Playing the wind..

[Bolt action]

Looking for some veteran advice here on how to play the wind. I have access to the property in the pic below. It's 250 acres with the fields being about 200 of that and the woods to the South being the other 50. The crop this year is corn. Oaks are all along the perimeter, and there is an apple orchard touching the southeast corner. The property line stops at the field edge on the east and west sides. I have stands placed where you see numbers on the map. I see deer poop and prints all over. I included a few pix from a cam in front of stand 3. 

The question is, which stand would be optimal for the various winds? I know there is more often than not a west wind. Any advice is appreciated.

 

 

also, how the heck do I rotate the images?

[Steve D]

Edited September 17, 2018 by Steve D

[Daveboone]

It would help if you marked the pics with the N, S, E and west .

That aside, I consider what will be behind me, my approach, the sun not highlighting me, activity in the field...I myself prefer not to hunt so much the field, as the approaches to the fields if there are crops.

[The_Real_TCIII]

Do you know where the deer are bedding?

[Robhuntandfish]

all would depend on where bedding areas are, where your expecting deer to come from, what trails etc.    Wherever yo expect or see them usually coming from and are expecting to shoot you want that wind advantage in your face if possible .  

[grampy]

If your approach is from below #4, with a NW wind, draw a line between #2 and #4. Right in the middle of that line is where I would set up. That will be a staging area for deer scent checking the field. Here you will be far enough off the field to take advantage of movement, without being scented by the deer you are hunting. Also when those crops are cut, deer will tend to filter through there to eyeball as well as scent check to "see who's out there".

Check the area I'm suggesting for rubs and scrapes. Think you may find some there.

Good luck! Looks like a good property.

[Robhuntandfish]

Also check out an easy app to use like Huntstand.  My buddy has a tough time with wind direction and he uses it and i also use it.  You put inn markers where your stands are , then press the wind then hit the "huntzone" and it will show in red where your bad wind is and where it is green is good wind.  It is just a tool that helps a bit to decide where to hunt.  

[Bolt action]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. I should have put on there that N is at the top and S on bottom. Also my only way in to the property is from the top right corner. With that said, my typical travel route is to follow that hedgerow straight down to stand 3. Stands 2 and 4 are new this season. 

[G-Man]

personally id walk middle of field on west side. 

[moog5050]

If you have been hunting stand 3, I assume you set stands 2 and 4 because you observed travel patterns there.  As a general matter, where are the deer coming from and going to when observed?  It may be different in morning and evening and that would play a role in how I decide to access stands and when to hunt them. 

[wolc123]

I would not hunt that property with a North wind (unless you can find another way to access stand #4  from the South.  All the stands look good for a South wind with #1 the best.  # 4 looks the best for a West wind and #2 looks best for an East.   I would also try and not over-hunt any one stand, even if the wind is from the optimum direction for it every time you hunt.   Minimizing time in a stand is more important than always being in the "best" one for a specific stand.   Your scent will linger in the areas you spend the most time, causing them to be unattractive to deer.   Your odds are always best the first time you hunt a stand with an "ok" wind.       

[Bolt action]

It's been tough to pin down deer movement. Since I can't access anything to the east or west, I'm not able to get in the scouting that I'd like to. What I can assume is that they're bedding on the other properties and coming into the corn to feed. Once in the field, I've seen deer all over.. I've seen them come in from the north east, from the north west.. I've seen them come in from the sides, I've seen them come up from the south.. that was all last year though when this was a bean field and I could see the entire length of it. Now I have standing corn that's 8 feet tall so I have to rely on game trails, feeding areas, foot prints, poop, and cameras.

[phade]

I'm not following the property line descriptions. You noted the property lines end at field edge, but stands are in woods. Might just be orientation, but I can't offer advice unless it's clear what is NEWS and overlayed property lines of some sort.

[moog5050]

13 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

It's been tough to pin down deer movement. Since I can't access anything to the east or west, I'm not able to get in the scouting that I'd like to. What I can assume is that they're bedding on the other properties and coming into the corn to feed. Once in the field, I've seen deer all over.. I've seen them come in from the north east, from the north west.. I've seen them come in from the sides, I've seen them come up from the south.. that was all last year though when this was a bean field and I could see the entire length of it. Now I have standing corn that's 8 feet tall so I have to rely on game trails, feeding areas, foot prints, poop, and cameras.

I suspect they will be chopping corn soon.  They did last weekend at our place.  If that's the case, I would want my scent blowing into the field from the stands vs. the woods as much as is possible and access the stands whereby you are disturbing the least amount of woods possible.  Morning will be tough accessing the stands from the fields if deer are feeding.  Use the center hedge row to cover entry if possible.  All look good for a S based wind, but on SW, I would use field edge to far east and vice versa for access.  N winds will be tough no matter what I suspect but if you have no choice, stick to the side in the direction the wind is blowing.  Knowing what is happening on adjacent properties outside of the pic would be helpful too.

[Jdubs]

From NE corner and a prevailing west wind and crops standing, I'd look to walk in via the east edge and drop into #4 from mid-field from a due north bearing in the am.  That could be a nice cut-off route to/from bedding and the apples.  

As grampy noted, #3 area appears to be center stage for deer movement.  Sure is a nice buck you caught on cam there!  An east or south wind sets up for a walk in down the west edge to #2.  Check cards on the way in to pin point movement times and adjust your strategy accordingly.

[phade]

22 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

It's been tough to pin down deer movement. Since I can't access anything to the east or west, I'm not able to get in the scouting that I'd like to. What I can assume is that they're bedding on the other properties and coming into the corn to feed. Once in the field, I've seen deer all over.. I've seen them come in from the north east, from the north west.. I've seen them come in from the sides, I've seen them come up from the south.. that was all last year though when this was a bean field and I could see the entire length of it. Now I have standing corn that's 8 feet tall so I have to rely on game trails, feeding areas, foot prints, poop, and cameras.

Ok, so I am making heads or tails of this. Tough property to hunt.

When the corn comes down - have a plan at best how you might hunt this in the AMs. It may not take much AM hunting pressure post-harvest. Deer will be on those fields heavily in the dark hours and you'll booger them out routinely getting to any of those stands. If you can somehow get a line of cover either in the hedgerow or otherwise, then that might help.

You need to overlay a topo map and see if any portions of the field have a low spot. This low spot will likely be a focus area for evening deer entry should thermals drop down to it. I also would highly consider setting up stands in the northern section - these are less likely to expose you and with the SW or WSW predominant wind direction, you're likely seeing a lot of action along that N line and the corners as bucks scent check and scan for does. Depending on exactly where the property lines are, it appears as if there are a lot of stand locations that could work with the terrain/topo/wind.

I'd also be very alert to that hedgerow while the corn is up. Any low spots in relation to it where the corn didn't grow as well....magnet for deer action while corn is up.

[phade]

The NW and SE corners stand out to me. NW is an easy set-up and map shows some sort of clear terrain change - either in the form of edge change - taller trees vs short, or elevation rise...something is there that the deer are traversing and funneling into just beyond the boundary line. I like this spot for access assuming you aren't burning clear bedding on the north side. If so, you can hunt it probably more than other stands without as much burned ground. I have to assume the deer veer off that feature into the field. If I were to have my druthers with no eyeball scouting, this is where I'd be first sit in the PM with a predominant wind of W NW, or SW. I am assuming that NW field is a swamp or marsh or brushy open ground. Prime spot IMO.

The SE is a no-brainer on a W or SW wind should a deer want to move along that corner/edge.

Stand 4 is in a decent spot for deer that "pop the corner" from where I circled, too.

[Robhuntandfish]

Couldn't agree more with Phade above here.  Was trying to figure out how to draw on your map!   Lol. Not computer savvy for sure. But stand 4 moved in that corner looks like a winner.  

And I would take a wild shot on the Northeast corner about 1/4 of the way down that east side of field to matchup with the little field on the east side.    looks like an edge for them to follow from one field to the other.   And hunt it for a South wind. 

If you aren't planning to move stands.  I would say a west wind isn't terrible for any of them but where deer come out into field from a bedding area is def key.  Figure that out then play the wind accordingly. 

Pm be downwind of the bedding area.  Am might be hard to get to 2,3 without getting busted in the am.  Esp early season if still in summer feeding patterns.