Hunting the wind???????
 

For those of you who only hunt the wind, without using some kind of scent control.

While I was out blowing leaves off of my yard this weekend. The wind must have changed directions 20 times in an hour. I would be blowing leaves and they would go right across the yard. Then a couple of minutes later they would come right back in my face. Then they would go right and left. It was a learning experiance as to how my scent can pollute the whole woods if I was not careful. Plus it seems the deer don't always come in from where they are supposed to. Just something to think about

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

A swirling wind is a problem, especially near the stand. The air moving around trees and over terrain can do funny things. I think it's important to do all you can as far as scent control is concerned as well as take wind direction into consideration. How many times, though have we hunted a stand according to wind direction and the deer came from a direction we don't expect. You just have to do the best you can.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Yes, I've never bought in totally to the guys that say play the wind. Down in creek bottoms, valleys, sides of ridges and many other places the wind swirls and comes from many directions. Plus in big woods, deer can come from any direction they feel like. I just try to be as scent free as possible and take my chances out there.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

True , if possible I try to get as high as I can , that helps a-lot.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

I don't go over board on scent control, although I do try to minimize it to some degree, don't buy into the high dollar scentlok cloths, BUT this is the very reason that I am a skeptic to those that say, "He was directly down wind of me and never smelled me. My Scentlok works!"
When you're up in a tree and you think you know what way the breezeis blowing, do you really know what it's doing 15', 20', or 20 yards from you? Not really!

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

If the wind changes in the deer's favor you're gonna get busted regardless of what you wear or how thoroughly you descent , try fooling your dog if you don't believe it . I don't care what's downwind of me because I will probably never see it and therefore never had a chance at it to begin with . The only deer that count are the ones directly in front of me right now , all others are just wishful thinking .

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Well ya it will change when your walking around in circles blowing leaves lol couldnt resist.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

The wind, its direction and speed, are the number one factor in which stand I hunt. I have regular clothing, washed in plain water and hung out to dry. I hunt the wind. Period.

A truer statement has never been spoken.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

I really focus on wind direction with stand selection, but I also use Scent-Killer/Scent-Lok clothing. One particular stand I hunt seems that no matter where the wind is coming from, down in that bottom, it is alwaysblowing from the south east. Has to be the lay of the land. Swirling is a real pain though, so I usually take my chances if it swirls.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Absolutely, Greg and Kevin. You cant have everything, you can only try and put yourself in the best situation possible at the time.

Agreed, and how many hours/days on stand and failed attempts did it take to be able to make that statement.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Hunting high is probably the best way to hunt in the wind, but if you are on the slope of a ridge, you may still have problems with any up draft. I hunt high, and use scent control, but not the suits. Tried Dead Down Wind on an exotic hunt last week and I am convinced that is good stuff. I had deer and pigs coming within ten feet of me on the ground.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

I try to hunt the wind, and take a little care in scent control, but i dont get overly uptight about it. I smoke on stand and have had deer walk from down wind a few minutes after putting one out. But, the places i hunt have people on them quite a bit and they dont seem to care as much about human scent unless you get back into some of the less impact areas.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

I wash my clothes in baking soda, use scent killer and hunt the wind.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

I totaly agree with Kevin1 and GregH.
My worst season ever, I'm pretty sure was because I thought I had a good handle on scent control, and was overly confident. I was using scent killer on my clothes. and had a new scent lock suit - man I was ready! (You do realize reactivating your scent lock in the dryer means making them smell like your fresh laundry!)
I usuallyhung my old clothesout side, or when it is raining in a trashbag with leaves and dirt, and play the wind. I'm pretty sure they can totally smell the scent killer sprays, and I know the wind is the trick. Wind not in your favor, change locations!

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Ya'll that play the wind and don't use scent control could never hunt the property that I hunt, the wind changes regularly and deer come from all directions. There is NO good wind no matter where you put the stand. It's a funnel and like I said, a deer could pop out in any direction. That being said and like I said before, there is an acceptable level of human odors that a deer will accept without busting. NO, Whatever, you continue to do what you do and I'll continue to do what I do and have deer downwind, I'll watch them scent me and come to alarm, but not bolt. That's my goal, no blowing, no tails in the air wave good bye. I might not get a shot and they know there is a human near, not close enough to spook (that's what they think) but near none the less, it's a difference of blowing the deer out of your area or just letting them skirt you.

I'll take the skirting deer over the blow and go everyday. My routine works for me no matter what some internet forum guy or gal controdicts it so I'll keep using gimicks and proven methods to success even if the success is only in my mind. What ya'll do in your woods doesn't affect me or the deer in my woods.

I've "hunted" the wind forever and I've never seen it. ;)

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Rob, Ditto!

Any buck in my area that has age on him is going to circle downwind anyway in almost all calling scenarios..no matter the wind..direction..

I hunt mountains..huge forests..try playing or waiting ona consistent wind..if you wait for one..you will never get off the couch...

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

When I was playing college baseball....I was a catcher. I had MANY things that I did in my pre-game ritual that "I" thought improved my chances at success. Were they all tried, true and proven methods? I seriously couldn't give a rat's axx. "I" thought they worked.....and I did them. I'm not talking about rubbing a dead mouse's ear over my equipment 4 times.....I'm talking about legitimate warm-up routines.

WHY IN THE WORLD wouldn't a hunter want to take EVERY precaution they could to AID in becoming "AS" scent-free as possible? I'm not going to purchase a big bubble to walk to my stand in......but I have to have camo, anyways.....and I can afford the scent-blocker type stuff......so what are we really talking about, here????

This is insane. It's like bragging about being a complete axx and still getting the best girl.....and telling the other guy he's a tool for going about courting in a gentlemanly fashion. Why in the WORLD woudn't you at least do everything in your power to stock the odds in your favor?????

I don't get it....

jeff

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Abso-freaking-lutely!!!!

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

"Playing the wind" to me is just a cheap translation of "learning your woods". Every hillside, valley, hollow and ridgetop has it's own "personality" when it comes to wind direction. Learning the "prevailing" wind of your stand sites is a helpful tool. I have figured out for me personallyand my locations in SW Pa, that the prevaling winds are usually S, SW, or W during normal weather patterns. Later in the bow season, when low pressure weather comes into play, north based winds tend to take over on certain days, often causing me to flip-flop my approaches to hunting certain areas since the wind is coming the opposite direction. So what do I do? I have stand sites for the South and West based wind patterns, and stand sites for the north based patterns.

I truly believe I get busted every time I enter the woods because I can't fool every single deer out there. I don't let it bother me, I just base my hunt on a certain group of deer in a certain bedding or food source and be done with it. I concentrate on hunting them, not the entire local herd. If buck A busts me becaue I walked in on the wrong wind direction, that's ok, he'll have to get over it, because I'm gonna bust buck Bsince my stand site for that day is designed to kill him. You can't fool them all, but you can fool the ones you want to hunt. Break down the woods, break down the deer, it get's easier and less stressful.

RE: Hunting the wind???????
 

Rob, what you said about them skirting you but not blowing out of the area, tailsflaggingand a snort thrownin [:@] is right on!! I couldn't agree more.:)