Hunting Windy Days

[omicron1792]

Wind can allow you to get closer to bedding areas without detection but it also can get you busted if it's swirling. Also, bucks tend to bed down on windy days.

I typically don't hunt on windy days unless it's the rut. If it's the rut, I just hunt with the wind in my face the best I can and give it a shot.

I have found the opposite. The windier the better for killing bucks b

 

[insanelupus]

Stand hunting windy days is tough unless you have a small pocket/ travel corridor between bedding that keeps them out of the wind.

But a day of wind makes me happy. Especially if it is steady but not super windy. Favorite for still hunting. Can't cover ground with WT like I can with elk. But it's a great chance to work holes and hollers they like to lay tight in.

 

[83cj-7]

Stand hunting windy days is tough unless you have a small pocket/ travel corridor between bedding that keeps them out of the wind.

But a day of wind makes me happy. Especially if it is steady but not super windy. Favorite for still hunting. Can't cover ground with WT like I can with elk. But it's a great chance to work holes and hollers they like to lay tight in.

This

I killed my PA buck this year by still hunting on a windy day. Got into a thick steep area covering only about 150 yards in 2 hours and ended up right in the middle of the deer. Shot a nice buck at about 20ft when he ran in on me.

Also, windy days right after a rain. Oh man! I’ve killed deer just walking in the woods by putting the wind in my face and moving slow. Several times a whole group of deer never knew I was there. Last year in this situation, I literally walked up on huge doe that was bedded. I was walking out from a stand and I walked within 10ft of her. She never moved until a 140 Acuubond hit her.

 

[txtransplant]

I use the Windy app

Which app you using?

 

[Beagle1]

Windfinder Pro.

 

[Boarmaster]

I mostly hunt travel corridors to and from feeding areas. I cannot always 100 play the wind plus it can shift over a the period of the hunt. At a minimum I try and determine where a deer coming in will cross my scent. Hunting in an area with a lot of deer and long seasons for many years has really helped me learn how deer react to different things including my scent. I use a powder type scent bottle as well at watching leaves falling.
I might add that windy days are good days to plan to take a doe if you are inclined or able by law.

 

[Sadie]

Interesting and good replies. We've always heard wind is bad for deer hunting. In 60 years of deer hunting I've seen a disproportionate number of big bucks moving in heavy winds and I'm talking about the south east where winds are generally light. Would be nice to know where o p is hunting.

 

[Chris in TN]

Which app you using?

View attachment 1056206

The blue one.

I’m sure others work fine but that one has worked well for me so far.

 

[omicron1792]

Interesting and good replies. We've always heard wind is bad for deer hunting. In 60 years of deer hunting I've seen a disproportionate number of big bucks moving in heavy winds and I'm talking about the south east where winds are generally light. Would be nice to know where o p is hunting.

Some good data that the windier the better for killing deer.

 

[Wireman07]

I Hunt in South Dakota so i know about being windy almost everyday. Typically i see more deer stick to thicker cover or down in draws out of the wind, unless its the rut then it doesnt matter!

 

[Nushagak]

Which app you using?

View attachment 1056206

Windy.com (red windy) is the correct one. I use it for aviation and fishing stuff in Alaska. Also used it for planning my guiding days when I still lived in South Texas where winds are the primary driver of water levels on the bay systems.

Windy.app (blue windy) a clone of red windy and is owned by some Russian tech bros, there have been some security concerns with the app in the past.

 

[Nushagak]

I Hunt in South Dakota so i know about being windy almost everyday. Typically i see more deer stick to thicker cover or down in draws out of the wind, unless its the rut then it doesnt matter!

I'm just down the road from you in SD. I've definitely noticed the same thing, but I also noticed that I see way more deer moving on windy afternoons than calm ones.

 

[Eship]

another thing I noticed. During the rut this past season, we had one night where there were 60mph winds. The next day it calmed down to 30mph. While the entire week I hunted during the rut was windy (25-35mph winds every day), I had by far the most sightings of bucks on that specific day. Seems obvious to me that this was because all night they were forced to be bedded down because of the extreme conditions. So if you have a night like that, the next day could be dynamite hunting so long as the winds slow down a bit.