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-   -   Hunting the Wind - Question (https://www.huntingnet.com/forum/whitetail-deer-hunting/366086-hunting-wind-question.html)

bioactive 06-28-2012 10:50 AM


Originally Posted by Gunplummer (Post 3947395)
Anybody that has a web address to show how to bait deer is not going to tell me anything of value about deer hunting. The first time you bait deer you have already disrupted the natural habits of deer. What kind of sharp stick do you use. Spear?

Again, a deer's sense of smell is highly over rated. I don't smoke anymore, but have had numerous deer within 10 feet of me with a burning cigarette and a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the log. The slightest breeze is enough to remove your scent. The reason deer take off at 800 yards when they get a wiff of you is because deer can not determine how far away you are by your scent, another wild rumor. Once the leaves are down and the rifles come out, a deer's best defense is eyesight. On a windy day deer are just screwed. I hunted VW last year. First day hard rain-no movement. 2nd day-hard rain in the morning, bad wind in the afternoon but cleared up. I was sneaking down a deep ravine out of the wind and shot a buck in less than an hour of hunting. Did that many a time and others I hunt with do it also. 20-30 yards? Try 20 feet during rifle season.

If you are talking about me, I don't bait deer. Have no idea where you got that idea.

bioactive 06-28-2012 11:10 AM


Originally Posted by HOG HUNTER 2175 (Post 3947567)
Wrong answer slick. stay down wind and you will find that you will harvest more deer. A deer has excellent eyesight, it's just that they are colorblind and only see in shades of gray. they can see movement very easily.

You must have read the book "How to make friends and influence people." I know most people love to be called "slick," especially when the person using the term is giving wrong information. Deer see colors very well in certain parts of the spectrum, especially in the middle to low wavelengths of yellow-green to blue, and may see better than humans as you get into the smaller wavelength blues. You might say bright blue is to them like hunter orange is to a human. They can even distinguish reds and oranges from the mid-wavelengths (in day time). So no, their world is not grey at all. Read this, (LINK) one of many articles on the subject, and let me know what you think, sport.:biggrin:

As far as staying down wind goes, that is the philosophy of most hunters. However, most hunters do not know what the wind is really doing, so often mistakenly think they are down wind when they are really up wind based on terrain features, thermals, and larger weather related effects like passing clouds.

Ever sit around a campfire in the woods? Have to move your chair at all?

Gunplummer 06-28-2012 11:26 AM

Why didn't you type the last post first instead of that crap about sharp sticks? I agree. People totally over rate HOW deer can smell. I used to keep a small downey feather on a piece of thread taped to my bow when still hunting. It would shock a lot of people to see how just a boulder can change a breeze direction.
It is really funny when an older doe is real close and gets a little wiff. She almost always starts looking up trees.

bioactive 06-28-2012 11:31 AM


Originally Posted by HOG HUNTER 2175 (Post 3947567)
Wrong answer slick. stay down wind and you will find that you will harvest more deer. A deer has excellent eyesight, it's just that they are colorblind and only see in shades of gray. they can see movement very easily.

Oh, I forgot to mention your comment on excellent eyesight. Deer have very low visual acuity, in fact from a few yards away, they cannot distinguish leaves on a bush. Dr. Gino D'Angelo and colleagues (I have taken a course in which Gino presented results on deer senses) studied deer vision using test similar to a vision chart in human except using black bars of different sizes. They concluded that deer have about 80% less visual acuity than humans, the equivalent of 20/100 distance vision. Analysis of the anatomy of the deer eye further supports that it is incapable of providing a high degree of acuity. LINK

Deer do collect more light in their eyes than humans do and so can see shapes better at night than we can but they still have very poor vision in terms of acuity.

In contrast, they have excellent motion detection capabilities, which is what I think you were trying to convey. They also have very good peripheral vision, but again, this mainly aids them in motion detection.

bioactive 06-28-2012 11:34 AM


Originally Posted by Gunplummer (Post 3947925)
Why didn't you type the last post first instead of that crap about sharp sticks? I agree. People totally over rate HOW deer can smell. I used to keep a small downey feather on a piece of thread taped to my bow when still hunting. It would shock a lot of people to see how just a boulder can change a breeze direction.
It is really funny when an older doe is real close and gets a little wiff. She almost always starts looking up trees.

You are confusing me. Did you read my post #8? I went into a lot more detail on wind there.

Broncazonk 06-28-2012 03:03 PM

5 Attachment(s)
Gunplummer wrote, "People totally over rate HOW deer can smell."

Understanding the importance and effect of wind direction on big game animals (including whitetail deer) is a fundamendal part of the art and science of hunting. An ignorance of these principles is similar to a doctor being ignorant of biology and anatomy, or a lawyer being ignorant of state statutes.

A hunter who ignores the wind and its profound effects on big game animals is utterly incompetent in the field and is literally wasting his time. That's a categorical statement.

I've enclosed my bona fides (that I know what I'm talking about) in the form of photos of my last 7 deer. (And I will provide photos of the 10 deer before that if that's really necessary.)

I'm always willing to view Gunplummer's last 7 deer should this debate need to continue...

Bronc

Broncazonk 06-28-2012 03:06 PM

2 Attachment(s)
When you ignore the wind, you are wasting your time...

Bronc

Gunplummer 06-29-2012 07:40 AM

I hunt public land for the most part. The photos do not impress me. Anybody can kill big deer during the rut in an area with no pressure. Why don't you hunt public land in WV and Pa during the rifle season and show us how it is done? The big deer are there, if you can get them.

DaleSeniorFan3 07-04-2012 03:18 AM

I hunt PA as well, and some areas where i bow hunt are often close to houses, football fields, places with a lot of public activity, etc. where deer smell humans in the air all the time. Do you think scent is a big factor in areas like that?

Broncazonk 07-04-2012 03:36 PM


Originally Posted by DaleSeniorFan3 (Post 3949208)
Do you think scent is a big factor in areas like that?

You bet. A big buck's nose is his No. 2 defensive weapon. No. 3 is his hearing and No. 4 is his sight. Number 1 in a big buck's defense arsenal is his behavior--they are VERY smart and disciplined and mostly nocturnal. Most hunters DRAMATICALLY underestimate how smart and crafty mature bucks are.

Hunting big urban bucks is not easy. A city buck can tell the difference between a hunter and a non-hunter just by the sound (the pace) of their walk. And they will hang tight in their bed until you step on them.

It's the smell coming out of your lungs, your breath, the smell of your sweat, and odor of your scalp and hair that is most offensive to deer, not just detergents.

A big, mature buck will immediately stop what he is doing and exit the location after he winds you. He can wind you at a half a mile in the right conditions. And after he winds you, he will flee between a (1) mile and (5) five miles depending on the terrain.

Only a fool ignores the wind.

Bronc


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