Hunting a mid day wind switch

[kurt]

I've had great hunts last few years, when you have a wind shift. If you get 3 days or more with a consistent wind. Then it changes mid morning or so has been dynamite for me. Few reasons below.

I like others don't think a mature buck will move far at all after a switch. Just reposition with cover and terrain being determining factors. Hunting pressure maybe as well. They just don't like leaving a secure bedding area especially if they have used it last few days.

Sometimes a slight switch (90deg or less)is all you need to have close enough access or hunt close enough to kill. I hunt a lot of hill country and sometimes I need to stage hunt. A lot of times beds are good because visually and scent wise it is nearly impossible to get too with access I have. So I will stage in a area( in morning) almost a throw away hunt or observation type and move when wind switches when I get that small window of time he is killable.

Another thing I've noticed is sometimes you get a few days of southish wind . Then you get this super calm morning before a front moves in. I doubt a buck knows what way the wind will end up. And usually its variable for awhile. He is not going to move for individual gusts every few minutes. And a lot of weather fronts change wind direction so it happens enough. Cold fronts and storm fronts are already a favorite. If the timing of those things have a buck bedded in not a ideal situation, you got to take advantage of that.

[JoeRE]

good points Kurt. I have noticed better movement with the first day of a new wind in general, after several days of consistent wind. I swear with every additional day of the same wind mature bucks get better and better at staying invisible. It kind of makes sense, he may have to move for other factors but wind isn't one of them.

I know Mark Drury talks about the "first south" wind. I think the additional benefit of a first south is that it usually has high pressure with it. other "first day " winds can be good too.

Reading through the various examples mentioned here, and given most are seeing the wind swirl for a little while before establishing a new direction, are you guys seeing the buck move after the wind becomes consistent in the new direction, or does he move once the wind starts to become inconsistent from the original direction? I am thinking there is some time gap there and if there is a pattern to the timing of his move then it makes it easier to decide where to try to intercept him.

I would say a buck seems to move once hte wind is generally blowing from a new direction. Within minutes. Somehow they seem to know if its going to stick or keep swirling. My guess is the relative humidity and barometric pressure are changing as well and they know a new weather trend is starting, not just more swirly winds.

I have wondered what a buck does with truly light and variable winds. those are pretty rare around here but as anyone observed in those conditions? I doubt they get up every 10 minutes. Do they just seek out "any wind" beds, thicker cover?

[headgear]

Several years back I shot a rut buck on a wind switch, I knew the switch was coming but it showed up a couple hours earlier than expected. I moved my stand and shot the buck within 10 minutes of the move, a lot of luck for sure but had I not moved the wind did a 180 and he would have busted me long before I ever saw him in the original setup. I really credit the Beast for that buck because I might not have moved and just rode it out had I not picked up some great tips way back when.

[<DK>]

good points Kurt. I have noticed better movement with the first day of a new wind in general, after several days of consistent wind. I swear with every additional day of the same wind mature bucks get better and better at staying invisible. It kind of makes sense, he may have to move for other factors but wind isn't one of them.

I know Mark Drury talks about the "first south" wind. I think the additional benefit of a first south is that it usually has high pressure with it. other "first day " winds can be good too.

Reading through the various examples mentioned here, and given most are seeing the wind swirl for a little while before establishing a new direction, are you guys seeing the buck move after the wind becomes consistent in the new direction, or does he move once the wind starts to become inconsistent from the original direction? I am thinking there is some time gap there and if there is a pattern to the timing of his move then it makes it easier to decide where to try to intercept him.

I would say a buck seems to move once hte wind is generally blowing from a new direction. Within minutes. Somehow they seem to know if its going to stick or keep swirling. My guess is the relative humidity and barometric pressure are changing as well and they know a new weather trend is starting, not just more swirly winds.

I have wondered what a buck does with truly light and variable winds. those are pretty rare around here but as anyone observed in those conditions? I doubt they get up every 10 minutes. Do they just seek out "any wind" beds, thicker cover?

Great stuff guys!
I love listening to Mark Drury talk about movement, though I think the direction of the switch gets over emphasized. A N-S or S-N is what most of us see so that is what we say the most. I personally like the S-N switch better, I can find NW wind beds all day but S are tougher... though the next guy may not have that issue. Would you think it can vary region/location or terrain?
Your last comment is exactly what I wonder the most and is a great reason im glad iv kept deer logs/notes. I hunt mainly hills and timber but this something im still trying to figure out bc I dont want to stay home or hunt conservatively. When I bump deer on variable winds its usually WRONG direction for the spot. So this makes things confusing bc the wind could be doing something different in his spot, thermal pull is working for him better, does use odd wind directions, it could have been a young buck or could I be underestimating a mature bucks willingness to stay in put / know how to manipulate that spot? Thicker cover is one thing iv been thinking too, thats a great point! Results have varied but I have alot to research... cant seem to stay of the beast and get it done!
I think wind speed / daylight movement stats should be apart of that discussion in a way. You mentioned seeing best movement on the first day of a new wind ~ that is something iv been taught and learned to put alot of weight into. TC pics dont lie on that topic and as you know iv only ran a cam for a season and half. I know we are talking mid day shifts but my favorite time to attack great beds is: a cool front rolls in Oct, wind shifts, but its going to stay the same for 48hrs or more. For me, those days its hard to sleep the night before.

[Aaron1987]

I've had great hunts last few years, when you have a wind shift. If you get 3 days or more with a consistent wind. Then it changes mid morning or so has been dynamite for me. Few reasons below.

I like others don't think a mature buck will move far at all after a switch. Just reposition with cover and terrain being determining factors. Hunting pressure maybe as well. They just don't like leaving a secure bedding area especially if they have used it last few days.

Sometimes a slight switch (90deg or less)is all you need to have close enough access or hunt close enough to kill. I hunt a lot of hill country and sometimes I need to stage hunt. A lot of times beds are good because visually and scent wise it is nearly impossible to get too with access I have. So I will stage in a area( in morning) almost a throw away hunt or observation type and move when wind switches when I get that small window of time he is killable.

Another thing I've noticed is sometimes you get a few days of southish wind . Then you get this super calm morning before a front moves in. I doubt a buck knows what way the wind will end up. And usually its variable for awhile. He is not going to move for individual gusts every few minutes. And a lot of weather fronts change wind direction so it happens enough. Cold fronts and storm fronts are already a favorite. If the timing of those things have a buck bedded in not a ideal situation, you got to take advantage of that.

I've seen the same thing on trail camera pictures over the years. Last season I had two different cameras running on the same property. Wind was out of East for 4 days straight and on the morning of October 26 it switched to the WSW. Got pictures of both mature bucks about 200 yards apart between 7:30 and 8 a.m. I'm assuming they were moving from the East wind bedding they'd been using for several days. Not sure but it aligns with your theory.

[tgreeno]

I'm curious how temperature & barometric pressure correlate with these wind switches. Is it mostly the wind that creating the movement or are the temps & BP's maybe helping out also? I am typically not hunting during the mid day unless it is the rut, so I'm not really sure how much it will effect me.

[dan]

I have wondered what a buck does with truly light and variable winds. those are pretty rare around here but as anyone observed in those conditions? I doubt they get up every 10 minutes. Do they just seek out "any wind" beds, thicker cover?

Most of the time if you check with milkweed the air current is pretty consistent. Sure you get occasional back and forth air currents on the light variable stuff, but that is likely more of a benefit to a buck being able to occasionally smell from all directions... Extended periods of not being able to smell the backside is what gets deer to move in my opinion.

A lot of my best primary bedding areas cover most common winds. Terrain funnels the air currents and the shape of the terrain or cover have an impact as well... Some beds are truly difficult to approach because the wind is always variable at that exact spot. I doubt that's a coincidence.

[Aaron1987]

I'm curious how temperature & barometric pressure correlate with these wind switches. Is it mostly the wind that creating the movement or are the temps & BP's maybe helping out also? I am typically not hunting during the mid day unless it is the rut, so I'm not really sure how much it will effect me.

The movement on the day I'm referring to above was at the lowest pressure in a week but the front pushed through mid day and the pressure had risen by that evening.

The key is the bucks were moving during the first weather/wind switch in 4 days. I don't think it's just "random" movement though. They aren't heading to a food source or other random destination. Both bucks are on trails leading to other bedding areas. I would post pics but can't get photo bucket to work.

Several of the examples I've heard of are during the rut also. Headgear killed one on a switch during the rut that he mentions above.