Hunting In The Wind: Why It’s Worth It
As hunters, we have always been told that hunting in the wind is not going to provide us with that big buck on our trail cam. Time after time, we have been told that in high wind conditions, deer movement is almost nonexistent. However, this is not really the case. The deer might not be moving where your 2-3 stands are currently placed, however, that is simply because they have changed their habitat for that weather condition.
Overall, deer lead fairly simple, non-complex, lives. They typically have four different variables running through their minds to survive daily life and those are: avoiding predators, finding sufficient food and water, reproducing, and minimizing their environmental stresses. These four variables drive their movement and where they bed, make scrapes, etc. Therefore, understanding how to hunt in the wind and how it causes deer movement to change can give you an added incentive as a hunter, giving you another time to go out in the woods, and land the monster buck.
First things first, it is important to understand the wind limits a deer’s ability to detect predators. It is much harder for them to hear movement throughout the shaking forest, therefore increasing their stress when they are traveling searching for their food, shelter, etc. With that said, in periods of high wind, deer movement is in a much smaller circumference in an attempt to minimize their exposure to predators. This is why many hunters believe hunting in the wind is useless, however, since they are confined to a much smaller area, your chances of seeing a whitetail are much higher if you find their new hideout.
As hunters, we truly believe that this is a time to capitalize on filling the freezer or landing the whitetail of your dreams. If your focus is on areas that are very sheltered, and near bedding sights, your chances of seeing a big buck on a windy day will vastly increase. However, it can be uncomfortable to move your stand and get out of the realm you normally hunt, and that is why we have developed a few strategies to keep in mind while hunting the wind.
Abandon Your Stand
As we stated in the introduction, the deer are bound to change their movement patterns on a windy day. It is inevitable, they want to steer clear of their predators. Therefore, get on the ground, and go to where the high winds cover your sound and your movement. The HuntWise app allows you to view wind direction and speed, therefore, with this knowledge, you are sure to be in a successful area.
Map Your Area And Understand Your “ScentDrift”
It’s important to get out of your stand and quietly search for the deer’s newly marked territory. With that said, mark your area. On the HuntWise app, you can see at a glance where to hunt from day to day based on different pins. These marked pins will compare wind by location, telling you where the wind is blowing in your favor, and how your scent will blow with the feature ScentDrift. ScentDrift even allows you to customize wind direction, plugging in your ideal direction to better gauge the way your scent will blow. This is a very quick and easy way to determine where you want to take on the wind for any particular day.
Understand Pressure Within Your Area
Barometric pressure and wind often go hand in hand. For example, when the wind is blowing sideways the air pressure is also going up and down. Barometric pressure of the woods rises as the day warms and falls as the day cools off. Therefore, hunting during the high-pressure point of the morning and the low-pressure point of the evening will provide you will the most optimal deer activity. You can see barometric pressure within the HuntWise app daily deep dive. This way, you can easily and effectively compare the wind direction and the barometric pressure to utilize your time the best.
At the end of the day, it is all about putting the odds in your favor. If you thoroughly understand the wind direction, are comfortable being on the ground versus the stand, have your areas mapped on the HuntWise app, and do everything possible to control your scent against the vast winds, the odds will go up of having great success landing a monster whitetail.