Afer 10 years of research, I can tellyou tht thermals my no govern which directin a dee willo trawel anymore thtn the wind does.
If you check, you will fidn that deer often move down wind or crosswind as they go to food sources in the evening, and return to ther daytime core areas in the morning.
But, both wind and thermals may allow the animls to smell danger before they ge to it, if scents are brought to them by the wind. So, you hve to pay atention to wher the wind and thermals are blwing your scnt, before the deer getto you. Adn the deer will do the dame, but probably not change theri ltravel patterns so much tht it will affect your hunting overall.
Her sis an excerpt from my book The completwWhiteatil Adict's Manul, it s coyrighted, and federal copyright laws state that it cannot be copied or republished without the author/publishers permissioon. I give permissin to this website to publish this.
I hope it helps.
There are two basic wind patterns, one occurs during stable high-pressure weather, with clear or partly cloudy skies. During this pattern there is little or no wind at sunrise and sunset, with the highest wind speeds from mid to late afternoon; deer move to open food sources at dawn and dusk. The other pattern occurs during changing weather conditions. During this pattern the wind speeds may be constant throughout the day, with frequent wind gusts reflecting unstable conditions; gusty winds often cause deer to seek cover, where they may nervously bed and move throughout the day
Wind
Speed Activity
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0-5 mph Best
6-10 mph Some
11-15 mph Limited During high winds animals have a hard time hearing and smelling,
they feed and bed on the downwind sides of hills and woods. Deer may
use benches 1/4-1/3 of the way down the hill, in the calm pocket where wind speeds are lower.
20+ mph Minimal
Thermal Currents
Direction and Time
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Rising Morning Sunlight causes air to warm and rise. In hills or mountains game will often bed uphill during the day to catch rising scent.
Falling Evening Darkness cools air causing downward currents. Game may bed low at night to catch falling scents. As animals move uphill in the morning they catch the scents on the still falling thermals.