Vabowman

give me an example of how you you guys hunt the wind...inlcude a scenerio using bedding areas, food sources, travel patterns, etc....Im very interested in how you set up on things..

TEmbry

I can't wait for this one too. In some cases, I don't really have a sure fire wind plan...because deer can and do come from anywhere. I just pick the direction I think is best for my scent to be blowing, and only hunt during those winds...For my favorite stand, that means a Wind anywhere from the S.

I have another setup that is perfect for a W wind....It is 40-60 yards from the side of a main highway, and the highway is built up about 10 yards or so above surrounding terrain. My scent blows straight across and over the parkway, leaving my area virtually scent free from all directions...It works perfect.


I have yet to be winded this year, that I know of...so something must be working.[&:]


Im excited to see others response, because I am still a total noob in the whole hunt the wind game.

early in

Simple, just hunt the down wind side of where you expect the deer to be, or becoming from.

NY Bowhunter

It pretty much is that simple IMO. Everyone has stands where deer can come from every direction. You can't be 100% "windproof" from such stands. Simply put hunt the wind according to where the deer predominately come from. Other stands are more clearcut with hunting wind direction. The ones where deer come from a certain direction 95% of the time. Setup where the wind will be blowing away from that. I pay particular attention to bedding areas. At all costs I try not to let my scent blow into where I know they are bedding. The key is to identify where they bed, eat and how they get there (most of the time). Then just setup accordingly and don't hunt an area unless you know your scent is not going to be blowing in those directions. Go back to keeping it simple. Deer will come from this direction most of the time, dont' have my scent blowing there.

good thread by the way. I'd like to hear some different guys setups according to the wind. I think we can all learn from it.

One example for me....

I have a stand 50 yards inside the woods just off a corn field. In front of me is the corn, behind me is thickets/hardwoods where I knowdeer bed. They come from the bedding area in the PM to the food source. Knowing they bed and travel towards the corn in the PM I'm not sitting there if the wind is blowing behind me. I'd prefer to have the wind blowing out to the corn(or sideways works too)for this particular stand. Can "some" deer come from the corn and head towards this bedding area? Sure... and it happens. And I usually get winded [8D]. But predominately it's going to happen just the opposite and that's what I'll setup for.

Hunter_59

With bedding areas, which I tend to concentrate most of my hunting time, I hunt the fringes on the downwind or crosswind side. For example, my bedding area is a huge river bottom. I will hunt a North entrance/exit route with a S., S.W., S.E. wind for an afternoon hunt. Presuming they will be in the bedding area and leaving it heading to a feeding area in the afternoon. If you were to hunt this senario for an a.m. hunt naturally your scent would be blowing to them as they were heading into the bedding area. The same stand would work for a morning hunt with a North wind, but I usually skip that hunt, not wanting my scent wafting over the entire bedding area for any deer to pick which entered from a different direction. However, a North wind would allow me to still hunt the river bank on the South side of the bedding area. I save this tactic until the later stages of the season, not wanting to invade the bedding area too early in the season.
I usually hunt food plots in the afternoon. Deer seem to feel more comfortable feeding on the downwind side of a timbered area. If I have an alfalfa field on the North side of a wooded area, I would hunt it with a S, S.E., S.W., wind. The problem usually, in my area, is that the wind will "whirlpool" in corners and along the edges of wooded areas. A "Wind Tracker" device will help you see the wind patterns. It can be frustrating.

GMMAT

To me it's a lot more intricate than just setting up where you think they're gonna come from and putting the wind in your face. Other factors come into play: entry/exit; AM/PM (where's your scent blowing.....it makes a HUGE difference); time of year/season (refer to AM/PM note); etc...; etc...; etc...

GregH

This is basically it.

I try to set up with the main trail(s) in front of me and have the wind blowing in my face.

Sometimes depending on terrain, I have the wind blowing away from me toward the trail(s), if I think that the wind will bolw OVER the deer.

TEmbry

That's exactly what I was referring to with the highway setup. The deer cut between me and the road, but my scent is way above their head due to how the wind blows.

GMMAT

Also....I'd ask how many depend solely on the forecast wind direction for that day/hunt.....and who uses a windicator (of an kind) to discern the true wind (direction/thermals/etc...).

I've started up a ridge this year a few times....only to turn around and back out. "S" wind don't mean squat on the N face of a ridge.

Cougar Mag

Have any of you noticed that deer seem to "bust" us more due to winding us in the latter part of the season than the earlier part? That sure is what it seems to me. Many factors may cause this including:

The pressure of being hunted during the season whereas in the earlier part of the season deer may tolerate human scent more due to farmers and their machinery being in the fields.

Perhaps the air is heavier in the colder weather so scent doesn't travel as far away or disburse.

Less windy days. Seems like its windier overall in the early half of the season than later on, therefore human scent is still concentrated making it easier to scent us.

Maybe I or we are not practicing scent control later on because of being tired, in a hurry, etc. but I don't believe that to be so in my case.

Or maybe I am just full of it. But I get winded more in the later half of the season than the first half. I am speaking strictly of being winded, not seen or heard.