Don't trust the wind forecast

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mauser06
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Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby mauser06 » Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:56 pm

We have what seems like a big influx of new users this season..more than I remember in the past. Many of you know this...but today was a good moment to bring to light that I thought I'd share.

Checked the wind forecast all day. Checked the hourly..checked multiple sources. All said I had the green light to hunt the ONLY farmland bed I know of.

I've been patiently waiting for the time to hunt that spot. I need wet ground or loud windy conditions because trees are very limited and I gotta get literally within 75yds of the bed.

My buddy sent me a video of a great 10 point the other night in a field just outside that bed so I already know he is likely bedding there.


Got to where I park and got out and the wind didn't feel right.

Threw milkweed around and it was completely wrong. Infact 180 degrees dead wrong. Every source agreed on a southern wind. It was blowing from the north.

Absolutely no way I could risk it. Jumped back in the truck and left.

It's frustrating. Typically the forecast is right..or close enough I can fine tune...today was a good example. Had I just went in it would have been over....

Thought I'd share...as it's often things like that that will make or break a true beast style hunt.


I have scouted my tail off in this area and simply can't nail down bedding. It's highly fragmented suburban farmland. That's the only bed I have ever found that's consistently used by a mature buck..and once in a while someone throws a ladder stand in there because they stumbled into the sign. I found huge tracks one winter and followed them back. It took me a couple days and I still didn't find the bed....right after dark one way I had a slob cross the road in front of me. Went back the next day and pieced the last 400yds back to the bed and it's been used ever since till someone pressures it bad. Last year I hunted it and it was being used by a giant 6 point that wasn't legal. Not sure if the 10 is him or not. I haven't seen him. Hopefully within the next week I can get in there and get him killed though! Window starts closing up.. especially if it is the 6 and he's up to the same pattern as last year...he was stupid and hung next to the road all fall right after dark...if he don't get poached, someone else will stumble into the small patch and blow it.


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Boogieman1
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Thu Oct 12, 2017 6:49 pm

Good post I think a lot of guys struggle with this. The direction the wind is blowing from in a forecast does not tell u the wind u need for a stand. I no when u scout and find a got spot u think if the wind is coming from this direction I should be good. Problem is the terrain changes the direction when u think u need a SW it might actually be a N the way the land manipulates the wind. When I post season scout and find a spot I go back under a variety of wind conditions tossing milkweed to figure out exactly what I can get away with.
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Outdoor814
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Thu Oct 12, 2017 8:54 pm

I don't even look at the wind forecast anymore. There are times that I get out of my truck and check the wind, walk less than 100 yards, check it again and it's completely different.
Times I've walked a field edge checking wind then once I hit the woods it's completely different.

I think they key to playing the wind is to consistently be checking the wind.
I throw that stuff around like candy at a parade
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Thu Oct 12, 2017 9:42 pm

Yep. That's the life of the wind hunter. This fall has been no exception. Some spots just work that way.
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elk yinzer
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby elk yinzer » Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:00 pm

https://www.windy.com/

I always take a look at this in conjunction with a surface analysis map right before heading out.The compass direction on a basic forecast means nothing to me because I don't know where I am in relation to the pressure gradients driving the forecast. Hopefully that meteorologist guy can chime in, but in my layman terms this is how I interpret it. If you are sitting in an area of rotating high or low pressure system, or along a frontal boundary, it's a pretty good bet you are going to see shifty winds.

That info at least tells me if I can expect some consistency in the wind direction. Then as others have said terrain can be a factor too, but heading out there with at least a bit of an idea what to expect is half the battle.
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ChasingFLATS86
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby ChasingFLATS86 » Thu Oct 12, 2017 10:49 pm

There have been times I have got out of the truck only to find it was the wrong wind. But if possible I try to work my way toward my destination and check the wind the whole way. Last night a SE wind was forecasted, at the truck it was coming from the north/north east. 2 miles back in the marsh on the island I was headed to it was a SE wind. I'm going t to make it a point to check these things while scouting making note of forecasted and true wind direction at the truck and bedding.
God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth. That means we should listen twice as much as we talk.
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Jhand
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Jhand » Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:05 pm

I learned a few years ago just because the wind is doing one thing in the parking lot doesn't mean it's going to do the same thing where you plan to hunt. I check the wind at the parking lot and keep checking it as I'm going in. When I reach where I plan on hunting I stand there for a few mins and keep checking the wind to make sure it's not doing anything funny when it blows or calms down.
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:25 pm

I've mentioned b4 that you need to record the forecast and quantify the results in field.

One step further. ..
Meaning after you drop milkweed or whatever from your stand elevation.
Go towards the direction and check again, say @ 50 yards, and again...

Your sight can only determine what you see.
My milkweed always seems to get caught on something within 20-30 yards.
Obstructions, slight hills, dips in the terrain, a small stand of timber, etc all effect wind current.

You need to localize each wind scenario to the forcast.
Remember there is wind, windy and calm.
Swirls occur based on that minute or second. .
Of course thermals do too...!

It's a game of chess...
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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headgear
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby headgear » Thu Oct 12, 2017 11:58 pm

In a lot of my better spots the wind is always doing strange things or getting consistently pushed in one direction or swirling like crazy, as a hunter it can drive you mad but as a deer I'm sure they love it. Some spots I hunt are valleys that spill out into larger swamps, no matter the wind the valley will funnel the wind to the bed and swirl the wind in all kinds of directions. I have spots where I am less that 150 yard from bedding and the wind is hitting my back or each side of my cheek, as push past those swirls it gets more consistent. I think bucks love spots like this because they can bed there on multiple winds and be safe. Other spots like bowls or swamps with points the wind might do something different based on wind speed, at 5mph its going in one direction, at 10 its going in the other or doing both, the more I pay attention the trickier it can get. Some spots are pretty strait forward but it seems like the biggest bucks like those hard to hunt areas. One spots I thought I had figured out but it through me a curve ball this year, just have to adapt to what is happening around us and throw a lot of milkweed hunting and especially scouting.
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Whitetailaddict » Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:26 am

Good reminder to check the wind at the truck and at the stand. Have you ever went to this spot on other winds to see if maybe a land feature or something else is causing the change in predicted wind direction that would allow you to hunt the spot when the predicted wind direction would make you think you should stay home?
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<DK>
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby <DK> » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:09 am

Great post Mauser! That sucks to hear, hope those winds you need get back here soon
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby d_rek » Fri Oct 13, 2017 1:57 am

elk yinzer wrote:https://www.windy.com/

I always take a look at this in conjunction with a surface analysis map right before heading out.The compass direction on a basic forecast means nothing to me because I don't know where I am in relation to the pressure gradients driving the forecast. Hopefully that meteorologist guy can chime in, but in my layman terms this is how I interpret it. If you are sitting in an area of rotating high or low pressure system, or along a frontal boundary, it's a pretty good bet you are going to see shifty winds.

That info at least tells me if I can expect some consistency in the wind direction. Then as others have said terrain can be a factor too, but heading out there with at least a bit of an idea what to expect is half the battle.


Very cool website. Thanks for sharing!
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Tennhunter3
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:04 am

Wind does let you know which side the buck does bed on that day.

It will not help specific wind flow in areas you hunt. It takes a lot of milkweed to find the right trees you can hunt. I still have trouble finding perfect tree for the setup!
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Wlog » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:31 am

Think of air flow like water flow. When water hits an obstruction it creates rips, eddies, changes directions. When you look at a forecasted wind direction you kind of have to visualize how the air will flow through the area around the stand you plan on hunting.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
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Re: Don't trust the wind forecast

Unread postby Emrah » Fri Oct 13, 2017 4:36 am

Scentlock suit. CLEARLY that's the answer lol

Emrah


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