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Hunting "off wind"

P

public_land

Active Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
145
Location
North Central Oklahoma
Does anyone have an example of hunting "off wind"? I am familiar with down wind and up wind. But I am not very sure on hunting "off wind"? Maybe a marked up aerial that could illustrate the idea?

Thanks in advance.
 
Off wind means that the wind is blowing towards the approaching deer but misses him by a few degrees. This is used a lot when hunting bedding, scrapes, destination spots.... A lot of folks talk about it but I think it is way over stated and happens b y chance most of the time. And some areas of the country and various terrain features make this almost impossible in most cases. The winds are just too light and variable and swirl.... and then there are thermals. If you have consistent winds then you can try it but it is tricky and it only takes a little swirling to bust a deer.
 
I would love to be able to hunt off winds. Here in Georgia we don’t have winds that are good for it. Basically a forecasted wind means the wind will mostly blow from one direction but may blow from several directions. A steady wind usually means it’s blowing too hard to see much deer activity.
 
Thanks for the info and quick replies.

Seems like hunting the wind can still be unpredictable even with forecasts.

I have been reading up on thermals, off winds, wind directions, etc. A lot of information states that getting high enough in a tree may alleviate some of these issues. Any truth to that? I feel that if you can get high enough, off wind may be useful if I can wrap my head around it. But, how high is high enough (ignoring terrain features, as this will compound the question)?
 
Every situation is different. Start using milkweed and you will learn a lot. Wind is not very predictable. You can use the predominant wind to get an idea but it is only most of the winds direction not all of it.
 
May be a stupid question but , where can I find milkweed?? Does it grow in south Louisiana?


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Example:

Bedding/sign is best for a SW wind
The off winds to hunt the area would be SSW or WSW

Here's the basic idea as I understand it:

off_wind.jpg
 
public_land said:
Thanks for the info and quick replies.

Seems like hunting the wind can still be unpredictable even with forecasts.

I have been reading up on thermals, off winds, wind directions, etc. A lot of information states that getting high enough in a tree may alleviate some of these issues. Any truth to that? I feel that if you can get high enough, off wind may be useful if I can wrap my head around it. But, how high is high enough (ignoring terrain features, as this will compound the question)?
Click to expand...

Yes typically around 30 feet you will be getting the top of the wind column where wind is steadier (as long as it's blowing at a steady rate) and thermals are keeping your scent off the forest floor. However getting this high on mobile setups can be tricky and also presents more severe shot angles.
 
Tapeworm said:
The deer think the wind is still in their favor
Click to expand...
To me, this is the key point of “off wind”. A buck is bedded in a particular spot with a particular wind for a reason - so that he can smell anything behind him. If he is bedding in a location meant for a SW wind like d_rek’s example and the wind is coming out of the N, then he won’t bed there.

So an off wind like SSW or WSW makes him think he still has the wind in his favor and he beds in that spot, but that wind direction may give you the few degrees you need to get into position without being smelled.
 
Mikerkulbeth said:
May be a stupid question but , where can I find milkweed?? Does it grow in south Louisiana?


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Click to expand...

I have not seen milkweed in Louisiana. Not quite as good but use the seeds from a cattail instead if can't get any milkweed.
 
drew13 said:
To me, this is the key point of “off wind”. A buck is bedded in a particular spot with a particular wind for a reason - so that he can smell anything behind him. If he is bedding in a location meant for a SW wind like d_rek’s example and the wind is coming out of the N, then he won’t bed there.

So an off wind like SSW or WSW makes him think he still has the wind in his favor and he beds in that spot, but that wind direction may give you the few degrees you need to get into position without being smelled.
Click to expand...

Exactly

And u may have a very very narrow slice/few degrees of advantage in ur favor & a few seconds of shot opportunity before u r busted








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EricS said:
I would love to be able to hunt off winds. Here in Georgia we don’t have winds that are good for it. Basically a forecasted wind means the wind will mostly blow from one direction but may blow from several directions. A steady wind usually means it’s blowing too hard to see much deer activity.
Click to expand...

Same in My area of SC. We have too much terrain and not enough consistent wind to sit at home looking at a forecast and say I need to “x” without having hunted it before. The higher the wind speed climbs the more predictable it can be, but you still need to know what it’s doing at your location. For me, that’s where the milkweed comes in.

I’ll use it before I climb to make sure I’m good and keep using once I climb. One of the main things I use it for once I’m in the tree is to know where I can’t let a deer get too without asking for trouble. Dropping and watching it throughout a sit will tell you the location you simply can’t let a deer reach if you want to kill it.
 
Sometimes people on here sell a few pods. Also Google it for sale and see if you can get some. Cattail sees will work.....some say that it's a little different than milkweed.
 
Etsy has it. We did a September scout trip to mizzou and picked enough to last our crew through the season. A couple of people started threads on here offering to pick and ship
 
thanks everyone. that clears things up. I will start playing with some milkweed while on stand and see if I can't learn more. We have milkweed all over. Hopefully it isn't too late to find some still.
 
I had it happen to me on my last hunt first sit just outside a known bedding area. Forecast was for a NW wind but once I got in the stand it was actually coming out of the NE which was an off wind. Had a shooter come in and froze as soon as he caught my wind. He stood there and looked around for about 5 minutes. He was at about 40 yards but behind some thick stuff. 5 more yards is all I needed to get a shot but he just turned around and eased back into the bedding area.
 
kyler1945 said:
Etsy has it. We did a September scout trip to mizzou and picked enough to last our crew through the season. A couple of people started threads on here offering to pick and ship
Click to expand...

Thanks! Yea quick eBay search turned up plenty.


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