How do you handle windy days?

[4rcgoat]

He said “The wind never blows in Wyoming,”

I said, “Mister, where you from?
It’ll take the top offa big R.C.

Or peel an unripened plum!

Wherever you been, you been lied to!

I lived in Wyoming, I know.

I once seen a horse turned clean inside out

From standin’ outside in a blow!



You don’t have to shave in the winter.

Just pick a cool, windy place.

Stand there a minute, yer whiskers’ll freeze

and break off next to yer face!



They claim that a boxcar in Rawlins,

A Denver and ol’ Rio Grande,

Was picked off the track

and blowed to the east

And beat the whole train to Cheyenne.



Why, they tell of a feller in Lander

Who jumped off a bale of hay

Before he hit ground the wind picked ‘im up

He came down in Caster next day!



They don’t have to shear sheep in Worland

When they’re ready, they wait for a breeze

And bunch ’em in draws

where the willers are thick

Then pick the wool offa the trees!



But the windiest tale that I heard

Was about the small town of Sinclair.

It used to set on the Idaho line

Then one spring it just blew over there!



I carry this rock in my pocket

For good luck and here’s one for you.

Every little bit helps in Wyoming.

If yer skinny you better take two!



Well, Stranger, you might just be part right.

Though, fer sure you ain’t seen Devil’s Tower.

Let’s say the wind never blows in Wyoming …

Under 85 miles an hour!




Seriously though.

This is the problem with the considerable investment in time the non-resident tag points program drama creates. You can 100% have an absolute shit hunt.

Has happened to me. Will happen to me again.

Not any idea of how to combat the following:

Weather
Drought
Predation
Work stuff
Being sick
Disease


This is why it is important to invest as much as you can in more than 1 experience a year. If you have a bad hunt, and don't have another hunt for several years it is emotionally disabilitating.

If you have a bad hunt, and then have 3 good hunts later that year. You won't hardly think about it.

That's good stuff!

 

[S.Clancy]

Depends on the area. I killed this bull in 30-40 mph winds....

 

[butcherboy]

If I waited for the wind to die down in NM then I would never be out hunting. Just pick a spot and hunker down for an ambush and listen. It’s pretty amazing how vocal elk still are in the wind. If you hear a bugle then he is pretty close. Also, the wind never really blows in one direction constantly unless it’s blowing in a storm. It’s always swirling around from about 9:30-10 am till around 5-6 pm.

 

[elkliver]

Go hunting... wind can die at anytime. Even if it doesnt, Elk are still in the woods. They dont call the game because of weather .

 

[dusky]

Last year on a high wind day I watched a herd of elk stand in an open field, all bunched together, with those on the perimeter looking outward for signs of threat. I've seen this herd in this field numerous times but never like this, and never in such wind. In the absence of shelter from the wind, the wind breaks up the scent and covers up the noise so much that their first line of defense is line of sight, so being out in the open in the middle of the field allows them to observe the threat with their eyes first. I believe though that they prefer the cover of trees in a place with slower, more consistent wind so that they can manage body heat and have more of there senses online. It would have been a 400 plus yard shot on them in the herd like that, and shooting into a herd is questionable since if the animal doesn't drop, picking out the injured animal from the rest of the herd can be tough. If I had had the opportunity to hunt that herd I would have sat on them and planned an ambush. On days like that I still hunt beds.

 

[trophyhill]

Just have to wait it out. My experience has been the wind typically dies down an hour or 2 before dark. I've had some of my best action on windy days at this time. I'll set up somewhere outside bedding areas and wait for the action to commence. It can be scary though. Ever heard an 80' aspen come down? It's loud and will get your attention!

I’ve noticed the windiest days have been around the full moon cycle.

 

[Koda_]

Hunt dark timber and keep a constant eye and ear out for treefall and branches.

Wind is natures way of reminding us how vulnerable we are.

 

[KennethDeemer]

Thanks all! Awesome feedback.

 

[Jethro]

I can't remember ever taking a whole day off cause of wind. Swirly mid days we'll lay low or go back to camp. More so if we know where elk are. If still in search mode, stay out and do best to at minimum hunt cross wind.
Have done the hunker down till the last 1/2 hour when Sun starts to set, and hopefully wind lays down. That has been effective.

 

[High Climber]

I hate windy days and rainy days mostly because I can’t hear bugles. Doesn’t change what I do too much just have a harder time locating elk. There’s only so many days a year I get to chase elk no way I’m sitting in camp

 

[KennethDeemer]

I hate windy days and rainy days mostly because I can’t hear bugles. Doesn’t change what I do too much just have a harder time locating elk. There’s only so many days a year I get to chase elk no way I’m sitting in camp

Ultimately this ends up being my approach! Thanks all for your insight!

 

[Netherman]

invest as much as you can in more than 1 experience a year. If you have a bad hunt, and don't have another hunt for several years it is emotionally disabilitating.

If you have a bad hunt, and then have 3 good hunts later that year. You won't hardly think about it.

I'd like to submit this for rokslide quote/advice of the year.

Mods, you should think about getting a contest going.

 

[TradArcher]

Love windy and rainy days!
Get in the Timber and timberstalk...its a hoot and I've gotten mule deer that way and have stalked elk.

 

[Mojave]

I'd like to submit this for rokslide quote/advice of the year.

Mods, you should think about getting a contest going.

I am going on 5 outfitted hunts this year. I live in Europe, so it's quite a bit cheaper. In a normal year in the states, with family and other issues I was lucky to get 1 or 2 very average hunts a year drawing tags.

Covid really ruined any expectations of multiple years of tags. You guys need to focus

So far both hunts have been HOLs. Killed a black grouse at the top of the Dolomites in Austrian Tyrol and a 3 roe bucks in Hungary. Hunting red stags here in Germany and chamois and fallow bucks in Slovenia later this year.

Most folks can afford a Saskatchewan bear hunt, or a free range Texas whitetail in a low quality area. Get it done.

Waiting years and years for bad experiences will ruin you as a hunter.

Have some ok to very good experiences every year.

 

[Indian Summer]

I just think like an elk and drop down off of the tops and get out of the wind. Days off are never an option. Plenty to learn in all conditions.