How do you change your game up on windy days (20 mph sustained winds throughout day)

[7.62NATO]

If at all? Tomorrow is supposed to be windy and I've never hunted with sustained wind like we're supposed to have tomorrow.

[iSnipe]

Deer are just like you in that the cold gets to them too and it's the hierarchy doe that leads the others to wind breaks. This usually means taking them to areas where the wind is less. Could be various kinds of thickets, plantations, valleys, etc. If the sun is out, then they want to not only be out of the wind, but in direct sunlight. Search areas like this and you will be more likely to spot them.

iSnipe

[7.62NATO]

Sounds like a day of still hunting! I'll be in a state park, so there won't be any plantations to speak of. Lots of thickets and some minor valleys (we're talking 100 feet, nothing big). But it will be in the 30s tomorrow, so it won't be absolutely, freakin' cold like it would be where you live with 20mph winds.

[125py]

i dont change my plan

[121553]

Deer don't usually like to move when its windy cause there vulnerable because they lose there senses of smell and movement associated with the wind. Take advantage of the wind and stalk using the wind to your advantage. Good luck.

Bobby

[coal hollow]

hunt the wind breaks as said earlier. I look for pine thickets

[warbirdlover]

As previously stated deer don't move when it's windy. They'll hunker down in a marsh or marsh grass or high ground (in the sun). They also like to sit in uncut corn fields. They DO move though and I've never had luck still hunting deer because even though they're bedded they're twice as jumpy. I sit in my stand and eventually might get a chance at them.

I tried rattling in my stand in the late gun season. This was the end of the rut and windy. It's not supposed to work then. Got a doe to RUN in to me looking for the fight. It was pretty cool. It also made me think there were no bucks in my stand area at that time.

And the next day the young guy sitting in that stand had a wolf chase a doe past him. Was the alpha (big, black) wolf in our area and he tried to scare it away by taking a couple shots near it. It still chased the doe.

[doetrain]

They do move on high wind days as I witnessed saturday on my hunt. The wind was gusting at 20 to 30 mph. it was between 10:45 and 11:00 and 5 Does caught me second guessing about calling it a morning because I was told they don't move in high wind and that late in the morning by well meaning friends who have hunted for years. This is my first season ever hunting and I will stay put the rest of the season at least until noon in the wind or without it. The simple fact is they will not do as we think most of the time. I agree you should position yourself where the wind is blocked as much as possible but don't let your guard down like I did thinking they always bed down and get in early to the beding area on windy days it just isn't so all the time.

[Champlain Islander]

I have found on windy days they don't move much but you can use that wind to still hunt the thicker areas where they go. Having a sustained wind gives you an advantage of moving into the wind for scent control and having that same wind minimize the noise you make. Go slow and really look ahead, to the sides and even behind you.

[Jimmy S]

Originally Posted by 125py

i dont change my plan

I agree.
Bitter cold days with high winds is totally different than temps in the 30's with a 20 mph wind. It has been my experience that deer will continue to move in these conditions. I have shot deer on windy days while hunting the well used trails. I believe deer are not affected as much as most hunters may think. They still must move to feed and travel to bedding areas and a 20 mph wind is not a big factor. Of course this is only my opinion but if I altered my strategy based on what others have told me about hunting windy days, it would have been a mistake.