I was at a show this weekend and spent some time talking to a guy, who had a little different outlook on the wind.
He hunts smaller wood patches and farms. he said if he waited on the perfect wind he'd never get to hunt. He said these deer on small farms that have people in and out of the fields most days, are more tolerant of human smell. (A topic that GMMAT and I have discussed before and kind of agree with). With suburbia creeping in and the constant intrusions in the deers shared enviroment, by farmers, walkers, joggers, the neighbor kids etc, he just doesn't pay the wind that much attention. he sprays down with the scent eliminator of choice and hunts!
He said big woods, the mountains, sure, you better pay attention to the wind!
His biggest therory and reasoning for this forget the wind attitude, was this. He'll hunt the same stand 3 days in a row. It's his theory that a traveling pre-rut buck will make his complete rounds every 3 days. So once a stand site is chosen you must hunt it for 3 consecutive days. Wind be damned.
It could be easy to dismiss this theory, as hopeful rhetoric,but like I said it was a show, and his collection of mounts rivals GregH's.
Just a different outlook by a very very successful hunter.
I hunt a Semi Populated arear of people and farmers... I spray down and never once checked the wind... Have i killed huge mature bucks? No. Have I been playing this game with a serious attitude long enough to kill Huge mature bucks? No.
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Yesterday was the past, Tomorrow is the future, but today is a Gift, that is why it's called the Present.
Isnt the reason we hutn in tree stands is to get our scent off the ground?
Which brings up another of his points..all his stands are set at 12ft. He feels any higher is just higher not better, and can actually make shot selection much harder than it need be.
One evening in 06' I was hunting a hedgerow with the wind coming from the south at a decent clip. to my west was an intersecting hedgerow and a field planted to sudan and part of it to milo, neither had been harvested and there were some nice bucks hanging out, out there. I was set up right where the 2 hedgerows meet and in the course of about 30 minutes, i had 7 bucks cruise by me, everyone was within 40', yes, feet, i was on the ground with a large hackberry at my back, as each buck got down wind of me, they would become somewhat nervous, more alert, none of them spooked and ran, they just seemed to go ontheir way. I dont mind the wind, so long as i can get to the deer before they get the wind from me. a cross wind is fine.
last year, different location, i was in a tree stand, south wind blowing, i had a Alpha Doe south of me start blowing at me from over 80 yards away . She came out into the clearing, literally walked to my tree and looked up at me, to this day i dont think she ever smelled me, i think she saw me on the sky line. she turned a 180, raised her tail and sashayed off into the woods. should have shot her, but didnt have a Doe tag.
I've said this all along. Unless a deer is in huge woods, they tolerate some level of human odor. If they didn't they'd be on the run continuously trying to get away from the humans they smell.
Just like you and I, if you smell a skunk that is a 100 yards away, you think, eww, yuck but when you get a whiff of one that is right there you freak out.
I do everything I can to reduce my human scent as best as possible just in case a deer get's down wind of me. I want that deer to get as little whiff of me as possible that they may, just may not blow and go. It's proved worthy over the years.
I reduce my scent as much as possible. And ya I'll try to play the wind, but most of my stands are located centrally. They can come from any direction at any time. So how exactly would you play a wind?
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Everything comes to he who waits, If he waits til it comes.
That would not only depend on how used to humans they are but also how pressured they are by humans.Unless you have a rifle in your hand and are planning on a 200 yard shot,you better play the wind in my woods or you won't see squat.This is farm ground(small patches of woods)and they are used to seeing farmers but farmers rarely step into the woods and once you have done that,you enter their house and all bets are off.
AGAIN,let me say,these deer are pressured,HEAVILY.
Playing the wind..a different view
