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Choice of wind

Slabzilla73

Slabzilla73

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2021
Messages
373
Would you rather hunt a calm day or a day with some type of breeze? I rarely see deer on calm days so I'd have to roll with wind. What say the saddle hunting community?
 
I like a little breeze to mask movement. I feel deer don't feel comfortable moving when there is too much wind. Everything in the woods is moving all at once. It's got to be sensory overload for them. Very still conditions don't seem to be good and windy conditions don't seem to be good either.
 
Honestly I can't tell. I've seen some BIG bucks on days when the trees are swaying and have seen BIG bucks on calm days. For me wind speed is the last thing on my radar when it comes to choosing to hunt that day or not.
 
I guess I like the wind for cover on the way in or out of the stand. Wind n frost really knocked the crap out of the leaves so with this last week of E or SE winds at 1-3mph it was a struggle to get in & out of my spots quietly.
 
I prefer a light consistent wind, 5-10mph. Here once it goes above 15 sustained, the deer movement slows way down and 20 or above is a go scouting day. That said some of the midwestern states seems like light to calm wind days suppresses movement based on what I hear from folks that hunt there.
 
Slabzilla73 said:
Would you rather hunt a calm day or a day with some type of breeze? I rarely see deer on calm days so I'd have to roll with wind. What say the saddle hunting community?
Click to expand...

steady breeze that isn't too hard and doesn't vary....really calm days the wind still micro swirls and it just kinda spreads in all directions like a drop of ink on a paper towel and the thermals are the only thing that will save you while they are rising
 
Wild animals have no time to waste while waiting for the right wind. They move around every day, maybe not where we expect them. I go out for hunting every day i have the opportunity to do so.
 
There are many more advantages to windy days than there are for calm days. Wind covers your movement getting to your stand, climbing up and helps cover movement once up in the tree including being able to draw undetected. It also helps keep your scent going in the direction that keeps you undetected. Calm days offer none of these advantages.
I also think that this could be a regional thing. My father in law used to hunt on a private island off the coast of Maine. He told me the deer on that island would not move unless there was some wind. Average days out there the wind would blow 15 to 20 mph. A lot of days it blew harder than that. Him and his buddies would stay in camp when it was dead calm. He killed a 180 class buck on that island on a day when the wind was blowing about 25 to 30 mph.
 
I prefer a steady breeze. Maybe 3-5 kts being ideal. Too windy in my region and the deer activity tends to drop. The steady breeze keeps wind moving in one predictable direction. Downside to no breeze at all (as others have mentioned) is the air can sometimes swirl around a bit or just drop down from your stand and spread out (depending on thermals). Not ideal for close encounters. Benefit of no wind is you can hear the deer coming from way off if the leaves are dry and be as prepared as possible, but of course the same is true for the deer hearing you come in :D
 
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