Hunting mid morning and into the afternoon

[tuffcrk14]

IMO on wind…

I understand thermals. I like to start out low and work my way up in the morning. But I don’t pay much attention until I locate elk, usually by bugling. Then I play the wind like my life depended on it. Until then, I’m just working to locate and I think many people don’t venture into spots because the wind is “bad” from their perspective. If I get to a known bedding area and there is lots of sign, and the sign is fresh, I’ll treat that as a bugle and get serious about the wind. Locate elk. Then play the wind. That’s my strategy.

I’ve connected the dots on some elk I hunt and luckily enough, they are staying consistent in their travels to and from their bedding area. I’ve been able to find at what points in their travel the wind will be at a disadvantage to them due to the thermals. Obviously if there is a strong prevailing wind, that can throw a curve ball at you. I agree that yes, the wind is everything. I’d much rather bust an elk because they heard me or saw something they didn’t like rather than smell me. I’ve used a nervous grunt to get them to believe I was just another elk when I bust them and they either grunt back and come in cautiously to see who I am or slow down to a walk and leave the immediate area. If they catch your wind like we all know, the game ends for some period of time for those elk.


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