Hunting the wind

[steiny]

What are your thoughts on this?

Attached is a aerial of my hunting situation.
Pink blotch = stand location
Red = Food plot

North is to the top of picture.

I am backed up against a stand of Red & White Pines.  Planted about 15yrs ago - average 20' tall.
I am wondering what my scent does on a NW wind once the wind gets it into the Pines.
Does it just linger around and spread out?  Or does it continue throught the stand of Pines?

The deer are typically coming out from the NW corner of the food plot - but some have been coming from the NE corner.  Those coming from the NE corner are the ones I am worried about busting me or holding up in the pines till dark because my scent is getting trapped in there.

What are your thoughts?



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[Mayfly]

I'd hunt it with a NW all the way to a NE wind. Seems like a great set-up.

This year I have hunted by the wind every time out and I have seen more deer this year than any other year...ever. One of my areas has a lot of really tall pines and I have not seen a problem, doesn't mean there isn't a problem but have never been scented to my knowledge. I imagine what your scent does depends on the wind and currents. I would imagine as long as they are moving your scent is moving. I don't think it would make it into the forest area and then somehow start traveling north unless there were currents in there carrying your scent up and whirling like you see in a ravine. Good luck!

Been also using some new scent control methods and have seen a good amount of deer downwind.

[steiny]

Yeah good scent control is key.  I am a stikler on that.  None of my cloths or gear ever come in the house.  If they go in the truck they are in a Scentloc tote.  Other than that they are hung outside everynight.  I also spray down heavily with Scent Killer.  On my second gallon already this year.

I haven't been busted yet to knowledge either.  But you'll never know it if they bust you before they get to the plot.

Who knows!

Good topic though.  Lets see some set ups - go to Google earth and email a pic of your location to your email - open it with Paint and lay it out for us.

[Mayfly]

Here is one of my areas......

In the upper right you see food and field. They come from there in the morning and  they go there in the evening.

You see the water? They also hit that in and out. We put a new stand on the east side of the water hole because the deer that skip the water hole always go along the north side and we can't shoot them from the 100% stand so... we put the new stand where it says STAND. They won't and don't enter the field on the north edge, they wrap around and enter and exit just north from where my stand is along the east edge of the wood-line. They don't exit the woods to the north side because its right in the back yard of that house and the cover in the field is thick near the stand and they can cut across to the wood lot to the far east before going north and into that field. They don't come from the south but I have seen it. Its residential that way so sometimes in the morning they may come from that way but 80% of the time they don't. The most activity this year is on the east side of the pond so that is where we will start spending time. I call the stand in that area the 100% stand because we have never not seen a deer there. Should be good for the rut! :-)

OH.... And I will hunt this stand with a NW to NE stand. Thats the only way i'll do it. It does vary a little bit from morning to evening but for the most part NW to NE.



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[HD]

One of the areas we hunt....


Stands are red
Bedding areas are yellow
Food sources are green
Water source is blue

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[jigglestick]

What are your thoughts on this?

Attached is a aerial of my hunting situation.
Pink blotch = stand location
Red = Food plot

North is to the top of picture.

I am backed up against a stand of Red & White Pines.  Planted about 15yrs ago - average 20' tall.
I am wondering what my scent does on a NW wind once the wind gets it into the Pines.
Does it just linger around and spread out?  Or does it continue throught the stand of Pines?

The deer are typically coming out from the NW corner of the food plot - but some have been coming from the NE corner.  Those coming from the NE corner are the ones I am worried about busting me or holding up in the pines till dark because my scent is getting trapped in there.

What are your thoughts?

it all depends on what you are hunting for.
does? hunt the garden with north, north west, or north east winds.
if you are hunting bucks, then get in the woods down wind of the garden. the bucks will so often
check these areas that does frequent without popping out into the open.
it would also help to know where the mature bucks are bedding in that scenario.

[MTCOMMER]

Dont have much to add the the topic of wind, because I will hunt a stand no matter the wind - I figure if I am scent free, the deer will come in no matter what.  If there is alot of wind, the deer wont move as much anyway.
But here is our land....
Red = stands
Blue = bedding areas or cover
-- our land doesnt have any food sources, other than the acorns from the hundreds of oaks in the woods.  However, to the South, East and West of us we have corn fields where the deer will usually eat.  Our hunting land is much better than those around us, since the deer will spend the light hours on our land, and the evening hours at the food.  We catch the deer between their bedding areas and main food sources.  They travel alot in the woods to avoid the open areas - the love the cover.
My stand is on the west side of the land, on the praire - see many deer there every morning and evening - there are 3 trails that are in the vicinity of the stand.  Anyways, here is an aerial view.

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[jigglestick]

you will not be scent free.
even if you put your body in a plastic bag and breathed through a straw, your breath is your biggest give away.
I could be wrong here, how long can you hoild your breath?

[MTCOMMER]

you will not be scent free.
even if you put your body in a plastic bag and breathed through a straw, your breath is your biggest give away.
I could be wrong here, how long can you hoild your breath?

30 seconds.   
I just hunt with the mentality that the deer have to move no matter which way the wind is blowing.  They may just come from a different area, but they will come by.  Just my thoughts on the matter - plus, winds change and deer can smell - ive farted, ate cough drops, forgot to spray my clothing down and I still see deer.  It may help to play the wind, but if you out think yourself, it may cost you - gotta just sit and hope you get lucky.
I do understand we each hunt differently, everyones land causes deer to travel differently, but as for the land I hunt, there is no noticable difference when there are different winds - they just travel less when the winds are too strong, they dont like to be without their sense of smell - so they will stay bedded.

[jigglestick]

seeing deer is one thing.
seeing a mature buck is another.
if they just move in a different area, because they caught your scent, you have out-un-thunk yourself.

I used to count deer sightings from stand as a productive outings and I still do to a point, but I'm after mature bucks now and they are totaly different creatures than does fawns and young bucks.

to each his own.
I take great consideration into stand location every time I go out based mostly primarily on wind direction.

[HD]

I do the same thing Jiggle....

That's why I have so many stands....I play the wind.
Based on the way it's blowing, determines which stand I'll be sitting in. 

[MTCOMMER]

seeing deer is one thing.
seeing a mature buck is another.
if they just move in a different area, because they caught your scent, you have out-un-thunk yourself.

Tou'che!
I suppose my hunting style is a little different - I would enjoy shooting the mature bucks, but a nice doe is just as exciting to me, its just the thrill of the hunt no matter its a mature buck, a nice doe, a smaller buck. 
My reasoning is the more deer I see, the more exciting the hunt is the better chance I have to see a 'nice' one.  If you are seeing does - during the rut, the nice bucks will follow.
I do understand the importance of the wind - it just is a lesser importance to me.  As long as the outcome is a successful hunt - it doesnt matter the details 

[ovation62]

 
I play the wind and always put my hunting stuff in a tote, but ill say Im a smoker and at about a hour or half hour before sunset I always have a smoke, out comes a deer. They have to check it out they seem to be relaxed to.
I think pissing by your stand is so funny, never thought they would check that out, I wonder if they would check out a woman's pee? I hunt 2 days a week seen some but  to small for me ,the air pressure keeps droping so I dont go hunting then.
Good luck guy's

[FireRanger]

I'll say that I hunt the wind to the extent that when I get into my stand.......I turn and face down wind. I have had deer come from all directions when I'm on stand. I think it just doesn't matter in some cases. Deer move around quite a bit where we hunt especially the bucks as we know. They can cover a lot of ground in a few days. To tell you the truth I have had more deer come to me with the wind then sticking their nose into it to smell it... just never know.

[Sew Sille]

How do you mark the maps like that?

[HD]

I just used the spray can in the program "paint"

[Cody Gruchow]

i dont really play the wind....... between scent-lok clothing, my odorless scent killer and hunting high,(25+ FT) i dont have to worry about it much...

[Mayfly]

I hunted a stand last year and watch deer blow me out over 100 yards away. There is ALWAYS the exception to this rule. I'm sure you have always heard some guy talking about how he just took a crap in his stand, smoked a cigarette and then worked up a sweat with a few jumping jacks and caught a deer watching him so he put a round through his lungs.... Yeah yeah yeah.. LOL.

Now, if you are after 2 1/2 year old or less then keep doing what you are doing. On average these older deer are not stupid. They live by their nose and you will never see them because you will be winded at 300 yards. Have you ever seen how slow a mature buck will move, checking the wind, moving slow and backing out at the slightest thing out of place? This year is the first year that I have truly hunted the wind 100% of the time and I have seen more deer this year than I have ever. That is proof enough to me.

I would never ever depend on my clothes, Like Jiggle said, hunt in a plastic bag and they'll still smell you. The gas that comes off our bodies is not stoppable. You can do things that help and control this odor but you'll never eliminate it. The worst slogan by a clothes company out there is.. Forget the wind, hunt. or whatever they say.

Anyways, i'm walkinh out the door. I have an east wind so I get to go to my favorite stand!!! Yay 

[dakids]

On wed. I was in a box blind with my daughter. Top of a hill. Only one window cracked open.  All cloths were sprayed down and stored in a tote.  We were in the stand by 3:15.  We were watching 4 does to our west feeding in one of our new food plots.  We had a NNW wind 15-20.  Entered the woods from the south.  15 min before sunset we had LUCKY (mature buck) wind us from 200 yards.  Like I said we had a NNW wind.  He was almost straight west of us.  The wind must have swirled on us. He started blowing and it was game over.  It was the first time my daughter had ever heard a deer blow, so it was a neat but disapointing leason. 

Deer will second guess their eyes, ears but never their nose.

[dakids]

I also stopped at whitcombs on the way home.  I told my daughter to put an apple in her pocket before she got out of the car.  I had her walk along the fence.  We watched as the deer lifted their heads and came right to her and not me.  we were 20 yards apart and I was holding some clover and she was just standing still.  The deer knew she had an apple for them.  The deer are in a pen but they still have great noses.

[steiny]

MNO hit it on the head!
Glad to see someone has the same phylosopy (sp?) as I.

I got busted last night - it sucked!  I hunted a cornfield surrounded by steep raveens on 3 of 4 sides.  A road on the 4th side.

My 25ft rope hung 6' above the ground - so I figured I was up 30+' in an oak tree.

I was thinking (now I know) that the wind would care my scent right over the top of the raveen and the deer would have no clue.  WRONG!!!
I watched 6-8 deer walk back and forth and would not come up the hill to the field.  They knew something was up.

Low pressure pushed my scent down fast than the wind could move it across the raveen.

[JECAMERON]

...
Now, if you are after 2 1/2 year old or less then keep doing what you are doing. On average these older deer are not stupid. They live by their nose and you will never see them because you will be winded at 300 yards. Have you ever seen how slow a mature buck will move, checking the wind, moving slow and backing out at the slightest thing out of place? This year is the first year that I have truly hunted the wind 100% of the time and I have seen more deer this year than I have ever. That is proof enough to me. ...

I definitely agree with this. Mature deer don't survive by taking chances and their sense of smell is remarkable.
That being said, I don't really have enough stands to hunt the wind specifically. I take measures to eliminate and mask my smell and just plain don't hunt if its too windy.

[22lex]

I hunt the wind as much as possible, unless I go to one of the "I don't care spots" where I will sit with any wind.

I'll go as far as to say for every deer you see, you probably don't see 50% of the deer that smell you on your backwind side, but choose not to bust you and just slink off.

I have seen numerous bucks do this in the past on the downwind side of me (during rut). They will come in, smell you, and carefully backtrack or find an alternative route around you to get to where they are going.

[deadeye]

22lex is right.  Most of our stands are set up where you could expect a deer to come from almost any location.  This means you will usually give up one direction regardless of wind direction.  Of course, most stands have a perferred wind direction and during bow season we always take that into consideration when choosing a location.  A couple weeks ago I saw three deer turn and take off when they go downwind of my son who was 150 yards away.  Like someone said, "they may not always trust their eyes and ears, but they always trust their nose."

[Cody Gruchow]

theres only 1 stand that i follow the wind direction on and only sit in it with the right wind. the rest are the same as deadeye said, the deer can come from any direction and most likey will.... i mean my method of hunt high, with scent killer and scent-lok must work....because i have them walk within 2 steps of my tree every morning......

[jigglestick]

MNO hit it on the head!
Glad to see someone has the same phylosopy (sp?) as I.

I got busted last night - it sucked!  I hunted a cornfield surrounded by steep raveens on 3 of 4 sides.  A road on the 4th side.

My 25ft rope hung 6' above the ground - so I figured I was up 30+' in an oak tree.

I was thinking (now I know) that the wind would care my scent right over the top of the raveen and the deer would have no clue.  WRONG!!!
I watched 6-8 deer walk back and forth and would not come up the hill to the field.  They knew something was up.

Low pressure pushed my scent down fast than the wind could move it across the raveen.

you probably already know this but you are encountering thermal affects of wind current.
study up on thermal affects and you will have a way better idea of how to set up in that situation.

ever notice that often times deer will enter a field from a low point or draw?
there are two obvious reasons for this.
one is cover, line of sight, and two, thermal affects draw scent right down those draws or depressions. they can effedctively scent check the entire field without ever stepping foot into the open.
you saw this exact thing happen to you.
get into position down below and off to the side for better results.
you will have to pay close attention to the wind direction to pull it off, while keeping maximum effective range in mind.
a quite portable setup is priceless in this type of hunting too.

I should add that one of the best ways that I know to check wind and currents is with milkweed pods.
put those milkweed fluffies into a small plastic container and use them while in stand or while chooseing a possible stand location to see exactly how the wind is moving in any particular setup. they follow the currents and you will find that the currents are often times quite different that the obvious wind direction you feel on your face.
knowing this can help you a lot while trying to pick just the right spot in a tricky setup location.

[kenhuntin]

Impressive observations there Jiggle. You opened my eyes pretty wide.

[FireRanger]

Not that my opinion is worth a damn  but I agree with what a lot of everything said. BUT! The fact that deer get big because they can outwit a hunter only lasts so long! If they always trusted their nose and we always give off some sort of sent...put these together and nobody would ever shoot a big deer! Ever. They make mistakes, they throw caution to the wind, they are as curious and foolish as a child when it comes to this season in some cases. They are animals with certain hieghtened scenses but they are still animals and if they were as smart as some people think then maybe we would be on their menu! Just sayin'

[Go Big Red!]

Not that my opinion is worth a damn  but I agree with what a lot of everything said. BUT! The fact that deer get big because they can outwit a hunter only lasts so long! If they always trusted their nose and we always give off some sort of sent...put these together and nobody would ever shoot a big deer! Ever. They make mistakes, they throw caution to the wind, they are as curious and foolish as a child when it comes to this season in some cases. They are animals with certain hieghtened scenses but they are still animals and if they were as smart as some people think then maybe we would be on their menu! Just sayin'

You're right, it's not worth much....

I don't play the wind.  I sit on an ATV trail, on the ground, on the biggest rise on the trail, and I still shoot deer.  I don't use any sprays or scent free/locking clothing, just hunt with what I've got and make the best of it.

[deadeye]

If you go hunting today, I doubt you would have to worry about subtle air currents.  From the looks of it, most of the scent will be in Wisconson or Iowa.