Hunting the Wind - Question
06-28-2012, 10:50 AM
#21
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Addison Michigan
Posts: 11
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.
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.
06-28-2012, 11:10 AM
#22
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Addison Michigan
Posts: 11
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?
Last edited by bioactive; 06-28-2012 at 11:13 AM.
06-28-2012, 11:26 AM
#23
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East Pa.
Posts: 526
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.
It is really funny when an older doe is real close and gets a little wiff. She almost always starts looking up trees.
06-28-2012, 11:31 AM
#24
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Addison Michigan
Posts: 11
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.
06-28-2012, 11:34 AM
#25
Spike
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Addison Michigan
Posts: 11
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.
It is really funny when an older doe is real close and gets a little wiff. She almost always starts looking up trees.
06-28-2012, 03:03 PM
#26
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 40
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
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
Last edited by Broncazonk; 06-28-2012 at 03:09 PM.
06-29-2012, 07:40 AM
#28
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East Pa.
Posts: 526
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.
07-04-2012, 03:18 AM
#29
Spike
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 8
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?
07-04-2012, 03:36 PM
#30
Spike
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Kansas
Posts: 40
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
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
Last edited by Broncazonk; 07-04-2012 at 03:44 PM.