Playing the wind . Food for thought

[hammer4reel]

As I’m sure has been written here thousands of times . Best defense of a deers nose is playing the wind .

many gimmicks and cover up scents have made millions for  their companies . Most are just that gimmicks .

BUT  the old cliche just play the wind also is only partially correct , and IMO costs just as many opportunities lost as the scent relieving gimmicks .

mature bucks don’t like walking with the wind in their butts .

they prefer to  walk into or crosswind in their travels . 
just thinking you can set a stand up downwind has zero guarantee the buck wants to approach an area in that direction .

and when it comes to a food source he will totally change travel routes to enter .

I think it’s better to set stands that have an obstruction that pushes them away from your scent  yet allows them to still push into bow range .

I have areas I hunt deer won’t even come into when it’s a good hunt able wind . They only use those pinch points when the wind is in their favor going through them .

yet sometimes those are the best spots to sit ..

sitting there  when the wind is good for me , won’t produce .

so getting a little higher , or using an obstruction that still allows the deer to get where I need him to be is more reliable than just pure wind direction .

 

So for me playing the wind isn’t  the end all , just having a deer not smell you doesn’t make the deer get in a position to be shot ..…

 

 

 

[JHbowhunter]

I always have better success when the wind is just slightly better for me than the deer.   Mature deer move with the wind primarily on their nose to some varying degree up to and including 90 degree crosswind. A buck can scent check a lot more area for does when having the wind 45 to 90 degrees on his nose. To set up in a spot where deer have to come to you with wind on their ass is as big a waste of time as expecting them  to come to you dead down wind.  

[Greybeard]

I bathe and wash clothes in baking soda, and don't worry too much about the wind.  Always try to set up so I'm downwind of where I think they will be, but more times than not they come from behind me.  Wear my boots only in the woods and have deer walking the same trails I walked in on.  Baking soda is no gimmick that's targeting hunters, and it's cheap.  Use it as talc on yourself and/or on clothing to absorb and neutralize odor before it reaches their nose.  Scent free soaps aren't really scent free.  They just don't have perfumes added, and don't keep working to reduce odor from sweat after you step out of the shower.  You won't know deer were behind you if only playing the wind.  Take it as you will from a guy that had a deer snort inches from his ear while laying on the ground. 

[bucky]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

and when it comes to a food source he will totally change travel routes to enter

More so when your food source is 2ft x 2 ft bait pile,thats another good reason not to bait, some of my best set ups have natural or man made obstructions so the deer cant circle down wind

Edited October 23, 2021 by bucky

[electric10162]

1 hour ago, hammer4reel said:

As I’m sure has been written here thousands of times . Best defense of a deers nose is playing the wind .

many gimmicks and cover up scents have made millions for  their companies . Most are just that gimmicks .

BUT  the old cliche just play the wind also is only partially correct , and IMO costs just as many opportunities lost as the scent relieving gimmicks .

mature bucks don’t like walking with the wind in their butts .

they prefer to  walk into or crosswind in their travels . 
just thinking you can set a stand up downwind has zero guarantee the buck wants to approach an area in that direction .

and when it comes to a food source he will totally change travel routes to enter .

I think it’s better to set stands that have an obstruction that pushes them away from your scent  yet allows them to still push into bow range .

I have areas I hunt deer won’t even come into when it’s a good hunt able wind . They only use those pinch points when the wind is in their favor going through them .

yet sometimes those are the best spots to sit ..

sitting there  when the wind is good for me , won’t produce .

so getting a little higher , or using an obstruction that still allows the deer to get where I need him to be is more reliable than just pure wind direction .

 

So for me playing the wind isn’t  the end all , just having a deer not smell you doesn’t make the deer get in a position to be shot ..…

 

 

 

Exactly the reason why I like to set up near blow downs or stone walls. A buck will give up his scent advantage to get around them. 

[BOWHIO]

More times then none I have seen deer walking g with the wind ,killed deer walking g with the some mature bucks also,and the reason I think they doe that is because of the coyotes 

Imo

 

[AtcoJG]

4 hours ago, Greybeard said:

I bathe and wash clothes in baking soda, and don't worry too much about the wind.  Always try to set up so I'm downwind of where I think they will be, but more times than not they come from behind me.  Wear my boots only in the woods and have deer walking the same trails I walked in on.  Baking soda is no gimmick that's targeting hunters, and it's cheap.  Use it as talc on yourself and/or on clothing to absorb and neutralize odor before it reaches their nose.  Scent free soaps aren't really scent free.  They just don't have perfumes added, and don't keep working to reduce odor from sweat after you step out of the shower.  You won't know deer were behind you if only playing the wind.  Take it as you will from a guy that had a deer snort inches from his ear while laying on the ground. 

I agree when I started using baking soda on myself and clothes deer rarely winded me. 

 

[Devil Horns]

I’ve been using baking soda to wash my clothes, ivory unscented soap, and Arm and Hammer unscented deodorant for over 30 yrs. Play the wind the best I can and wish for a little luck. 

[BowhunterNJ]

The last buck I killed I think took 11 days of hunting to finally get a shot at him.  Mixture of waiting out circumstances of him actually being in the area that day and conditions maybe driving him to want to be in the area that day.  I hunted several other days that were good winds for me and saw bucks and good activity but not him.  The day I shot him he approached from a bedding area almost dead downwind in a NNE to N wind, on a razors edge of the wind being just slightly better for me.   One bad kick could have sent him running.  Fortunately the route he took carried him into the right area and offered a shot. 

[archer36]

It's obviously better to NOT have a deer scent you/be downwind of him. The less he has to be suspicious about, the better. But I have had deer in all my years of hunting approach from ALL directions. So "playing" the wind is problematic and near impossible. I rely upon being as scent free as possible and hope for the best. I have had MANY more deer "bust" me because of movement than wind.......or so it appears that way. Only the deer knows!

[Eyesofthewoods]

Playing the wind is important but I don’t always let it dictate my hunts.  For instance last Monday I went out and the wind was gusting from every direction.  To me atleast that’s not horrible.  There is no steady wind direction and it breaks up any scent at that point.  Not to mention the loudness of said wind makes for easier movement on stand without noise.  Just have to hope the deer in that area still want to get up and move.  I myself have had a few deer come in from down wind and not think a thing of it.  

[Trophy8]

It's all about the crosswind!

[Jcol6268]

Just off wind for me