Contributors to this thread:
In our collective experience what has deer movement been like with the wind and temps we've had the last 36 hours?
I took the day off and planned in hunting this afternoon but I think the deer might stay bedded when it's this windy.
I agree, I know deer will move when its windy, but when winds get up to 30 to 45 mph like they are calling for today, I think most stay bedded, at least I never see any, but then again I am usually on the couch when its this windy lol.
Some of my best hunts ever were in crazy winds and weather. A few years ago the night before gun season we had winds like last night but with more snow. I saw tons of deer including several bucks and that was when deer numbers were still really low. I have always had great luck in miserable weather.
Skoot- can you talk more about your hunt? From the ground, tree, terrain, bedding, ect....
Tweed, put some boots on the ground and get in there,,,, good conditions to get right up on their a.... remember those spots I showed you, I would be in all of them...................get out and hunt
Yup! I took today off just for those spots!
I have killed deer at 10 steps, on these conditions,,,, this is when I do not want a scope, but open sights, deer hunting is more like bird hunting
I too have had good luck hunting in very high winds. It does not happen every time but it has happened often enough to make it worthwhile venturing out. My thoughts are (and I hope I have analyzed it correctly) that the deer are so spooked by the disruption in their surroundings caused by excessive winds...i.e., all the noise, all the branches moving up - down- sideways - left - right and all over, by their inability to decipher where individual sounds are coming from and whether this movement they see or that movement they see is a danger or not, by their inability to use their sense of smell to know where scents are coming from,...that their cognitive awareness of their environment is overly confusing and they move trying to escape their present situation.
I've seen this happen a few times in windy conditions....it almost seems as if the deer are running helter-skelter to try to get away from what's going on, to try to get away from themselves.
This windy situation can work to the benefit of the hunter. The deer are unlikely to hear you move because of all the woodland noise. They will probably not see you move due to the total confusion of surrounding movement and your movements will not be individually picked out. And they will have difficulty catching your scent due to myriad scents encountered in rapid and continuing succession.
I will add, also, that I have seen it where almost identical condition produce a situation where the deer bed down and sit tight until the winds subside. It can be a toss-up, but you never know unless you're out there!
Always my normal set ups. I don't do anything different for bad weather. I generally don't have any ag fields or larger food plots in the areas I hunt so I am hunting in the woods, generally near bedding or on travel corridors. I have just always had good luck in bad weather.
I do like hunting windy days. However, I've noticed deer hunker down till after dark on windy days like today on heavily pressured land. Even during the rut. I am always getting tight to beds too! Still, I won't let the wind stop me if I have time and a tag in my pocket. If you know where deer are bedded and have a lot of areas to hit. Walking crosswind into bedding can be primo if you do it slow enough. I haven't been successful on a big buck but I could have taken my fair share of deer doing this. Just elected to pass, or take pictures of them bedded.
Areas I key on are pine/cedar/tamaracks. It's amazing how the wind current drops in these areas and the Deer know this too. Obviously my success changes ten fold when I'm hunting an area that hasn't been pressured. These are great patience areas.
This is the kind of day and time of year I like to hunt standing corn.
All I know is you can’t kill them on the couch in the house.
The last time it was windy a week or so ago. I had good activity on my trail cams while at work.
If the wind settles down before dark it can be Golden from my past experience.
I can't count the number of deer I've seen on really gusty days standing right smack out in the middle of a big open field. I guess they figure if they can't hear they sure will be able to see danger coming.
Drop Tine-
I've had a lot of activity on my cameras during really windy days too, but mine has just been from the wind blowing the little trees around. I get hundreds of empty landscape pictures of slightly different views of the same brush and trees!!
I've had decent success in year past hunting in Windy conditions, but I was still hunting around low spots, and small valleys that were out of the wind. Otherwise, it is pretty poor hunting
Love windy &/or nasty weather . The mature Deer know that the woods are safe & most hunters are on the couch with a can of Busch lt . Reason #2 to be out there . If a Doe comes into heat near you , Her odor is traveling for miles .
I took a walk with the smokepole today. Not 2 min into my walk I looked over and saw a doe bedded 40 yds away. I took a pic with my phone and then thought maybe she was wounded. I took 2 steps toward her and she got up and ran away. I think I came across my 1st deer sleeping. That was my excitement for the day.
I've only hunted one day that I can recall when it was this windy. I was up at the inlaws and wounded a big ten point. Buck fever got me and I shot him above the spine right through the back straps.
I'm really curious to hear Casey's report on his hunt today.
Quit work early today, wind was just a dangerous situation and messy with materials blowing around. Took a noon hour walk and kicked up 2 fawns. Then went to another public spot. I have a seat of old branches in a pine tree over looking a tall grass bedding area. (My way around not having stands]. It's only up 16 feet or so but was swaying to much for comfort. Climbed down and took a corner on edge of woods/grass/ cut bean field. 410 1 lone big doe and then another doe with 2 fawns came out of woods. My fingers where froze and gutting a deer would feel so good I thought. As much as I want to wait and see if a buck shows I decide to take the lone doe as she is still hanging out in the grass. Bean field is private. I'm leaning against a tree and can not get steady. Grab shooting stick from backpack, still can't get steady. This went on for ten min. That's when I realized.... it was really to windy to hunt. Put gun down. Small basket rack comes out with a min or two of light left. I've never filed a gun buck tag, and on public I'd take anything on last day I've told myself.. Guess that means i gotta quit work early tomorrow, my confidence was gone. Didn't wanna wound one. Oh well that's the most deer I've seen in a day all of this gun season.
Spent too much time thinking about it so it turned into a daddy daughter day.
I haven't "really" hunted in over a month now. And even longer here locally.
Oh....did help a friend on his line yesterday in the wind on the marsh.
43 musquash with almost 2000 total in 4 weeks.
WTF CASEY??? Cmon man! I was sure today was gonna be your day.
Yeah me too.
I should've done what I did yesterday. Leave the house before day break.
lost power though the night, so no alarm to wake me this morning...........thats my story and Im sticking to it.
Not sure if it is the wind or big temp drop but I had deer walking in the field for the 1st time since the rifle opener. 3 yesterday and 2 tonight.
I love windy days for sneaking in extra tight to bedding areas. it's especially good in spots that are small and it's tough to access otherwise.
I killed my biggest buck on a windy day like today back in 2002. It took me almost 4 hours to still hunt through an 80 acre pine plantation next to a standing corn field. Killed that buck trying to sneak out into standing corn about 4 PM that day. 15 yard shot. I don't think he knew I was even there.
On days this windy I try to get down in a creek bottom which is somewhat out of the wind as deer probably are not bedding in the fan. Plus there is less wind chill.
Oh well Tweed . No venison but muskrat is yummy too . For real .
