Wind

[sghoghunter]

First off I don’t really pay that much attention to the wind I just hunt when I get a chance but I’ve been noticing a thing or two lately. I’ve got the BaseMap app on my phone with all our stand locations marked and I’m able to check the wind on each stand at any given moment. Well I’ve noticed that neither different cellular camera brands I have nor the basemap app seems to agree which way the wind is blowing. This afternoon one camera said 3.1mph SW and the app said NE 1 mph. Which one do you trust?

 

[chrislibby88]

At that low of a wind speed trust the thermals. They will pull to the west once the sun drops down below the trees in flat land, and if you are on almost any kind of grade they will drop downhill.

 

[Iwannashoot]

And the buck of a lifetime may still race past downhill and west of you if he is chasing a doe. The question is are you going to be in the woods to get the shot or not?

 

[basshappy]

@sghoghunter indeed. I was checking some wind apps this week and OnX said SE while Windy said NW and Weather Channel said NNW.

The falling leaves agreed with Windy.

 

[Todd E]

I get so frustrated. Between RadarX, Hunt Stand, ONx......nothing matches real world.
I worry about the wind and I do not like to hunt if it's wrong. I mean....plan a night to stalk based on apps only to arrive to a wind that is 180° different.

I've came to trust only two things....
Cirrus Wind Indicator and Ozonics

 

[sghoghunter]

And the buck of a lifetime may still race past downhill and west of you if he is chasing a doe. The question is are you going to be in the woods to get the shot or not?

Oh I’ll be in there if it’s where I can. The only thing that determines what stand I hunt is the evening sun. I’ve got two that it’ll be in my face until the last 30 to 45 min of light and it’s miserable

 

[Iwannashoot]

Oh I’ll be in there if it’s where I can. The only thing that determines what stand I hunt is the evening sun. I’ve got two that it’ll be in my face until the last 30 to 45 min of light and it’s miserable

I hope you didn't take my post the wrong way. The point I was trying to make was that no single variable is always going to make the difference between killing a buck and not. A lot of times it is better to "just hunt" than to over think wind direction, rut status, moon phase, cold front timing, and any number of possible other variables.

 

[leesmith]

I trust my Wind chalk

 

[1eyefishing]

Well today it was blowing from the southwest for sure.
When in doubt I stick my finger in the air.

I have found a couple of apps that wrongly state which direction the wind is blowing toward instead of from.

I'll add that when the wind is light, t is more apt to be affected by thermals and eddies.
I like the map apps that shows how the wind is blowing over broad areas of the continent, but are able to zoom in locally.
Windy is my favorite. MyRadar does pretty good and even has a widget for your homepage that constantly shows wind diretion, but points in the direction the wind is blowing, not the direction it is blowing from.

 

[Hunter922]

Less than 10 MPH in Georgia with our topography it will swirl and almost never be consistent..

 

[Pruitt1]

What I've seen in GA. is trying to hunt the wind is near bout impossible most days. On my place it may start NE and end up SW by the end of the hunt and changed 6 times in an evening hunt. I try to set up accordingly to the wind direction on every hunt somedays it works some don't.

 

[Ugahunter2013]

Huntstand is generally right for me, but I agree. Alot of times Huntstand, Weather.com, etc are different, but generally Huntstand seems to be dead on.

 

[tcward]

What I've seen in GA. is trying to hunt the wind is near bout impossible most days. On my place it may start NE and end up SW by the end of the hunt and changed 6 times in an evening hunt. I try to set up accordingly to the wind direction on every hunt somedays it works some don't.

This^^

 

[bighunter23]

Hard for me to hunt the wind on any of my property’s deer seem to come from anywhere at any given moment. I’ve even had a lease that backed up to I-20 and had a stand on the power line and watched deer cross I-20. I try my best to keep it out of the bedding area and food sources but it swirls and there’s nothing I can do about it. I just do my best to not over hunt anything and have some spots that I’ll only hunt on fronts moving in where I know I have the best shot.

 

[furtaker]

What I've seen in GA. is trying to hunt the wind is near bout impossible most days. On my place it may start NE and end up SW by the end of the hunt and changed 6 times in an evening hunt. I try to set up accordingly to the wind direction on every hunt somedays it works some don't.

Yep. It changes constantly when I'm in the stand. Go outside and grill a steak and before you're finished, I about guarantee you that you'll get hit in the face with smoke.

 

[Rebel 3]

The wind direction does not constantly change. It might swirl and go 20 feet, until the prevailing wind direction takes it. You can see what is usually accurate by looking at the hourly forecast on weather.com. It is by far the biggest factor in where I hunt.

 

[basshappy]

For anyone interested in seeing the wind where you hunt, grab a 2 minute or longer smoke bomb and set it off. It has helped me tremendously see the wind where we hunt. We have very little flat ground. Overwhelming majority is hills - the steep grade feel your heart beat as you walk up it type of hills. So if we are high up on ridge and wind is SW the smoke bomb shows sat that level but also then as the land drops off where the smoke is carried. Same deal when down low at base of hills when wind comes down and through how trees and rocks and hills change the direction of the wind.

 

[bfriendly]

Less than 10 MPH in Georgia with our topography it will swirl and almost never be consistent..

This^^^ cept sometimes even then, it will stop, change direction and start blowing 10 mph the other way. So far, HuntStand has been generally correct…..but it’s always changing

 

[frankwright]

One year towards the end of deer season Walmart had these big smoking deer lure sticks marked way down. I bought a pack and lit one in a food plot while I sat in a box blind and watched the plot.

It was really interesting to watch that thing smoke for about an hour and watch which way the wind went.
It went every way it possibly could.
It went north, then a puff would go south, I don't know how you could think you can fool a deer's nose.
I think all you can do is hunt the "prevailing" wind and hope for the best.

 

[Kris87]

I use Milkweed. I bring back a couple gallon ziploc bags each year from Ohio and just give those to friends. It lasts a long time and is free. Nothing better for thermals.