Hunting on Windy Days

[moonwolf]

Do you bother to hunt when you have a windy day? How much sucess do you have hunting on days that are windy? I'm referring mostly to whitetail deer hunting.

[boonieman]

I hate hunting deer on windy days. However, sometimes I have no choice if it's one of my days off and it happens to be windy. I prefer to hunt sitting still or out of a tree stand. But it seems to me when it's windy the deer don't move around a whole lot. When it's windy, I resort to still hunting. (slipping along slowly and quietly) The wind will mask some of your noise, but usually the deer are bedded down and see you way before you ever see them. Now, have I ever slipped up on a deer and got one in the wind? Nope. I've jumped them like rabbits, but never got a clear enough shot. But you never know, I might get lucky some day and it beats the heck out of sitting in the house. My very favorite deer hunting days are calm, in the low 40's or high 30's with a slight fog and on-and-off again drizzle. Second favorite is very still and cold morning withe heavy frost.

I second what boonieman said and add a little more. If it is rifle season and am hunting where there are a lot of hunters nearby, I will go ahead and set in my treestand on windy days. The more hunters in the area the more they will be spooking the deer toward your direction. If bowhunting, give the treestand up and still hunt. You never know when you are going to get lucky and suddenly happen onto several does bedding down. Sometimes if you surprise them they will scatter in all directions and one may come near enough to you for you to get a shot off. I've gotten plenty of shots off like that with a bow. Just didn't connect!

[Bearfootfarm]

I prefer calm days but have killed lots of deer on windy days, especially if theres a light rain. Sometimes if its really windy I hunt thick woods and walk slowly into the wind hoping to jump one up. For that type of hunting I use a shotgun with buckshot.

[shelljo]

If we didn't hunt in the wind, we'd never hunt. Now, when it's blowing 30+, then we aren't successful, cause the deer bed down early, but most of the time, we just deal with the wind. We have placed stands to account for the various wind directions which helps. And, on windy days, seems the deer stay in the trees, so we have more success in stands that aren't so open.

Now, remember, I'm in NW KS, trees exist only on creeks and shelter belts and some deserted farmsteads.

[TnTnTn]

The TN youth hunt was just this past weekend and it was very windy on both days. My 10yr old son and I were out there but did not get a shot. We did see a deer each day but they were jumped by us as we moved. In my experience deer don't seem to move very much voluntarily on very windy days. But I do hunt when I can. The deer are out there somewhere. TnTnTn

[jross]

Around here, deer seem to move to more open areas when the wind is blowing fairly hard. Maybe because they can see better and there is less movement all around them.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we have opening weekend thats it so it doesn't matter if it is snowin 3 inches an hour ,raining ,blowing ,70 degress F, 10 below zero ,or freezing rain we hunt

they do tend to bed down more but them you just have to drive the pines and the swamps we can very efectivly drive with 8 people 4 to 5 standers 3 or 4 drivers but we drive very slow more like stalking this way the arn't as spooked and a lot of the time drivers get good shots to.

just remember your compass driving cedar swamps and pines walk slowly 15 yards check compass look around walk again looking and listening the hole time.
stopping to pause every few steps. drive with the wind this lets your sent cary to the deer the get up and walk twards the standers by the time they see the standers ther are usualy in range and the lead is flying.

just be very carfull not to shoot you drivers or standers and don't drive corn fields nothing to stop the slugs unless you drive to a clearing and only shoot in the clearing with standers shooting accross the clearing from the side.


our gun deer seeson in Wisconsin starts the sat before thanks giving ends the sunday night after

[alleyyooper]

Not sure about the kind of wind your talking about but think you meen a strong one. I don't like trees stands then as I tend to get motion sick and find it had to get a steady shot. I also don't like hardwoods then either as trees like to shed branches then which fall. I like to either still hunt cedar swamps during windy days or just use a ground blindin there. The cedars reduce the wind some and the deer do move around in there too. Even then still hunting the cedars I think is really the best option here since the deer atend to bed down and wait out the wind before moving into the hardwoods for the acorns. Still hunting is moving slow, some thing like 15 feet an hour for us.
Yes I have gotten a couple hunting that way. Also a couple from a blind in the cedar swamp.

Al