How will this affect deer movement?

How will this affect ML performance?

5pointCal

To me I beleive they will continue to move but the movement will occur more on the Lee side of the ridge - with less movement on the ridge or the winward side... Of course you will have to be much more aware of the wind...

Probably one of the bigest factors in the projectile drifting from POA is wind currents... Big slow ML projectiles will drift with the wind... The biggest factor there is the range... How it drifts depends on how far it is traveling....

The wind you talk about may be considered a calm day in many places, but considered breezy in others. I doubt that much wind would bother the deer too much, but swirling winds do seem to make them nervous.

For shots under 100 yds I would adjust my POA only a couple inches, and only if I had to shoot during a steady wind. I'd first try to wait for a lull.

I love to stillhunt during heavy (treestand rocking, limb breaking) winds. The deer will be bedded in predictable spots and if your're careful you can get on them before they see you.

Winds that strong I find make deer more cautious when moving around. They will often stop and test the winds before they proceed. I think this is because the sound of the winds might hide noises that would otherwise alert them to danger.

As to the effect on a muzzleloader will depend on the distance you have to shoot and under what conditions. Gusts can effect you more then anything else. A steady wind might move you off the POA a little, but those speeds do not really worry me too much. Unless I was shooting across a 200 yard field or something like that.

The reason I'm asking is Saturday is the first day of ML season here in GA. I plan on hunting a creek bottom with a shooting distance limited to less than 100 yds. I'm shooting a Kodiak Pro Mag .45, 155 gr XTP and 100gr pyro, using only iron sights. I've heard that deer don't move as much in wind and that MLs are more susceptible to wind. But 12 - 15 mph ENE is not that bad, right?

You should have no problem... Keep the wind in your face and watch for movement in the creek bottom. You should be eating venison real soon. I will be interested to hear how well that load works for you.

Put the front site where you want it to go and (squeeze) turn it loose!!

Thank you for all the help. I'll let you all know how it goes. Can't wait!! I'm having a hard time going to sleep so I guess I'll clean my smokepole again.[8D]