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Quartering Wind Direction- How close is too close?

DroptineKrazy said:
I have always said that whitetail hunting is all about putting the odds in your favor. I love it when I can find a good pinch point that I can hunt with both of our predominate wind directions. NW for highs or good weather and SW or SE for lows and bad weather. Add good access to the equation and you have got yourself a killer spot. I sometimes will scour Google earth for hours looking for these types of set ups.
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Spots like this a gold mines if you can find them. I have spent tons of time on GE as well. You can learn a lot.
 
kbetts said:
I kill 90% of my deer in marginal winds. It's the one tactic I specifically practice and use. Sometimes it's the difference between two trees, as close as 5 yds apart. One gets you picked 99% of the time, the other let's you skate 50% of the time.
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Thank you. This is what I was looking for. This is one of those spots. Too far to one side and you'll getting picked. Too far to the other and your out of the game and probably just watch them. The key is how far is too far? I could slide back 20 yds and probably be just fine on getting winded but then your looking at 40 -50 yd shot.
 
1simplemann said:
I use this tactic as well. I'll block a trail that goes downwind of the tree and force them upwind. Sometimes I do the opposite. I remove the obstacles and make the trail very obvious. They'll take the path of the least resistance most of the time.. In this case the natural terrain feature is that ridge. It's only 15-20 wide. 300-400 yds long. They are following the whole length of it between the bedding areas. The wind is marginal but I think it'll work if they stay on the ridge and don't vear off. It'll be close 10-15 yds at most. I guess the only way I'll know is to hunt it. Normally though I don't like to cut it that close. I prefer more of cross wind.
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Sounds like that is one of those "You've got nothing to lose" spots. Any given time you can hunt it may be a bust or you might just hit the jackpot. It's worth it to me in those types of situations because the way I figure it is that if you do get busted it might not have any effect on the next time you hunt there because there will be many different bucks going between those 2 bedding areas come November.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Sounds like that is one of those "You've got nothing to lose" spots. Any given time you can hunt it may be a bust or you might just hit the jackpot. It's worth it to me in those types of situations because the way I figure it is that if you do get busted it might not have any effect on the next time you hunt there because there will be many different bucks going between those 2 bedding areas come November.
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I agree with a caveat: if you lay down a bunch of ground scent or scare the does away, then you're gonna know it.

I think pressure explains half of the "October lull" and the "lockdown phase of the rut".
 
raisins said:
I agree with a caveat: if you lay down a bunch of ground scent or scare the does away, then you're gonna know it.

I think pressure explains half of the "October lull" and the "lockdown phase of the rut".
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Agree. Access is key. I believe too many guys just take the path of least resistant just like the deer do. lol
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Agree. Access is key. I believe too many guys just take the path of least resistant just like the deer do. lol
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Yep, that's what keeps me interested all these years. I wish I could walk distance in rubber/neoprene boots, but I have flat feet and Morton's toe, so if I walk a mile in slip ons, I'm gonna be all kinds of not good. I just do as much as I can to keep my leather boots not loaded with human scent.

With the October lull, I think a lot of it is that folks start walking to the same stand over and over and then...surprise.....the deer disappear. Or they do the same thing in the rut, and again....surprise....they stop seeing deer and then they blame "lockdown".
 
raisins said:
Yep, that's what keeps me interested all these years. I wish I could walk distance in rubber/neoprene boots, but I have flat feet and Morton's toe, so if I walk a mile in slip ons, I'm gonna be all kinds of not good. I just do as much as I can to keep my leather boots not loaded with human scent.

With the October lull, I think a lot of it is that folks start walking to the same stand over and over and then...surprise.....the deer disappear. Or they do the same thing in the rut, and again....surprise....they stop seeing deer and then they blame "lockdown".
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Yup! I've had people who were amazed that I'd hunt when it's raining or snowing and windy. I always tell them "What do you think the deer do come inside? They didn't go anywhere. They are mostly skirting around well-known stand sites.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Agree. Access is key. I believe too many guys just take the path of least resistant just like the deer do. lol
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Access is pretty good. I can slide right up to the north end of the island. Park the boat. Walk the shore line in the water, and slide in 60 yds to the tree. Not crossing any well traveled trail. There might be a deer or 2 that will meander through there but most of the action looks to be in front of me. I have to walk through the scrape area but I won't cross the major trail.
 
1simplemann said:
Thank you. This is what I was looking for. This is one of those spots. Too far to one side and you'll getting picked. Too far to the other and your out of the game and probably just watch them. The key is how far is too far? I could slide back 20 yds and probably be just fine on getting winded but then your looking at 40 -50 yd shot.
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The reason I go back and forth with a compound. I love my trad hunting, but sometimes you have to have that extra range. We may only be talking 15 yards, but play the game long enough and you'll understand it makes a difference.
 
kbetts said:
The reason I go back and forth with a compound. I love my trad hunting, but sometimes you have to have that extra range. We may only be talking 15 yards, but play the game long enough and you'll understand it makes a difference.
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Totally understand. Sometimes it does make a difference. Not just on hunting either. When I'm SMB fishing, if I'm casting 15 yds away from the the rock piles I'll never get bit. It's like night and day.
 
1simplemann said:
Totally understand. Sometimes it does make a difference. Not just on hunting either. When I'm SMB fishing, if I'm casting 15 yds away from the the rock piles I'll never get bit. It's like night and day.
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That's the difference between fishermen and deer hunters. The fisherman figures that out and moves the boat so they can cast to the spot. Deer hunters are like give me a longer range weapon so I dont have to put any additional effort in. @kbetts that's not directed at you, it a general deer hunter observation.
 
Well I'll say this, you can't get big rewards with out big risks. If a big guy busts you, it was too close. Be smart about entry and exit, don't over hunt it, and even if it absolutely sucks doing it, if the best way in takes you 2 miles, well take the best way in....
Don't overthink it, take the chances you have, and if it doesn't work out make sure you learn from it.
 
BTaylor said:
That's the difference between fishermen and deer hunters. The fisherman figures that out and moves the boat so they can cast to the spot. Deer hunters are like give me a longer range weapon so I dont have to put any additional effort in. @kbetts that's not directed at you, it a general deer hunter observation.
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I get it.

Sometimes you have to make due with the circumstances. For the games I like, a compound increases that range just enough.
 
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