Wind during the rut...does it matter?
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: ronyag
31-Oct-07
What is your opinion on 20 mph winds during the rut? Do the bucks keep searching or will they just lay down and wait it out? I think the bucks are on a mission so it may not matter but arrow flight can be tricky outside of 20 yards. What are your thoughts?
From: bowyer45
31-Oct-07
All kidding aside, would you wait for a sunny day if the time was right? I doudt that a whitetail would either. The rut is short, a buck won't miss a lick when it comes to a hot doe. Wind or no wind don't waste a day you could be on stand.
From: Bearman
31-Oct-07
boyer is right ! What do you do on a windy day if it isn't the rut period. bearman,
From: RiverBottomBowHunter
31-Oct-07
I like to hunt windy days. You can get to your stand undetected. I have had some good sightings on windy days.
From: Northwoods
31-Oct-07
20 mph winds aren't uncommon in lots of places. So a blanket statement about 20 mph winds and the potential affect on the rut is hard to make. What is certain is that the wind has no bearing on when a doe comes into estrus. You can bet the wind will be one of the least important issues on a bucks mind if a doe he is around is in estrus. That aside, wind may change movement more in some areas than others, and in those ares the places the deer are moving in and around might be affected. So my guess is that the type of land the deer may be using might be affected by high winds, but rutting activity will go on as usual.
Northwoods
From: ronyag
31-Oct-07
Good point! A little wind is fine but we are gusting in MN to 35 mph today. My gut feeling is the bucks don't care. I hate to be on a day of hunting [alone] wondering if I am just wasting my time.
A good thing about the wind is all the dead falls it creates. The last windy day we had produced 6 dead falls on my path to the stand. Heck.. I got lost for a minute!
Thanks for the feed back.
From: blackwolf
31-Oct-07
Seen a lot of good bucks on windy days in the rut. It helps keep the bucks cool when they are out on the prowl. Jim
From: travis@work
31-Oct-07
20 mph is pretty much average speed in KS..:)...anything over 20 and I like to ground hunt during the rut(spot and stalk)..whats really nice is sneaking in close to a bedding area while the wind is blowing then it lays down right before dark..I don`t worry much about the wind speed during the rut cause anything can happen at any time
From: Bearman
31-Oct-07
I didn't get to finnish my post this morning because I was interupted , but wanted to say that a few years ago on a day the wind was out of the N/W at 30 MPH , I shot a ten point , not a huge rack but nice ! The darn thing weighed 240# field dressed on our scale ! I worked for the power co then and it was weighed on our wire scale which is a good one ! He came with just about five minutes left of shooting time ! I hunt the wind all the time , and this was before the rut ! bearman,
From: rattling_junkie
07-Nov-19
ttt, I am curious what your success rate is on windy days. Here in Manitoba we have a windy weekend coming up. Would be nice to hear some stories successful or not.
From: JB
07-Nov-19
Wind. Rain. Snow. Cold. It doesn’t matter when they have the urge. I have seen some nice bucks on windy days during the rut... and under all other conditions.
From: Ben
07-Nov-19
Quite a few years ago a friend of mine shot a buck out of the saddle in western Kansas where the wind blows all the time! I asked him if he at least waited till the buck was done. :]
From: drycreek
07-Nov-19
I think it might depend on what the deer are used to, at least if there’s not a hot doe around. Deer on the lease I had in Central Texas didn’t mind the wind much, but here at home they won’t move a lot until it lays.
From: GF
07-Nov-19
Find thick enough cover and they’ll find a way to stay focused on The Mission.
From: Franklin
07-Nov-19
I also like a bit of wind to get into the stand. Another thing to consider the wind almost always dies down prior to sunset.....so that last couple of hours could be perfect conditions and you`re on the couch.
From: APauls
07-Nov-19
Dead calm is worse than wind for sure
From: Mike Ukrainetz
07-Nov-19
A 20 mph wind could totally mess up a spot or have little effect. Just because bucks rut at the same time every year doesn't mean you just need to be in any stand, even if it is in the right direction. In thick woods a 20 mph wind would give you constantly swirling winds, in a thin tree line with a cross wind it would blow right through and be a great spot to hunt, especially in an open windy area, it varies so much...
From: SBH
07-Nov-19
I honestly don’t think 20 mph is enough to slow down movement especially during the rut. At least in MT where I hunt. I have noticed a Huge difference in 30+ mph. I won’t see a deer. They lose smell, sight and sound when it’s that windy and don’t feel comfortable moving around IMO.
From: 8point
08-Nov-19
The wind won't slow the bucks down, but I don't have a stand that isn't adversely affected by a 20 mph wind. Makes for a hard time staying on target as you pull through the shot. Most stands are in mature walnut and maple trees, but still move enough to affect a shot.
From: TrapperKayak
08-Nov-19
Prefer windy days, esp. if hunting the corn. Calm days, I usually see very little with my method. Spook them all or never see them at all, making too much noise. If I decide to park my tail, I can hear them coming on calm days though. So if it gets calm, I sit tight in cover.
From: Boris
08-Nov-19
Before the rut and after the rut, I set my stands according to the wind. During the rut, I really don't care which way the wind is blowing. Because a deer can and will come from any direction. Upwind, downwind, crosswind. Who knows? Higher wind speeds, I don't bother going out. Mainly because of safety. Got blown out of my stand once, lucky I had my harness on. 20 feet in the air, that would have hurt.
From: Franklin
08-Nov-19
Tonight it was really cold and windy all the way to dark here in Wisc. The deer were running all over the place....best night of hunting in the past week.
From: Jack Harris
09-Nov-19
I would rather have wind than no wind... I would take 20mph over flat calm in a heartbeat.
From: WV Mountaineer
09-Nov-19
Yes. I grunted one a 115 inch 8 pointer this morning. I decided to let him go as he was a young deer. Anyways, after standing in place at 14 yards for a minute and a half looking for the buck he heard, he immediately turned to the downwind d side of the tree when he begin walking. There was no breeze this morning, 19 degrees, and thermals were slightly easing down hill. When he hit my scent, he exploded. Might still be running.
From: Boreal
09-Nov-19
Hoy crap! For a minute I thought Gordon Swenson had the nerve to show up here again!
From: Scooby-doo
10-Nov-19
Where I hunt in NY a wind over 20mph keeps the does from moving but the bucks are still out looking it is just the does are either in the bottoms where it is real thick or way out in the wide open so it may be tougher to catch a buck cruising. Now where I hunt in Kansas and Nebraska a 20 mph means nothing to the deer and I have actually seen good movement with winds 40 mph. To me no matter what unless the wind is at dangerous levels and its the rut, you have to be out there. Shawn
From: Tonybear61
10-Nov-19
When you were a horny teenager did wind, rain, sleet, lack of funds or transportation matter?? What if you can only have sex for a few days a year??
You should have your answer
