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.

 

 


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.