Setting the Edge
- Boogieman1
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Setting the Edge
I often find myself in a challenge with the wind, it's no secret as already discussed here that deer are a edge animal. But a lot of times a slight off wind is flirting with disaster the past 4 or 5 years I have had great luck with manipulating the edge in my favor. Wondering if anyone else has any tricks or tips? What I do is post season walk the hard edge with a compass and find the widest point, then at that point build a brush pile afew yards off the edge, I hate to use the word always or never when refering to whitetail. But I have yet to see one trust the brush pile, they cut around the downwind side presenting more margin of wind error and a broadside shot.
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
-John Wayne-
-John Wayne-
- jwilkstn
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Re: Setting the Edge
By "widest point" do you mean the area at which the edge transition softens up and is more gradual or maybe a bend in the transition line that allows for a greater variance in wind direction?
Not all those who wander are lost...
- Boogieman1
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Re: Setting the Edge
jwilkstn wrote:By "widest point" do you mean the area at which the edge transition softens up and is more gradual or maybe a bend in the transition line that allows for a greater variance in wind direction?
Much like a bend sometimes if u r lucky with terrain u get a actual bend. I'm saying if it's a east/west edge and u wanted to hunt it with let's say a NE wind I find the farthest south place on the edge that's is still in a place to get daylight traffic and alter the edge. in places u get a big variance there's no need to manipulate it
Life is hard; It’s even harder if you are stupid.
-John Wayne-
-John Wayne-
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Re: Setting the Edge
Can you post a pic that illustrates this tactic? Sounds like a good one!
- Ragingun
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Re: Setting the Edge
I just hunted a very similar situation as described last night. ENE wind and a slightly off E-W swamp edge.
I tend to take to Dan's "scout with your stand" tactics. I googled mapped this area and waited a N wind. My experience is the majority of beds will have the wind blowing from the mainland out to the deer bed since predators most times come from that direction. The wind was slightly off so I entered the area from the opposite side to keep the wind angled back the way I came from yet still blowing out to where the deer are presumably bedding which is why they would be there.
I saw a set of tracks going out into the swamp on a point and thought this should be a buck that likely bedding on the point. There was a couple really high rubs along this trail as well just into the hardwoods coming off the point. I set up 100 yards away from where I figured the bed would be. I didn't see anything so I followed the track after I got down. The track went out to the end of the point and there was a bed exactly where I figured there would be however it hasn't been used in awhile and the tracks continued right past it. Walking back in from the point I turned my headlamp on and noticed someone had put up reflective twisty ties near the edge. I thought "whelp, good scouting and perfect tactic although you can't control other people." My guess is the activity pushed this buck to bed elsewhere.
I love to scout/hunt this way. So far this year I've hunted a bed I never saw 4 times simply by aerial map scouting and then walking that edge to confirm.
I tend to take to Dan's "scout with your stand" tactics. I googled mapped this area and waited a N wind. My experience is the majority of beds will have the wind blowing from the mainland out to the deer bed since predators most times come from that direction. The wind was slightly off so I entered the area from the opposite side to keep the wind angled back the way I came from yet still blowing out to where the deer are presumably bedding which is why they would be there.
I saw a set of tracks going out into the swamp on a point and thought this should be a buck that likely bedding on the point. There was a couple really high rubs along this trail as well just into the hardwoods coming off the point. I set up 100 yards away from where I figured the bed would be. I didn't see anything so I followed the track after I got down. The track went out to the end of the point and there was a bed exactly where I figured there would be however it hasn't been used in awhile and the tracks continued right past it. Walking back in from the point I turned my headlamp on and noticed someone had put up reflective twisty ties near the edge. I thought "whelp, good scouting and perfect tactic although you can't control other people." My guess is the activity pushed this buck to bed elsewhere.
I love to scout/hunt this way. So far this year I've hunted a bed I never saw 4 times simply by aerial map scouting and then walking that edge to confirm.
Dogs have many friends because they wag their tails, not their tongues.
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