quote:
We farmed some fields on the north side of a big block of woods that was chock full of deer when I was a kid, so I would bow hunt the edge on a south wind. It never failed about deer:30 there comes a little puff of wind from the north, and all hell would break loose, palmetto rattling, does snorting. Also, seems every time I hunt the damn wind is swirling when in the woods.

I hunted a few tracts just like that. If I had north or northeast winds, I had a pretty isolated patch of timber with a huge slope behind my stand that wasn't impassable, but it wasn't the easiest path for deer to travel along. It was easy access from the road where I parked, too.

Another field I used to hunt allowed me to hunt various locations along edges to the east, west, and south sides--the north side had too much variation in topography, and the field was roughly 500 yards wide. The nice thing about it was deer would enter from about 2-4 different locations like clockwork when rifle season opened in Kansas, so I wouldn't worry too much about the deer downwind of me.

I keep all kinds of maps on hand and look over them all year long, constantly looking for strategies and places to hunt. You also have to consider what's downwind of you. The first spot I talked about was easy because there were various trails leading into one main highway where bucks and does crossed paths. I tried making the backstop, as I call it, impassable for them by cutting down trees and blocking the existing trails, discouraging any attempt of them traveling downwind of me. The second spot I talked about, it's one of those things where you know it's a hot spot for evening feeding times, and regardless of where you post up, you're bound to see a deer. The elevation changes played a significant role in assisting me. If deer were downwind of me, they couldn't see me, and if the wind was strong enough, I doubt the deer upwind of me would hear those deer bolt off blowing and wheezing at me.

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Posted by brad8504

Member since Jul 2004

11614 posts

Posted on 10/7/15 at 3:20 pm to brad8504

I also try to avoid an otherwise open tract of land or timber. I hunt fringe areas, funnels, pinch points and places where the downwind side of my stand is impassable. Sometimes those places are hard to find, and while they're not completely un-huntable, I'd just rather not leave it to chance. I hate getting busted, but it happens.

Private land deer will likely return, sometimes not long after you leave or the very next day. Public land deer, different story. There are times when even the "impassable" backstop doesn't work. Just over the hill from one of my old stands, a doe got out in the open pasture. I could hear her blowing at me, but she didn't see me. I really don't think it affected the hunt, even though I didn't see anything because deer blow at things every day.

This post was edited on 10/7/15 at 3:27 pm

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