Windward hunting

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Coalcracker
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Windward hunting

Unread postby Coalcracker » Mon May 25, 2020 12:20 am

I know this topic was talked about on the forum but being new (to the forum) and having hunted windward side hills most of my hunting life I thought it worthy of further conversation.

In my observations there are several things which come to mind when hunting windward side hills. #1. Its apparent to me if hunting pressure is concentrated or making entry from the leeward side, deer will move to the windward. I know that's not rocket science but something to consider if your leeward stands aren't productive or lack mature buck sightings. #2. Deer do lay watching uphill. Like anywhere else with a relatively clear line of sight all around them, a particular bedding location on the traditional windward side hill can be used with any wind direction. I have found the best or most heavily used windward beds on spurs in which a deer can quickly drop out of view in nearly any direction. A thicket close by doesn't hurt either. #3. The most prevalent movements I have experienced are straight down in to the wind and at the end of the day when thermals start dropping is moving on to the top of the ridge. Side hill trails appear most active early in the morning.

For me, on the north facing side hills I hunt in Pa, they have scattered rhododendron and pine thickets surrounded by open hardwoods. Small patches of Rhododendron and pine on a smaller spur or bench surrounded by open hardwoods is where I find the most consistent sign of buck bedding.

I'd like to hear from other windward side hill hunters and how you go about hunting this scenario.


Shoot Straight
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brancher147
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Re: Windward hunting

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon May 25, 2020 7:14 am

I hunt windward as much or more than leeward and do just as well in either. You just got to know when to hunt them. Pressure and cover are the main factors. I see the best buck bedding on windward side somewhere the wind swirls or does something crazy based on terrain and thermals-sometimes making the windward side behave as you would expect the leeward side. But I see it wind and cover to back looking into more open woods also. I find mornings can be good while thermals are still dropping on the windward side.
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JonNc
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Re: Windward hunting

Unread postby JonNc » Mon May 25, 2020 12:54 pm

I had questions about this last year too. I learned quickly in the mountains that windward side is just as good. I don’t have a lot to add to the conversation except I can’t wait to hunt a spot I found last year where multiple trails converge together on the side of a mountain that is typically windward. This particular spot, I hung a camera last year, only out for one week and I had 4 daylight pics of bucks that week. 2 were shooters and sightings were all time of day. This spot also has thickets of rhododendron. It’s only about a third of the way up the mountain, but the deer kind of have to use those trails because of a large collection of rock formations. I plan on getting up high in the tree in this spot!

I will say that we typically have a W/NW wind and the W/SW side seems to have more cover here. I’m sure that contributes to the movement on windward side.
tim
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Re: Windward hunting

Unread postby tim » Mon May 25, 2020 8:34 pm

I will take leeward side 99% of the time. That being said for 2 years now I’ve had a buck traveling predominantly on Windward days and last year 2 others were doing the same thing. Usually I will only have immature bucks doing this if even that.
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Coalcracker
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Re: Windward hunting

Unread postby Coalcracker » Fri May 29, 2020 10:44 pm

tim wrote:I will take leeward side 99% of the time. That being said for 2 years now I’ve had a buck traveling predominantly on Windward days and last year 2 others were doing the same thing. Usually I will only have immature bucks doing this if even that.


I agree with leeward for seeing deer but here's the twist I have observed.

On two of the properties (1 public, 1 private), I hunt south and north facing side hills. Hunting pressure is "more" prominent on the South face for both properties. Heavier cover and steeper terrain is more prominent on the North face. When the South face is windward, deer sightings drop off dramatically and mature buck sightings are very, very minimal. Under this condition, the north face, leeward side hill really picks up with activity and mature buck sightings.

When the opposite is true, I have seen high numbers of deer on the leeward south side hill and some mature bucks. However, in the areas I hunt, many times, the oldest bucks come from or are seen on the windward north side hill. It appears the north face is where the oldest bucks prefer to be during day light hours on the properties I hunt regardless of the wind direction. I believe the factors dictating this observation are pressure, cover and rougher terrain. I see this happening in bow season and its really obvious in rifle.
Shoot Straight


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