High wind whitetail’s

[DouglasR]

What are y’all’s thoughts on stand hunting Midwest whitetail’s on a windy day?
It’s been absolutely miserable and melancholy here in east central Il for the past 3 days. No sun, rain all day, dreary AF, 10-15mph winds. First snow of the year blew in last night and is continuing through the day. Winds blowing 20-30 today. Forecast says 15-20 for like the next week. Since I’m rained out at work I’m thinking about saying to heck with it and giving it a go this afternoon.
Looking for thought and opinions.
Thanks!

 

[Wilderness_56587]

Better to be in the winds then sitting at home thinking about it

 

[LCH]

I don't usually let it keep me out of the woods. Movement may be a bit slower, but they will still move in the wind. Just look up and around for dead limbs and trees.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I hate wind hunting, but according to studies it does not slow deer down. You can look up the actual studies they did at PSU. And for example I was pheasant hunting tuesday afternoon in 25mph winds and I saw 11 deer up and moving while out there.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Also I like still hunting in high winds. It easier to sneak around undetected.

 

[vanish]

I just spent a week in Nebraska where 4 of the days were 30mph sustained with 50+ mph gusts. It was brutal.

The animals will still move, but they're not moving in their normal places. This is not a time to sit a field edge.

Hunt the thick stuff. Lee sides of hills / ridges. Conifer protected bottoms, etc.

 

[Dave N]

Screw it! Too dang cold! Not to mention you didn't tell everyone it's currently archery only in Illinois. Wind blows arrows.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Brutal cold, bundle up is what I do. Not sure what I would do if I had to take a shot. Personally I would move my already limited shooting distance down. High wind I may only be okay with throwing and arrow 20-25 yards.

Trees help, but you still get the cold that's for sure.

 

[Pucky Freak]

A sheltered area on a windy day and you don't have to worry about arrows blowing around.

I particularly like 30-40 mph and hunting talk grass or CRP. You can beat all the deer's senses in that stuff and walk in close on them

 

[DouglasR]

To hell with that. I can play the cold weather game if I have to, but the powers that be have given me more venison than I deserve over the past 2 seasons and sitting in that tree stand for several hrs without moving on a cold, windy winter day takes an entirely different type of mental discipline.

Thanks for all the tips!
I’m going squirrel hiking.

Doe from 2 years ago just to prove I can take the cold if I have to.

 

[Gut Shot]

I love still hunting in the wind and cold. Deer will often bed in the lee of a hill during cold, windy days making them easy to find. Add in a few inches of snow and it doesn't get any better.

 

[N2TRKYS]

If the wind blows all night and the next morning, I've noticed deer will be moving late to mid morning even if the wind is still blowing. I've had great luck doing this over the years.

Isn't the rut going on up there right now? If so, I'd definitely be in a stand.

 

[KipCarson]

I have a theory about deer and wind, I have often noticed that when the wind is up the deer do tend to move plenty and often seem way more nervous and jittery than on a calm day. Highwind reduces the effectiveness of two out of three of their defense senses. Hearing and sight. In calm weather they can hear everything coming and quickly visually pickup on things moving, therefore they are more relaxed. Highwind takes that ability away from them leaving only their nose. As others have stated it is easier to sneak up on them when it’s windy. Deer will not sit in one place really long when they are nervous about their surroundings. That’s just my thinking on the matter with only anecdotal evidence to back it up.

I also second those who say avoid open fields, I have places I can see 10 to 15 deer in a field every afternoon, but when a front comes through and the wind is high you are guaranteed to see zero.

 

[Sask hunter]

I would be out as long as it wasn’t a blizzard with the snow.