Tomorrow is forecasted w/ up to 15 mph winds. My hunting lease is pretty flat w/ fingers of timber through out, not too much wind break. Got me to thinking about how much wind it too much to hunt w/ trad gear?
If we didn't hunt in 15 mph wind in Wyoming, we wouldn't hunt much. I regularly hunt in 20-30 mph wind with no problem. When I used to live in Casper, a 20 mph wind was a low wind day.
I would love to see Mark Baker chime in on this, since he lives in Livingston, Mt., which is one of the windiest places around.
I don't like the strong wind, but like centaur, If I did not hunt in it I would not hunt much. tomorrow in Western Oklahoma it is forecast at 10-20mph and that is not too bad. I'll be out in it. I see the deer moving in all kinds of windy situations. It also help cover movement.
We had some windy days during elk season this year, was camped on a treeless plain and hiking up adjacent ridge to hunt timbered ravines. Did some practice shooting with broadheads across the wind and with the wind. Across the wind sure caused a lot of fishtailing, upwind and downwind had minimal negative effect. Don't know what the wind speed was exactly but it was moving at a pretty good clip. As you would expect, shooting with broadheads, the wind makes a lot mord difference!
I hunt a lot in high winds as well. I think the deer move becasuse they are uncomfortable sitting when the winds pick up. I see deer just as much in the wind as I do when its not windy. add in some light rain and you have the makings for a great night on stand imo and in my area. my area is heavily pressured. so I think the deer know that when the weather is crappy the woods is empty of hunters. just like they move a lot more mid day during hunting season then during the off season.
Good timing since tomorrow it the wind is going to increase to 25 -30 mph in the evening. Here on Long island the deer do not like to move when the wind is over 20 mph, but duringthe rut all bets are off.
20 mph seems to be about where I draw the line.
I was hunting in gusty wind up to 25 mph last Saturday with pelting rain. I was holding onto the tree with one hand and had my bow and fletchings tucked under my wool vest in the other hand.
Witnessed a doe standing in the middle of a cut cornfield through it all grazing as if it was the most beautiful weather. The storm blew over as we planned, and all hell broke loose in the woods.
Full chasing action for the rest of the night.
Can't kill them from the couch is what we like to say.
I love the noise and movement camo that wind provides. Course if it's loud enough I can't hear critters coming either haha.
Same as Walleye fishing 9 MPH.
15mph I'd be out and up; once you get toward 20 I won't go up a tree. Never had much luck in 20+ mph wind. However if it's prime time I'll ground hunt even in higher winds.
It is 20 gusting to 30 here today. We are going out anyway. The deer around here don't seem to pay much attention to wind, I am always surprized to seem them out and about in high wind conditions. It does justify the use of Hill broadheads over large wide broadheads.
If you limited yourself to 9mp around here, you wouldn't be hunting much.
12 to 15 mph, I shift gears....out of the blind/stand, and on with the still hunting! Remember, you can always go looking for them! Keep the wind in your face and explore! Ive walked right up on deer nesting in blow downs....wind was perfect, noise was masked...they didnt know I was coming! The instance that comes to mind, was a year I did NOT have a doe tag!!!
30+ gusts today and tomorrow, I'm going out! Never know
You guys are talking "calm" days around here! Try 50 to 60 mph for days, even a month on end, with gusts reaching much higher. Deer move normally around here...they are used to it...have to be or they'd starve.
Real windy days are great stillhunting days, and you just adjust and use other tactics. I killed one 6 by 6 on a day that the wind derailed 13 boxcars off the tracks nearby....from the ground of course. There are days I stay not only out, but away from trees, and head for brush or "out of the wind" hidey holes. So to answer your question....around my neck of the woods, it's almost never too windy.
When I get motion sickness while sitting in a tree, it's too windy!!!
I knew Mark would jump in here! Livingston makes Casper look tame for wind.
I start rethinking my spots after 10mph. I don't remember killing a deer over 15mph or so and I hunt regardless.
Rob
Windy? Love it, Don't think about getting in a tree stand, it's time to hit the ground. Spot and stalk if possible. Corn fields are my first pick, overgrown fields with or without hedgerows can hold big bucks during high wind. When big bucks can't smell whats coming, they want to see whats coming. Stay low......crawl if you have to! High wind can be a fantastic advantage to the bow hunter. The Deer want protection from the wind in the winter.
30mi gusts here too. I'll be on the ground. Going to hunt that bottom I posted a pic of in the pic thread in the evening
So after reading these posts, it makes me wonder, if you're getting 20-30mph+ winds, they should be steady-line winds right?
Is there much swirling? Never thought much about really heavy winds.
I got my biggest buck in 30+ gusts but he came in on the grunt so he was rutting,,, even though its windy I wait for that last 1/2hr when it calms down to almost nothing and they all come out.
Anything over 5 MPH is a tornado here in appalachia :)
Seriously these deer never have to encounter wind only the thermals , That is why is is hard to perdict where your scent is going .
It the wind blows I head to the deepest hollow I can find ,so do the deer .
I get tickled when someone says they will not hunt unless the wind is right . The thermals will change 3-5 times an hour here in these hills .
I think you can safely assume that the answer to your question is entirely relevant to where you plan to hunt and what the game is accustomed to. Windy days are far from my favorite times to hunt, but I have killed deer on days I was questioning my sanity. In my case I'll confess my old bones feel it more than they used to and another layer of clothes against the wind chill possibly interfering with my accuracy will keep me by the fire if I know my 'A' game isn't on. (well it used to be 'A', maybe a C+ now) I do think over the years I've seen more deer in open fields where the wind-driven movement is less of an impediment on their vision. I also think in thicker cover, deer are less affected after all the hardwood leaves are gone. Ever noticed in the early season(Sept-Oct.) a mild wind moves everything in the woods. The same wind in November gets little resistance and the woods seem almost still by comparison.
Thanks for all the comments guys. We are forecasted for 25 mph gusts today and frankly I get seasick and am afraid of height to begin with so I took a pass :D . I like the suggestion of stalking but never thought about it on my lease and will try it when the corn is out next time. Hope everyone's season is going well and BE SAFE!
The wind is your friend !
Here in Michigan, we get a little thing called the "Gales of November". We had a brief tease of 60mph winds this morning on the lakeshore. But they have since died down.
Years back, I killed 2 bucks on rifle opener when we had winds gusting to 50mph.
While winds that high usually make hunting a joke, a rutty buck can be moving and looking.
When you find yourself singing "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in your head while on stand, it may be too windy.
(http://photo.accuweather.com/photogallery/2013/1/500/f2ad100c8.jpg)
(http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/64/d4/a7/64d4a7b92211305038467f86118579df.jpg)
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well-seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made the tattle-tale sound
And the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
T'was the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came, it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
When supper time came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
At 7 P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good to know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go, as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
Read more: Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Rich,I keep my shots shorter,but I love the wind.As stated above alot of good reasons to hunt,Im not to far from Springfield,I will be in the tree this afternoon.We have rain next week in the forcast,I will be out there for sure.
Good Luck let us know.
Terry
Very little moving this morning, had 1 doe just after 8am at 80yds. Pretty normal for windy days in my experience.
Opinion here, but I think high winds make you harder to smell until you are super close. I have a love/hate relationship with wind. The hate side stems from personal discomfort when my face is raw. The love? It takes away scent and sound from the critters! It helps to have a setup you really trust in wind, and keeping shots shorter is good.
Amen Pat.
It all depend on what is normal in your area. I passed this am with steady winds around 25 and rain. I don't see stuff in these wind speed unless the rut is on, gun hunters are around or it is cold. Next week I would have been out.
If I had enough land to still hunt I would have gone for sure. I used to hit standing corn on these conditions when there was more of that around and less houses.
Last year I saw my to best bucks right about now in these winds but they were bedding in a grass Island near a300 acre fields and out running around 100 yd from any cover in a picked corn field.
Out west I have seen it not get below 20 for a week.
I will be out Tonight to catch the wind drop off at sunset. That is usually when I see deer move in these winds this time of year where I hunt. Wind speed from 19 to about 10 last night when the sun set and they got up and moved that last 30 minutes.
10- 15 is kinda normal here . When there's wind you know witch way they are going to come in. Sort of. What Pat said.