cruise an eddy for bait, bucks cruise backdrafts to scent check for does.

Wind is nothing to hate. The deer use it every day of their lives. The nature of their behavior is largely dictated by it. It's predictable & repeatable, makes them easier to hunt. If that buck was a trout and the wind was a flowing stream, where would you fish?

Excellent post Ski!

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I actually prefer dead calm.

Really? I despise the wind more than anyone.....but I also hate it when it is dead calm, especially when it is damp and you can't hear them coming. This is in reference to hunting in the timber where it is really thick (close proximity hunting). If it were in a field or somewhere I can see them a long ways away, yes, give me the dead calm.

 

[Headhunter]

I pretty much pay no attention to the wind. Waste of time in most case IMO. Of course I have never killed a deer either.

 

[Bone Collector]

my issue with the wind this weekend is the direction it is blowing. The area I plan to hunt is an area I have hunted plenty of times, so I know where the deer travel generally to and from so I obviously do not want my scent blowing into those areas. it will be good if the direction stays the same, but the more west it moves the tougher it will be.

 

[Volbuck777]

If you really want to hate the wind, read up on the venturi effect of wind. It not only causes wind direction to be dictated by terrain, but also alters atmospheric pressure and even temperature according to the terrain. Suddenly a south wind doesn't necessarily have mean south wind anymore. It all depends on where your stand is located. True story. Throw in some thermals & it really gets confusing.

A bow hunter can drive himself crazy trying to figure it all out. How many times have you heard a hunter griping because their hunting/weather app shows a west wind but it's actually blowing from the east? They blame the weather man for being wrong but the reality is that they themselves don't understand the nature of how wind interacts with the earth.

If you think of air in terms of water then it gets easier to understand. Just like a river's current is flowing steadily along, it swirls and changes direction as it encounters obstacles such as rocks, logs, depth changes, etc. The overall general flow is constant. But there are eddies & swirl pools, updrafts & downdrafts, cold or warm pockets all along the way. It's exactly the same thing with wind as it blows across the landscape. And just like the downstream side of a big rock or log often holds a big fish, the downwind side of a knob or finger ridge point often holds a big buck. The same way fish cruise an eddy for bait, bucks cruise backdrafts to scent check for does.

Wind is nothing to hate. The deer use it every day of their lives. The nature of their behavior is largely dictated by it. It's predictable & repeatable, makes them easier to hunt. If that buck was a trout and the wind was a flowing stream, where would you fish?

One of the great post of tndeer, this should live on in tndeer lore. Great explanation Ski.

 

[huvrman]

Just enough to keep my scent away from where I expect the deer…

 

[Headhunter]

I still don't get it. Well for the majority of situations, no way am I ever looking at forecasted winds and deciding whether or not to hunt. Never. In my 30 plus years of deer hunting I have not one time looked for predicted wind direction in deciding where to hunt.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, he thinks like me or I think like him, he has killed a couple boone and crockett bucks and has killed a pile of really nice deer, told me yesterday, if the wind is in the wrong direction, TURN AROUND. Best advice I have heard in a long time.

He killed a deer that grossed Boone and crockett last year, when he got to his stand (because of lack of trees he is limited to where he can even have a stand, hunts from a ladder stand) the wind was blowing from his stand into the prime bedding area and where most of the deer come from, a spot he has hunted for over 20 years. He hunted it anyway, he does NOT use cameras, but he felt sure there was a good buck from the size of the rubs there. The buck he killed came from a direction he rarely if ever sees a deer come from and he spooked deer from the bedding area when he got there and a couple spooked while he was on stand. He killed a deer that grossed in the upper 170's and the other guys that hunt the farm with him, told him he would most likely not even see a deer much less kill one from that stand, which they have said several times before, because of the wind direction.

I wish I knew enough or could be smart enough to know exactly where the deer are going to show up, what area they will use, etc. so I could watch the weather and decide where to hunt. I will do my best when I get to a spot to use the wind to every advantage I can if possible, but it is rare that a deer does exactly what I think it will do, especially a mature buck.

For many, many years, including public land, I have parked in the same place, walk in the same way and out and hunt the same stand every single time I hunt and almost never look at the wind, even bowhunting and have had many, many opportunities at great bucks that I have blown (wind had nothing to do with the missed chance, I moved at wrong time, missed the shot, decided to pass when I should have shot, etc.) and I also have killed a pile of deer and several nice bucks and couple of real good ones, while basically not paying attention to the wind. It is amazing to me to find the perfect spot (whatever the reason, food, tons of sign, etc.) and get downwind of it, only for the deer approach a direction that makes zero sense.

Has the wind cost me and have I cost myself kill opportunities because I didn't "use the wind" as I hear so many talk about? No doubt about it, but I would say I have not lost anymore chances than anyone who "plays the wind, especially watching the weather forecast and NOT even hunting" because of a projected wind direction. I have studied thermals, wind direction, anything I could find to read and/or watch about "hunting the wind" and to me it rarely makes a difference, especially sitting at home watching the weather.

 

[BSK]

I play the wind because it ups my odds. Now it's absolutely true that hunters who don't still kill deer. But anything that's up my odds I'm going to utilize. I have multiple ladder stands to choose from and I have all of them logged by the best wind conditions to hunt them from, considering most likely deer travel routes. Deer don't always use the most likely route, but again, it's all about playing the odds.

 

[tree_ghost]

I still don't get it. Well for the majority of situations, no way am I ever looking at forecasted winds and deciding whether or not to hunt. Never. In my 30 plus years of deer hunting I have not one time looked for predicted wind direction in deciding where to hunt.

I was talking to a friend yesterday, he thinks like me or I think like him, he has killed a couple boone and crockett bucks and has killed a pile of really nice deer, told me yesterday, if the wind is in the wrong direction, TURN AROUND. Best advice I have heard in a long time.

He killed a deer that grossed Boone and crockett last year, when he got to his stand (because of lack of trees he is limited to where he can even have a stand, hunts from a ladder stand) the wind was blowing from his stand into the prime bedding area and where most of the deer come from, a spot he has hunted for over 20 years. He hunted it anyway, he does NOT use cameras, but he felt sure there was a good buck from the size of the rubs there. The buck he killed came from a direction he rarely if ever sees a deer come from and he spooked deer from the bedding area when he got there and a couple spooked while he was on stand. He killed a deer that grossed in the upper 170's and the other guys that hunt the farm with him, told him he would most likely not even see a deer much less kill one from that stand, which they have said several times before, because of the wind direction.

I wish I knew enough or could be smart enough to know exactly where the deer are going to show up, what area they will use, etc. so I could watch the weather and decide where to hunt. I will do my best when I get to a spot to use the wind to every advantage I can if possible, but it is rare that a deer does exactly what I think it will do, especially a mature buck.

For many, many years, including public land, I have parked in the same place, walk in the same way and out and hunt the same stand every single time I hunt and almost never look at the wind, even bowhunting and have had many, many opportunities at great bucks that I have blown (wind had nothing to do with the missed chance, I moved at wrong time, missed the shot, decided to pass when I should have shot, etc.) and I also have killed a pile of deer and several nice bucks and couple of real good ones, while basically not paying attention to the wind. It is amazing to me to find the perfect spot (whatever the reason, food, tons of sign, etc.) and get downwind of it, only for the deer approach a direction that makes zero sense.

Has the wind cost me and have I cost myself kill opportunities because I didn't "use the wind" as I hear so many talk about? No doubt about it, but I would say I have not lost anymore chances than anyone who "plays the wind, especially watching the weather forecast and NOT even hunting" because of a projected wind direction. I have studied thermals, wind direction, anything I could find to read and/or watch about "hunting the wind" and to me it rarely makes a difference, especially sitting at home watching the weather.

I am of the camp to try and play the wind. It doesn't take me out of hunting though as I will simply change my approach, access, or location then go hunt. What is you or your friends approach on scent control? Are the B&C deer from Tn? Are your big bucks on public also from here? I'm always interested to hear what a successful mature buck killers tactics are. I know a few other stone cold killers who do the same as y'all and follow zero scent control protocol. I personally am not a scent control guy.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

It doesn't take me out of hunting though as I will simply change my approach, access, or location then go hunt.

Same here. I choose my location based on the wind and a few other factors. I do not simply "not hunt" because the wind is wrong for a particular location. I just choose somewhere else.

 

[Ski]

Has the wind cost me and have I cost myself kill opportunities because I didn't "use the wind" as I hear so many talk about? No doubt about it, but I would say I have not lost anymore chances than anyone who "plays the wind, especially watching the weather forecast and NOT even hunting" because of a projected wind direction. I have studied thermals, wind direction, anything I could find to read and/or watch about "hunting the wind" and to me it rarely makes a difference, especially sitting at home watching the weather.

A deer, especially older bucks, utilize the wind. They smell 800x better than we can. Their sense of smell is no exaggeration probably sharper than our vision. It's that acute. When a deer puts his nose in the air, it's akin to us squinting our eyes to focus. When he puts himself in position to check the wind, it's like us turning on the lights when we walk into a room. Their nose matters to them like our eyes matter to us.

With that in mind, wind direction helps me decide where to hunt, not whether to hunt or not. A buck has his nose. That's what God gave him. I have my brain. That's what God gave me. My brain has to compete with his nose, and the wind is how I do it.

 

[Ski]

I'm always interested to hear what a successful mature buck killers tactics are. I know a few other stone cold killers who do the same as y'all and follow zero scent control protocol.

Me too. The one common thread I've noticed with big buck killers is that they hunt where big bucks roam. They differ in tactics and beliefs but they all hunt big buck country. Can't kill a buck that doesn't exist.

 

[BSK]

They smell 800x better than we can.

Primates (including Humans) have the worst sense of smell of any of the mammals. We have evolved to use different senses, especially sight and social cues as our primary forms of communication and information gathering. A deer's sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than a humans because they have 10,000 times more olfactory sensors in their nasal passages than we do.

 

[BSK]

Me too. The one common thread I've noticed with big buck killers is that they hunt where big bucks roam. They differ in tactics and beliefs but they all hunt big buck country. Can't kill a buck that doesn't exist.

Just remember that the vast, VAST majority of B&C bucks have been killed by novices, not "big buck hunters."

 

[Ski]

Just remember that the vast, VAST majority of B&C bucks have been killed by novices, not "big buck hunters."

True as that may be, there are undeniably a few guys who seem to get it done over & over & over again. They get a lion's share of the trophies. Anybody can luck into a big buck like winning a lottery ticket. But who does it all the time, how do they do it, and where?

 

[tree_ghost]

Just remember that the vast, VAST majority of B&C bucks have been killed by novices, not "big buck hunters."

Why do you theorize that happens? I have my guess but I'm interested to see if you have any thoughts on it.

 

[Pioneer1789]

A deer, especially older bucks, utilize the wind. They smell 800x better than we can. Their sense of smell is no exaggeration probably sharper than our vision. It's that acute. When a deer puts his nose in the air, it's akin to us squinting our eyes to focus. When he puts himself in position to check the wind, it's like us turning on the lights when we walk into a room. Their nose matters to them like our eyes matter to us.

With that in mind, wind direction helps me decide where to hunt, not whether to hunt or not. A buck has his nose. That's what God gave him. I have my brain. That's what God gave me. My brain has to compete with his nose, and the wind is how I do it.

Excellent way to word it!