Wind Speeds and buck movement

[pilgrimhunter]

I was reading an article by Jeff Sturgis the other day relating to what equals a good day to hunt. This fascinates me because I have a family and can not hunt as much as I would like. Combine this with hunting a lot of smaller tracts of land and burn out on the family front and on the property can be real. I plan on paying much more attention to the weather this year than I ever have in the past. One of the factors that was a plus in his formula was dropping wind speeds post front passing. The lower the wind speed the better the day by his formula. I also remember Mark Drury saying in a podcast that he does not like calm winds but rather prefers 10-15 mph. I am wondering what you guys have seen?

(If this has already been discussed on here I apologize. I did a quick search but didn't see what I was looking for.)

[JakeD]

In my experience/opinion, I prefer a stiffer wind most of the time. Seems that whenever it is a light wind, it is most likely going to be a variable wind. Other guys may have a totally different experience with it, but that's just what I've dealt with. I hunt the banks of the Mississippi river a lot, so it may also be more of the thermals off the river that cause that issue for me with light winds. Seems that the stiffer the wind is, the more consistent it stays.

[Bigb]

I like anything from 5mph to 15mph. I do enjoy hunts in the AM when it perfectly still. I love hearing the woods come alive. If its super calm in the morning, I still seem to have pretty good sits if the weather is cooler than normal. If its the evening and there is no wind, hunts tend to not be very good.

I hear people talk about having luck in stiff wind. If its blowing from 20 to 30 mph, deer sightings do down. Over 30, I still hunt but its bottoms and anywhere out of the wind. It's tough holding a bow stead enough if its blowing more than 25mph.

[Stanley]

I like wind for sure. Killed some good ones over the years in 15-25 mph winds. See less movement overall but the old boys must like some wind to cover their movement.

[JAK]

I shot one of my biggest bucks in really heavy winds.. and have also had big ones on trail cams in heavy winds over 20 mph

[Dewey]

I like wind for sure. Killed some good ones over the years in 15-25 mph winds. See less movement overall but the old boys must like some wind to cover their movement.

I agree. Many of my biggest bucks were seen in crazy winds. There is something to mature bucks moving in that stuff and feeling safe. Maybe they know we can’t shoot as well in strong winds.

[WSalzNC]

This is one of my favorite deer mysteries to ponder. I've heard it said that deer, bloodhounds "see" the wind like a picture that's constantly changing... I like to think a deer has a higher, more consistent, more reliable flow of information to his brain in a stiff breeze compared to light variable winds.

[northeast beast]

i like a good wind 10mph if it could pick the magic number. I have seen some mature bucks cruising around with a good stiff wind as well its weird i almost feel like they like like it windy too

[elk yinzer]

Same as walleye fishing, give me a good steady breeze anywhere from 5-20 mph and I am happy. Just don't like zero wind and don't like to be blown off the lake/out of the tree.

[Weaver.b]

I was reading an article by Jeff Sturgis the other day relating to what equals a good day to hunt. This fascinates me because I have a family and can not hunt as much as I would like. Combine this with hunting a lot of smaller tracts of land and burn out on the family front and on the property can be real. I plan on paying much more attention to the weather this year than I ever have in the past. One of the factors that was a plus in his formula was dropping wind speeds post front passing. The lower the wind speed the better the day by his formula. I also remember Mark Drury saying in a podcast that he does not like calm winds but rather prefers 10-15 mph. I am wondering what you guys have seen?

(If this has already been discussed on here I apologize. I did a quick search but didn't see what I was looking for.)

Do you have a good source to give me where I can find more info on Jeff Sturgis rating days to hunt. I have read some of his stuff and watched his videos but have only found kind of his genaric formula not so much how he rates each day for sure. Thanks !

[pilgrimhunter]

I was reading an article by Jeff Sturgis the other day relating to what equals a good day to hunt. This fascinates me because I have a family and can not hunt as much as I would like. Combine this with hunting a lot of smaller tracts of land and burn out on the family front and on the property can be real. I plan on paying much more attention to the weather this year than I ever have in the past. One of the factors that was a plus in his formula was dropping wind speeds post front passing. The lower the wind speed the better the day by his formula. I also remember Mark Drury saying in a podcast that he does not like calm winds but rather prefers 10-15 mph. I am wondering what you guys have seen?

(If this has already been discussed on here I apologize. I did a quick search but didn't see what I was looking for.)

Do you have a good source to give me where I can find more info on Jeff Sturgis rating days to hunt. I have read some of his stuff and watched his videos but have only found kind of his genaric formula not so much how he rates each day for sure. Thanks !

https://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.c ... t-forecast
This is what I was reading. I have heard it mentioned in some of his videos but this article has the formula.

[pilgrimhunter]

I appreciate all the input so far. I can understand that some wind helps with our scent while we are hunting. I was especially curious what people had seen in relation to buck movement and the wind. (Do they move more or less) I would love to hear from more guys. Trying to learn all I can. Thanks

[elk yinzer]

I'll emphasize as I always do referencing this study that these are big woods mountain deer and their behavior is different than midwest farm deer, but check this info out:

[url]
http://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/proj ... r-movement[/url]

[freezeAR]

My first buck last season was titled "what a difference wind makes" or something like that. The reason I titled it that was I had been bed hunting in pretty calm winds and it was hard to get in tight to bedding without some wind. Go a 10-15 mph wind and set up close to bedding and a buck came out. In my opinion, wind really helps the hunter and like Stanley said the big ole boys like it I suspect for the same reasons I do. I think they (bucks) realize less hunters are hunting with high winds.

[<DK>]

I like anything from 5mph to 15mph. I do enjoy hunts in the AM when it perfectly still. I love hearing the woods come alive. If its super calm in the morning, I still seem to have pretty good sits if the weather is cooler than normal. If its the evening and there is no wind, hunts tend to not be very good.

I hear people talk about having luck in stiff wind. If its blowing from 20 to 30 mph, deer sightings do down. Over 30, I still hunt but its bottoms and anywhere out of the wind. It's tough holding a bow stead enough if its blowing more than 25mph.

Good post man. I agree. Those late evening varuable wind hunts are tough tho.

I appreciate all the input so far. I can understand that some wind helps with our scent while we are hunting. I was especially curious what people had seen in relation to buck movement and the wind. (Do they move more or less) I would love to hear from more guys. Trying to learn all I can. Thanks

There is a article ill have to dig up that showed movement distances per wind conditions. They actually moved farther w higher winds. So then comes the theories as to why. Which is a real fun discussion.

One of the keys w the wind speeds is being situational. Though, in general w winds 10+ one of the best parts is having the confidence that buck is bedding there. If it gets too high then theyll shift to different bedding. Another thing about wind speeds in hill country is that different speeds change thermal effects on the hill sides. Vaccum effects occur in bottoms and monitoring whats happening is key. Variable wind days can be tough to hit right on bedding locations in some cases and thermal currents become dominant throughout the day. In those cases I try to focus on thick areas iv found for any/most wind directions. When youre not sure which spot to hit bc of iffy winds, check the ladder days leading up to your hunt day to guess which beds they've probably been using.