Hunting the Wind

     I was fortunate as a youngster to have family members who introduced me to the woods and hunting.   My love quickly turned to whitetails.  Many of my opportunities to hunt them however were alone or was with my friends who were also learning the woods.   The hardest learned lesson about whitetail hunting was to hunt the wind.
     We have all been guilty of having that great stand that we get over eager to go into hunt.  We go in and alert a big boy to our presence.  You may sit the wrong stand because its the only place that you have to stay dry and/or warm.  From my experience, I go home or move stands when the wind changes to a wrong direction.  You sit for hours without seeing deer and you educate deer to your presence.
     Don't fall into the trap of scent prevention and scent elimination products!  That being said, you rarely will ever catch me deer hunting without some sort of carbon / scent inhibiting clothing on.  I am big on washing my clothes in scent free cleaner and big on spraying myself down before going into the woods.   I have even used Ozonics and think they are great.  Do not however think you can sit in the wrong wind and consistently have deer come in on you.  Sure there are exceptions.   I always have guys say they smoke cigarettes on the stand and kill deer.  I can say that I see allot more mature deer now that I watch my scent.  Please don't however depend on a cover scent, scent attractant, or a scent prevention suit to think you can sit the wrong wind.    Pick it up and change your stand!  All these products are good at cutting down your stink but none totally eliminate it.
     You have to consider where you sit in relation to where the deer will be.  You also must consider your way into and out of the stand.   If you walk into a stand and scent/ stink up where your deer are resting then you can expect a long sit before you see deer.  I have some stands that are hard to get in without being detected and sometimes that means you need to go in early.  Watch your wind.  Think not only of your food sources but also the bedding.   Consider the trails and how the deer go in and out.   Don't forget that you have to leave.  Hunting evening green fields can be hard to exit quietly as well as scent free, so think about when and how you leave.
     The places I hunt in Virgina and North Carolina have hills, hollows, and some mountains. The thermals can give you the blues.  I use smart phone programs such as scoutlook and other weather applications to predict wind.  A hollow or mountain can however be unpredictable.   I know that I have a stand in a creek bottom that is notorious for swirling winds.   You have also watch the thermals and the way the wind reacts in the morning as well as the evening.  Will the deer smell you ontop of the hill when you are sitting int he bottom?  Will they smell you in the hollow when you are sitting on the ridge?  These are things you must consider because often we aren't offered two chances at a big buck.
     This article was intended to get you thinking about the wind.  Look at your favorite stand and see how you can hunt it better.  Also consider what is the best wind to a stand.   Become a student of the wind as well as manager of your scent.   You will become a better hunter and wish you had done it earlier.