swirly wind... when to slip out.

[flyfishingBowhunter]

Do you stick it out or slip out right away? Man, this wind is killing me .

[growalot]

I live in the hills so that is an every day thing ...except very early or very late...just make sure you do your best at scent control...that includes weapons and your release.....Good Luck

[phade]

Do you stick it out or slip out right away? Man, this wind is killing me .

I will almost ALWAYS move if I get swirling winds to the point it messes up my set or if there are currents/thermals in play that I did not anticipate.

I shot a buck last night with W and WNW winds of about 10-14mph. I was hunting at the bottom of a hillside that fell into muck (bottom land). The wind should have been perfect for entry by looping around from north and west of the spot where I believed the bucks were bedding. In stand, wind would blow W...but when a gust hit, I could tell that it was wrapping around the hillside due to the terrain and woods, and actually blowing from the NE, which was almost dead wrong...E would have been horrible. I watched it very closely and a few puffs of milkweed let me see that the wind was wipping to the corner of the woods over a briar area where I thought I would be OK. Had it not, I was comitted to moving.

I think failing to move, especially when you are compromising your bedding area, is one of the biggest mistakes people make while hunting.

Some people say they hunt in hills and have to deal with swirling wind all day. Most are either super aware and can adjust...or they don't know currents/thermals and typical bedding in hill country.

Edited October 2, 2012 by phade

[Doc]

Everytime you are scented during a stand, another critter is educated about the location of your stand. If the wind starts with that swirling crap and starts sending my scent down the trail that I expect deer to be coming in on, it's time to pack it up and head out, hoping like crazy that it's not already too late. I have seen indications that if scent has blown out along a trail a few times, there is residual scent left behind that deer will pick up on. Trees and goldenrod and such will hold scent "rafts" (little bundles of scent molecules). That is how dogs (and deer) are able to follow trails even though they may be getting quite old and stale. So, if I find wind conditions that are getting a bit out of control, I will leave and come back on another day when things are a bit more stable.

That is one of the reasons why I do like a bit of a prevailing wind. If prevailing winds are strong enough, they do overcome thermals and deflected winds better. I generally have a lot of experience over the years at most of my stands, and have taken note of the reactions of wind and the interaction of prevailing winds, thermals and deflected winds.

[flyfishingBowhunter]

I am totally in agreement. I did end up sticking it out. Only because I felt I was far enough from the beds and it did actually end up more consistent. And the bedding area is a cattail jungle. So I felt there was less chance of my scent getting to them. Later in the hunt the wind changed to my favor. And I had a mature doe in my area even crossing my trail for an hour. Even after I missed her. Lol. Thanks though your replies really helped to hammer the point home.

[growalot]

This got me to thinking...reading the other two responses...perhaps I'm just damn lucky...but 3/4 of the deer I've shot on this hill has been west of me or north west of me...with west north west winds being the norm and swirling....

If I were to..... on a breezy day..... try to move due to swirling winds...I be alerting any unseen deer to my being out in the woods with seen movement and laying a trail of scent at ground level ...where in my opinion is worse...besides pushing them off to other hunters... Increased movement = increase body temps = increase in odor molecules leaving your body

I hunt in a heavy human populated area...where deer routinely smell human scent on the air currents...but not so much on the ground...so ground level scent trails left by me and movement is more of a hunt killer...but ppls experiences differ...two of my better bucks I've shot up wind from me...they came in up wind...one shot at 10yds...last year 3yds....I average 3-6 deer a year...

still say scent control is most important than moving around trying to beat a swirling wind

[Doc]

I sneak in, and I sneak out, and I try to use entrance and departure paths that are not usually used by deer. I say usually because it turns out that deer seem to find there way to everywhere at one time or another ... lol. The quicker I recognize bad wind patterns and leave for another stand, the better.

But one rule that I follow with few exceptions is that I won't hunt a stand that doesn't have as perfect a wind as possible. Everything is dependant on wind conditions, and the penalties for being busted because of wind can be a season-long ruined stand. I have noticed that especially with the older deer, they seldom give you a second chance.

[phade]

I am totally in agreement. I did end up sticking it out. Only because I felt I was far enough from the beds and it did actually end up more consistent. And the bedding area is a cattail jungle. So I felt there was less chance of my scent getting to them. Later in the hunt the wind changed to my favor. And I had a mature doe in my area even crossing my trail for an hour. Even after I missed her. Lol. Thanks though your replies really helped to hammer the point home.

The cattails statement makes me strongly suggest you watch Hunting Marsh Bucks DVD...and the hunting beast forum. I don't have a ton of marsh to hunt, but if I did...I think I'd be more successful bed hunting.

[phade]

This got me to thinking...reading the other two responses...perhaps I'm just damn lucky...but 3/4 of the deer I've shot on this hill has been west of me or north west of me...with west north west winds being the norm and swirling....

If I were to..... on a breezy day..... try to move due to swirling winds...I be alerting any unseen deer to my being out in the woods with seen movement and laying a trail of scent at ground level ...where in my opinion is worse...besides pushing them off to other hunters... Increased movement = increase body temps = increase in odor molecules leaving your body

I hunt in a heavy human populated area...where deer routinely smell human scent on the air currents...but not so much on the ground...so ground level scent trails left by me and movement is more of a hunt killer...but ppls experiences differ...two of my better bucks I've shot up wind from me...they came in up wind...one shot at 10yds...last year 3yds....I average 3-6 deer a year...

still say scent control is most important than moving around trying to beat a swirling wind

"upwind" and downwind means something very different in hill country as compared to flat land (although it's not that simple). Just because the buck was upwind doesn't mean the scent was getting to his nose. Thermals and other factors may have taken your scent stream elsewhere. Picture scent stream not as a line...but more as a spray mist from a spray bottle...the concentration is tight at the beginning but as it spreads out, it covers more space. Now, spray it against a window? Using natural light you can see some of the spray bounce off the window and "mist"....that window can be a block of woods, a knoll, a hill, a curve in a hill, etc. Just because the wind is West, doesn't mean your scent is only there. Thermals can raise or lower. Swells also.

I am a scent control freak...but I also know I don't beat a buck's nose. I practice scent control now more so as a means to reduce my imprint rather than design to fool a buck.

I'm with Doc on this one. Prepare, but be aware.

Edited October 3, 2012 by phade