What are your strategies on windy days

[damore81]

I personally do not like to sit 16ft up in a tree swaying backing and forth hoping that I dont end up hanging from my harness. Not to mention in my experience I have not seen much activity on extremely windy days so I like to put on a stalk. I can normally stalk and have the noise from the wind cover up my foot steps not to mention I find alot of deer bunkered down during those windy days.

[outdoorstom]

Windy days are perfect for sneaking through a cornfield.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

On the land I am hunting opening week ...if it gets windy I will be still hunting the sheltered slopes....hemlock bottoms and the thick pines. no standing corn around me but that move is perfect on those days

[damore81]

I wish I had corn around me but no such luck. I have big open fields, some big hard woods and pines that I still hunt. My honey hole is a thick brush field that I have a ladder stand set up in on one of the few trees that are in there however on a windy day it is not smart to go in because I am all open and exposed.

[Fantail]

Depends on your definition of extreem wind. [ There's a fart joke in there ] But generally if I can't find a natural wind break then it does me no good to drive 2 hours to freeze in 2 hours. I have in the past brought the blind for shelter and yeah that works but if you got 1/2 the windows closed then .. well I hope the lane is good.

[Doc]

Mix a little rain in with that high wind, and my strategy is to find something else to do that day....lol.

The last couple of days, we have had some wind that would require a bowhunter to be adept at hitting some pretty fast moving targets. Trying to shoot a deer that is being blown across in front of me is not something that I have had a lot of practice at. That end-over-end gait makes it a bit hard to hit the kill zone.

No, seriously, I have never had any luck in high winds. Seldom do I see any deer that are willing to put up with those kinds of conditions. They usually are hunkered down in pretty tight areas and not willing to move. And the few that I have seen have been sneaking around in a spring-loaded condition studying everything and not giving much of a break. Those kind of days have always been very low percentage days that I found are better used doing something that is more productive.

Doc

[Core_Lokt]

looks like its going to be windy here where I am for opening day, 15-20 mph.  If you are hunting on a mountain or mountainous terrain, try and find the side of the mountain that is sheltered from the wind (usually the east side) and sit in a good stand there if you have one, or set up a blind/find a comfy stump.  Deer will move through those areas finding the PERFECT spot to get out of the wind.  Thats what I'll be doing opening day  ;D

Core_Lokt

[Doc]

looks like its going to be windy here where I am for opening day, 15-20 mph.  If you are hunting on a mountain or mountainous terrain, try and find the side of the mountain that is sheltered from the wind (usually the east side) and sit in a good stand there if you have one, or set up a blind/find a comfy stump.  Deer will move through those areas finding the PERFECT spot to get out of the wind.  Thats what I'll be doing opening day  ;D

Core_Lokt

Here's the good news about gun season opening day. The deer have no choice regarding being picky about whether they will move in the wind or not. Once they get that first half-day shock of the invasion of the orange-coats, they begin to figure it all out. Of course at that point they all seem to disappear - wind or no wind .... lol. But opening day of gun season,as long as you get a good hunter turnout, the weather shouldn't have any impact.

I was thinking about bow season when I wrote my reply. During bow season, I hate windy days. Gun season ..... not so much. In fact a little wind can be a good thing for gun season.

Doc

[Core_Lokt]

Here's the good news about gun season opening day. The deer have no choice regarding being picky about whether they will move in the wind or not. Once they get that first half-day shock of the invasion of the orange-coats, they begin to figure it all out. Of course at that point they all seem to disappear - wind or no wind .... lol. But opening day of gun season,as long as you get a good hunter turnout, the weather shouldn't have any impact.

I was thinking about bow season when I wrote my reply. During bow season, I hate windy days. Gun season ..... not so much. In fact a little wind can be a good thing for gun season.

Doc

This is true.  The deer are going so be so thrown off by the hunters and shots that I suppose the wind won't matter as much, just the fact that they WANT TO LIVE......  

Good luck, Doc and all,

Core_Lokt

[Doc]

I hope to be reporting in tomorrow night with blood stains on my shiny new orange hunting coat and stories of the monster buck that didn't get away ;D . My record on opening day hunts isn't as good as the average hunter. My successes usually occur in the days after the opener. However, I can certainly hope to break that streak.

So wind or no wind, I will definitely put in a complete day's hunt and be hoping for the best. I'm also hoping for the best of luck for the rest of you too.

Doc

[Landowner]

I stalk to the fridge and grab another BUD-LITE. They never run away.

[bubba]

my strategy yesterday was to hang out at camp.  I came home to do a few things. Going back this afternoon before the front comes in. OH yeah BTW, a friend gave me a dmp, so I can hunt deer again.

[Cabin Fever]

As windy as it was on the opener, my strategy was to strap in and hang on!!!

[Windsorhunter]

It depends on the temp.  If it is a warm South wind, get some things on the honey do list done.  If the temp is down, say in the 30's  I like to stay put.  Not sure why, but I have had good luck hunting thick stuff in the wind.  Take this past opening day, I saw absolutely nothing from sun up until 2:30 that afternoon.  The wind was howling in the afternoon and I saw 2 doe, one small buck, a spike (all passed on) and a real good buck (could not get a clean shot on) all before I harvested this guy at 3:15.  That's 6 deer in 45 minutes.  It may not sound like a lot to some folks, but in some portions of Broome County, that might be all one sees in an entire season.