RE: I always hear this story...
 

I make my decision in the morning and stick with it for the day.I base my decision on the wind direction from the weather report. There are so many hills and valleys on the property, we never know which way the wind will blow during the day so I place my stands where deer can come from several locations. I also hunt in pine trees about 25 feet off the ground to keep from being winded or seen.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

If you believe a deers eyes are that good .Hears something to try. The next night you have to go scouting put your camo on just like you are hunting and drive to a field.Go to the down wind side and sit down in the tree line and wait for the deer to come out to feed. When the deer start feeding take a white handkerchief out and slowly wave it back and forth. I will bet you any thing you want that those deer will look up stomp their feet and then walk to you to try to find out what you are.

If you take the same scenario and let them wind you they will turn and run with the first whiff of you.

A deers eyes are great at catching movement but they have a hard time with identifying stationary objects.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Agreed.

I don't do things to intentionally make deer see me, though.....no more than you'd take your dog hunting with you to prove their olfactory prowess.

Agreed....and that's ALL I've been saying in this thread.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Just comparing the two.

With good camo a deers eyes can be fooled ,the same can not be done with his nose.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

I certainly watch the wind and have stands or options for changing conditions. But let me ask a question.
You are hunting the edge of a woods where it meets a field: Just say, up is North, and the field is the most lushes biologic ever planted. There are numerous trails in the thick woods with no single bedding area.

What wind do you hunt this stand, without risking spooking deer?

Woods

____________YOU__________(tree line)

Field

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Let me give you a real-life example, GR8.

I hunt the North side of a parks system. My hunting grounds consist of tracts of land that are: 25 acres; 3 acre break (my land); 25 acres; 15 acre break; 3 acres; 2 acres; 2 acre break; 2 acre break and one last 10 acre woodlot.

If I catch a North wind......NOWHERE do I have a spot to hunt. I pick a spot that I LEAST expect to encounter the buck I'm after....and I hunt the South side of it (the 10 acre woodlot). That way.....I've got those 10 acres of clean woods....if I can get in there without being sighted.

Therein lies MY dilemma. I have to hunt what I have. Bu tyou can bet your ass.....if I catch a West or South wind.....I'll pick a good entry route to my better stands and set up an ambush. If the wind shifts around from the North......I MIGHT get down......but by the time I'm up in the tree.....I'm fairly committed.

Granted.....I live in a target-rich environment that has deer probably passing off a "little more" human scent than most. I bank on that. If I hunted the flats of Kanasas I might have a different outlook. If I had more days to hunt I might. If I had wings I'd dive bomb 'em.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Chances are does and young bucks will walk a direct route from their beds to the field edge. A mature buck will most likely not enter the field before dark unless the rut is near or happening . Your best stand placement would be some where around twenty yards inside the woods on the down wind corner of this field. A mature buck will circle and scent check this field from the safety of the woods first before entering the field.If the wind varies then two stands would be ideal.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Jim that's certainly a textbook answer. Do you throw caution to the wind during the rut? Is it better to have hunted and taken a chance on that buck being stupid one day......than to never take the chance?

I suppose I play to their stupid side. I'd like to be ther eif they get stupid, sometimes. numbers game, I suppose.

I'm a recreational....somewhat fanatical (albeit) recreational hunter. I work and I have limited grounds to hunt. If it's a Saturday during hunting season.....I'll be in the woods.....morning and evening......wind direction be damned. I'll find soemwhere the least obtrusive.....and I'll hunt. I would bet that I'm more like the "norm" for most. If I continue to realize "success" like I did last year.....I'll continue my approach. Not saying yours is wrong, at all. I'm playing the hand I'm dealt (to a degree).

Good luck.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

Do you ever watch W.P.T.[World poker tour]those guys play the hands they are dealt and about a dozen of them win every tournament. Why do they win ? Because they play those cards better than the others play their cards.
No one enjoys hunting more than I do ,with that said I find hunting much more satisfying when I win.
I stated before in PA we get one tag per year ,so unlike you I spend very little time killing and a whole lot of time hunting. Look at like you are playing chess but you start the game with only a king and a queen and the strategy changes completely, its a new game.
I hunt on 150 acer that I know very well and I use that knowledge to my advantage as much as possible.

You are hunting to kill as many animals as possible ,I in turn am hunting to kill just one.

RE: I always hear this story...
 

FORGET THE WIND JUST HUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!