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Stray balloon in the woods.

The only, and I mean only, reason that this could have any importance is that thermals and winds will push a deflating balloon to its final resting place. In hunting "balloon" theory this means that the winds are pushing to this spot, possibly allowing a "smart" deer to bed and allow the wind to notify them of danger. The problem with this is that you don't even know what direction the balloon came from lol! If I randomly come across a balloon on the ground it typically is meaningless; but if it's in an area that I have determined worth scouting, and it makes sense (bedding/edges/etc), I may check around...
 
It makes sense that many would find their way to a thermal hub which would coincide with bedding, but many would not. Just an odds thing.

I have one area near a school, and there's tons of balloons there. I'm guessing they let balloons off at schools more than most places, but I'd think they'd rise so high that they'd land miles away.
 
bowhunthard88 said:
The only, and I mean only, reason that this could have any importance is that thermals and winds will push a deflating balloon to its final resting place. In hunting "balloon" theory this means that the winds are pushing to this spot, possibly allowing a "smart" deer to bed and allow the wind to notify them of danger. The problem with this is that you don't even know what direction the balloon came from lol! If I randomly come across a balloon on the ground it typically is meaningless; but if it's in an area that I have determined worth scouting, and it makes sense (bedding/edges/etc), I may check around...
Click to expand...

You don't think that maybe mature bucks bring balloons back to their crib in order to pimp it out for the ladies, like an octopus garden or crows liking shiny stuff?

It's also partly confirmation bias. If you already think an area is hot and you like it.....then you see the balloon....must be a sign for sure.

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I've seen 3 balloons in the woods, one made sense somewhat with thermals, the other two didn't, but it was in a pretty urban area. If I wasn't anti-littering I'd be tempted to bring some deflated balloons into the woods on public and leave them in random spots just to see if a stand shows up nearby
 
thedutchtouch said:
I've seen 3 balloons in the woods, one made sense somewhat with thermals, the other two didn't, but it was in a pretty urban area. If I wasn't anti-littering I'd be tempted to bring some deflated balloons into the woods on public and leave them in random spots just to see if a stand shows up nearby
Click to expand...
I dont understand why all these folks that make it on the news or post on social with these big balloon releases are not cited for littering.
 
I believe it has a little bit of merit. I ran into one Spring scouting a few years ago in a spot that didn't seem to be anything special. Seeing the balloon made me stop and take a closer look around and I found enough subtle sign that I decided it was worth throwing a trail camera on. I got multiple above average bucks on camera that first year, and all daylight pics, mostly middle of the day daylight pics. It's become my best spot to hunt and I've shot 2 nice bucks since within 50yds and had opportunities at others. If I hadn't have found that balloon I would have walked right past that area.
 
I basically look at it this way.
Not all great spots will have a balloon.
Not all balloons are in great spots.
If you are seeing 100's of balloons, then they won't be much help.
If you are almost exclusively finding balloons in spots that have great buck sign, start paying attention when you see a balloon. This is where my local situation is. To put this in perspective I found 4 or 5 balloons in nearly 100 miles (literally) of post season scouting and turkey hunting this year since February 1. They were all in spots that had good buck sign. The hundreds of acres surrounding those spots were deer deserts.
 
That’s Dan Infalts scouting technique. Find a balloon… hang a stand.
 
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