High wind and ridge tops ?

[upwind predator]

Sunday my tentative plan was to pull an all day sit on a really tight rut funnel. But i now see winds will be in the teens and gusts of 25-30mph. Will bucks still cruise and travel or should i wait for a slower wind day?

[Jmitch]

From my experience bucks or deer in general will still move on a ridge top in high winds if its they're only option. Or easiest. If they can easy traverse the leeward side they will tho.

I have one setup where its steep drops on both sides and a 50 yard wide ridge top so there isnt an easy way thru out of the wind. I have had good sits in that set with high winds but its not a very pleasant sit and generally more productive on calmer wind days. if it's more rolling gradual terrian they will most likely travel out of the wind on the leeward side in my experience.

Hope that makes sense

[szwampdonkey]

Good luck! But it’s been my observation over the years that the absolute toughest weather condition for bowhunting is high winds. Winds here today by me are sustained 30mph with gust up to 50mph with intermittent rains all day. I’m only going to one of my easy access “dating the fat chick” spots where i do actually see deer. I’ll hunt the last 2 hours and that’s it.

Can you kill a deer in high winds, of course. But imo it’s going to be super low odds of success. Winds that high can wreak havoc on arrow flight and your ability to hold steady so that’s something to consider as well.

It’s a tough deal when these types of weather conditions show up first week of Nov. A lot of times i’ll soft scout with my bow in my hand on days like this too so i can stay productive towards the goal of killing deer. By soft scout i mean look for obvious sign by access trails or spots i don’t plan on actually hunting, night sign, etc.

[Pancake]

The high winds tomorrow might change where I decide to sit, but they won't change my plan of being out there. It's still November 6, so it's prime time. The conditions may not be perfect, but I'm sitting every day I can in November.

[upwind predator]

Thanks for the info guys, im gonna wait till wednesday to sit the funnel all day. Wind will be right all day. Todays its switchin at noon now anyways.

[Abishai]

A lot of guys on TSO podcast hunt windward sides of mountains on windy days and call deer over from the leeward side of the opposing ridgeline.

[Leibinger]

On extreme wind days, I’ve found a lot of action in areas where the wind is blocked to some degree, such a deep drainages, hubs, or where something such as a steep ridge/bluff interrupts the intensity of the wind. They often seem to pull out of the really thick cover, as they lose such a sound advantage. Seems they like places where their ability to see and smell is amplified.