1) Choose potential stand locations based on your intuition, the terrain, the cover, and the sign that you are seeing,
2) Analyse those locations in terms of the prevailing (most common) wind/breeze: a) you want your stand to be DOWN WIND from the kill zone--the wind should be in your face, b) you want your approach route to be DOWN WIND from your stand--the wind should be in your face going in, c) avoid walking through really good country getting to your stand, d) if possible, choose a stand location that dumps the smell coming off off you into a dead zone--a location not likely to hold deer.
3) No matter how hard you try to avoid it, deer may approach your stand from downwind / your blind side. Those deer are going to bust you most of the time, but there is nothing you can do about it. That's hunting--and it's usually a damn big deer that does it!
4) Concentrate on the terrain that is 90-degrees to your left, the terrain in front of you (up wind), and the terrain that is 90-degrees to your right. Move your EYES, before moving you head while you scan. LISTEN for movement. If you hear something coming from behind you don't freak out and jerk around. Don't move, if you're busted, you're busted, but sometimes you're not, so you have to play it cool.
5) Your scent will leave you (will go downwind) in a ice-cream sugar cone pattern and deer can wind you at 800+ yards. Not all the time, but I've watched deer wind me at 800+ yards.
6) Never hunt a stand when the wind is wrong for it.
7) Big deer almost never use paths or trails. It's rare, and when they do it's not for long. If you're hunting trails, you're most likely hunting does.
8) Topgun is right. Big bucks bed with their backs to the wind, looking DOWN WIND. Big bucks move regardless of the wind, they just make sure they are in cover when they do it.
9) NEVER disregard the wind. You still have a chance if a big deer hears you--just wait him out. You may have a chance if a big deer sees you--as long as he didn't see you very well--sometimes you can wait him out. You NEVER have a chance when a deer winds you--he's gone--and his flight distance will be a mile to three (3) miles in Canada.
10) ALWAYS KEEP THE WIND IN YOUR FACE (or close to it) and always be aware of where your 800-yard scent trail is going. Remember this: When you walk somewhere 90-degrees to the wind, you are leaving an 800-yard scent trail to your right or left that kills that area for several hours at least. You can do a lot of damage with a lot of reckless walking around.
Bronc
Last edited by Broncazonk; 06-13-2012 at 08:18 PM.