Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

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NYBackcountry
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Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby NYBackcountry » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:45 am

I wanted to get some conversation going about wind direction and choosing your destination for a hunt.

So far this year, I've hunted total of 18 days all but two days Wunderground has been wrong about dominant wind for the day. I usually check my wind at the truck, and again as I move through the property to where i want to set up. Many times I get to a spot on public at 445-5PM, I have 30-40 minutes to get to a spot and get set up, that leaves roughly an hour for the sit itself before dark. If you show up and the wind at the truck is totally wrong are you just adjusting access and stand site based on that wind? I am asking specifically for spots you are not as familiar with or are learning. I know most of us have a good understanding of how terrain and foliage impact our go to spots by now.

Nothing worse than speeding to a spot for a 30 minute sit only to find out the wind is totally wrong at the truck.


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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby hunter10 » Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:55 pm

If my predetermined area or tree does not have cooperating wind then I adjust and move to where I can still hunt with the actual wind. weather networks are often just off.
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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:50 am

I’m doing an observation stand if possible, or adjusting on the fly. Might turn into a doe hunt if I don’t have another bed for that wind. Might hit the other side of a ridge if it’s hill country and the time is right. Might hit a low thermal hub at last minute counting on the wind to be irrelevant.

For 1st year 1st time sits I’m having the same issue 1/4 times. Keying in on thermals more helps. Some of my best sets are around thermals more than wind direction.
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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby tbunao » Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:55 am

Plan A, plan b, plan c.....

I don’t account for 180 wind difference but I do account for a different wind while making the plans. Sometimes my best stand option is the first spot I arrive to or sometimes it’s the last depending on route. Those routes in can help determine what’s going on wind wise elsewhere.
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elk yinzer
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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby elk yinzer » Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:41 am

I use Windy and it is hit or miss. It is pretty accurate generally but terrain plays such a huge role in wind direction. I usually park in the valleys where the wind is totally unreliable all the time and climb up the ridges where the wind gets a little more consistent up high. I tend to disregard what the wind is doing down low and press onward at least until I get to a higher location where the wind should be doing what the models are saying. That tends to be one of the problems with hunting big woods also though. Plan B is nice, but when it is frequently a mile or two away, sometimes you just get locked into Plan A on those quick evening hunts.
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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby SaddleMaster » Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:58 am

Check out Ventusky: https://www.ventusky.com

It gives a real good visual as to how the winds will go/change throughout the day.
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Re: Playing the wind/deciding the hunt

Unread postby NYBackcountry » Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:46 am

I'll check that site out Saddle thanks.

In general it's not much of an issue on weekends or days off, just adjust. The real problem is getting to a piece of public that you are targeting because of a certain wind, as in the deer will likely only bed there on that wind, and its wrong. I've been surprised this year at how wrong the Wunderground has been for me.


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