My biggest problem with a recurve

My biggest problem with a recurve is scent. I have always hunted the wind, left a stand when wind direction changes, kept my hunting clothes in a cedar limb filled wardrobe, always on site of my hunting property, never at the restaurant or in route. Further masking my trail by overturning pine needles and rolling in the fresh earth scent before arriving at my destination. Yet, most times, before I close the deal, I get busted. Getting this close has spooked so many more deer. Partially because my stand set ups are where the deer should be rather than 40 yards from where they should show up. I really need to figure out an advantage. I have plans to hunt the points of several extreme valleys in the hardwoods. The deer are funneling the flat spot rather than cross the deep ditches cut from washout many moons ago after being logged. I will wait for a wind direction that puts my scent in the valley. This should be one good plan... but I need many options. I want good shots. I would love to better understand thermal drifts. Several stands after years of having the wind "back draft" have been given up, realizing that I should move elsewhere. But what topical terrain causes this? Nothing more aggrevating than to pick your stand based on the wind only to get blown from the opposite way. Knowing full well that the direction of the wind is right. But one place in particular, once a steady breeze pauses, will back draft every time, like the waves of the sea. Why is that? If I could predict these things based on terrain I could rule out some places and find favorable stands. I once had one stand at the peak of a pointed hill where no matter which way the wind blew, my scent would be carried up. Another favorite stand which we hunt often, after 15 years of hunting, no one has ever been smelled yet. But 40 yards closer to the food plot, in my recurve stand, I always get busted. Anybody have any insight to share as to why the wind back drafts?

I had a successful old primitive archer tell me recently that he NEVER gets in a stand before daylight because the wind always changes as the sun rises.

The main thing I do is set up the hill from the tree I'm looking at when possible. It seems to me that mostly the air rises during the day. I wash my clothes in baking soda and spray scent killer on my clothes. Sometimes I wear rubber boots and sometimes not.

I've often wondered if some people smell scarier to deer than others. I'm not being funny; I've got a friend that uses all the super duper scents and suits and he seems to get busted a lot. I'm not near as careful as he is and hardly ever get blown at. I do not use a pee bottle . Maybe that's good cover scent?

I am careful about where I walk and what I touch. I also move locations often, and I think that has more to do with it than anything. I truly believe if you hunt the same tree much, deer get educated very fast.

I don't worry about the wind when hunting deer out of a tree that much. It is what it is at any giving time. Deer can come from any direction in the Fall. On most days around here the wind doesn't pick up til around 10 am in the morning and dies down near dark. I try and say clean as possible and change clothes often. Wind current are so fickle. Now if I'm on the ground stalking, I pay attention to the wind and try to get it in my favor. You can think yourself out of a good hunt and stay home.

yep wolfskin I agree in Georgia deer come from every direction when hunting out of a tree, not always where you think they will come most of the time, I try to stay scent free and hope for the best, I get lucky sometimes ....

I hunt mostly feed trees except for some good funnels during the rut and usually kill my deer under 15 yards. I seldom get busted by the wind. Here are a couple of reasons why...mostly could be luck but here is what I think.
If I have two on fire feed trees and one is in a bottom and the other on higher ground. I will hunt the bottom mornings and the high ground evenings. If its overcast and rainy I will reverse that.
If I find a good hot feed tree and its all I have right then I climb on it. If the wind changes I sit it out because usually the wind will almost reverse once the sun gets below the trees at prime time. That is if no front or big weather change is coming.I pay attention to the wind when I climb on a hot spot and climb down wind of the feed tree. If the wind changes at prime time and there is no front I know where to climb if I hunt that spot again.
I wash my clothes in baking soda and dry them with baking soda sprinkled in with them. I spray down with HS scent away and always carry a dry shirt so If I sweat going to the stand I change shirts after climbing and cooling off.The biggest focus I have on scent is my boots. When I leave the truck I spray my RUBBER boots with scent away all over. I try to walk through some mud or swamp water headed to the stand and step in every pile of deer droppings I see on the way.I don`t handle any trees or bushes with my hands near my climbing spot.Sometimes I use some sort of deer scent but usually nothing.
Deer don`t always follow the script but I usually have a good idea of the direction the deer will come from and set up for at least a cross wind for that. I have hunted some places for may years climbing the same tree and know what to expect on both public and private land. I have some places that are usually very hot but I won`t hunt them because I have hunted them a lot in the past and got busted every time. A couple of these are right next to the river and the wind will blow crazy from the river bank and is never consistent. Rather than hunt a low percentage spot even though it is hot for deer I just look for something else.
sometimes the stars all line up and sometimes they don`t and sometimes it seems they never will.Thats why there are a lot of deer left .....RC

Could the backdraft be from colder air up top hitting warmer air from down below

One particular spot that comes to mind, I always wait on a north wind, stand being near the top of the hill. The wind being from the north, the deer expected to come from the north, yet once the wind pauses, it back drafts down the hill. Mostly referring to evening hunts. I mention this stand, which I have now moved, as an example. If I could understand this issue with this stand, I might better choose stands in the futher. I need to understand these things. I never hunt valleys or low land, I have this mindset that I have to be on a top of a hill. I am wasting so much huntable property

I Agree with RC on boots. I saw a big change in the amount of deer I saw and how much closer they came to me when I started only letting my rubber boots touch dirt. I take them off before getting in the truck and put them on as a last thing before leaving the truck. I don't expect to cover all my scent but I want to leave as small of a human scent trail as possible both for while on stand and for when I"m in bed sleeping and the deer are out frolicking.

As far as the wind I stopped sitting directly on foot plots a few years ago I found that the wind (no matter the direction) always seemed to be at my back. Now this was not a bad thing if the deer were bedded behind me but when the smaller ones made it to the plot first I would find myself busted. I have since moved back on a main trail or two inside the wood line. I find I can better judge the wind.

I hate to mention a big technology tool but I have multiple stand sites over several counties. I have started to use Scout Look weather app on my smart phone it is free and allows me to gps mark my stand when I hang it and from my home I can get a pretty accurate judge of what the wind will do while on stand. I'm not saying its perfect but I was only bust by a snorting doe or trotting deer 3 times last year and I hunted almost every day of the season.

Just my two cents.

Todd Cook said:

I do not use a pee bottle . Maybe that's good cover scent?

I am careful about where I walk and what I touch. I also move locations often, and I think that has more to do with it than anything. I truly believe if you hunt the same tree much, deer get educated very fast.

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Ditto.

Where I hunt in North Georgia I have to hunt the ridge tops. Hunting in the valleys between them just contains your scent and the thermals come and go from all different directions. I keep a pill bottle full of thistle with me to keep check on the thermals. If you try this you will learn a lot about them. Many times you can feel the air in your face and believe all is good only to realize it is not so when you release a a piece of thistle and watch it float behind you then make a U turn and drift out in front or wherever. Thistle doesn't lie.

Al33 said:

Ditto.

Where I hunt in North Georgia I have to hunt the ridge tops. Hunting in the valleys between them just contains your scent and the thermals come and go from all different directions. I keep a pill bottle full of thistle with me to keep check on the thermals. If you try this you will learn a lot about them. Many times you can feel the air in your face and believe all is good only to realize it is not so when you release a a piece of thistle and watch it float behind you then make a U turn and drift out in front or wherever. Thistle doesn't lie.

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Al I know a lady, if those thistle ever get to her pasture and she knew they blew from you she'd probably skin you alive lmbo

Wind is important but you can't control it. I also set up with the wind blowing from where I think the deer will come or be but it changes a lot here in south Georgia. I've found I can get on the same deer by following out their trails (if they are using them) and positioning my stand to be in my favor, staying out of the draws and bottoms when possible. move in on them a little at a time. Only advise that I could add that has not been said is if you are using climbing sticks, ladder stands, or steps, best use gloves when climbing into the stand and when putting it up. If not think about the huge human scent wick you've made. Like RC said don't touch nothing. I hunt around 12ft and get on deer, inside 15 yds and have shot them as close as three, use the wind as best you can and follow some of the advise the others have posted and you can close the distance.

What RC said as usual! Roger Rothar and his son Ryan are two of the best muture buck whitetail hunters alive they use no cover scent only wind. I believe in rubber boots and not touching things carry over from my trapping days. Like Todd I don't like to keep hunting the same tree. I don't believe you can fool a mature whitetail nose with gimmicks of any kind but you sure can make folks rich!

Munkywrench said:

I had a successful old primitive archer tell me recently that he NEVER gets in a stand before daylight because the wind always changes as the sun rises.

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Primitive archery knows the deal. Thermals will get you. When is the wind velocity the lowest?
Morning and evening, when the deer are most active. The only wind is the thermal currents. Face downhill in morning, uphill in evening. Uphill is few and far between where I hunt - most roads are on higher ground, creek bottoms below the roads of course. Since I caught on to this, I haven't been busted by the wind.

j_seph said:

Al I know a lady, if those thistle ever get to her pasture and she knew they blew from you she'd probably skin you alive lmbo

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I remove the tiny seeds Joe.

oldfella1962 said:

Primitive archery knows the deal. Thermals will get you. When is the wind velocity the lowest?
Morning and evening, when the deer are most active. The only wind is the thermal currents. Face downhill in morning, uphill in evening. Uphill is few and far between where I hunt - most roads are on higher ground, creek bottoms below the roads of course. Since I caught on to this, I haven't been busted by the wind.

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Could you explain further? When you say face uphill in the evening, do you mean to sit down hill of where you expect deer to come from?

1gr8bldr said:

Could you explain further? When you say face uphill in the evening, do you mean to sit down hill of where you expect deer to come from?

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Yes - but this is not too comfortable shooting from the ground. Also just the way the roads are set up where I hunt (for an easy, quiet approach) this isn't too common.
Thus most of my spots are morning/mid day only.
I HATE getting up early and walking in the dark but that's what I'm doing. All my spots are easy access so getting in quietly shouldn't be a problem. Here on Fort Gordon we are limited to how early we can sign in for hunting - so you can't get in and situated in the wee hours of the morning.
Thus people that have spots a long drive/walk of the sign-in station have to hustle to get set up before legal shooting time. Yes, we have a lot of extra rules we have to abide by, but you get used to them after a while.

Been studying on the net, cold air falls and warm air rises.... yet I'm not sure that this is the only factor. I know several places in the river where the river is almost still or moving up stream due to a deep underwater water ravine on the opposite side of the river. I think air has this same effect. I have watched my floaters hang as if no wind only to hit a draft and be quickly carried away. Countours and obstacles are affecting the currents also.

I'm paranoid about wind myself. I check it constantly before and during hunting. The weather reporting wind direction and velocity is generally right, but can't be relied upon as gospel.

Sometimes you just have to hunt. Try not to over hunt stands, even in urban areas. Deer are used to catching human scent from time to time, but if you rotate stands, the right deer might come in on the right wind and it will be a good day.

That, and good no perfume, no dye detergents to wash you and your clothes, and some no scent spray.