Be Wise about the Weather and the Wind to Take White-Tailed Deer
Day 2: Beating the Wind to Take Deer
Editor’s Note: Sometimes a buck will see you or hear you – and you’ll still get a shot. But if he smells you – color him gone.
  Most hunters agree that hunting with the wind in their faces, so that their scents aren’t carried into their shooting zones is critical to bagging deer. The next most-important question to ask is, “How do you determine wind direction?” Dr. Robert Sheppard of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a bowhunting instructor, has a methodical approach he employs to check wind direction in several different ways before he finally enters his stand. “The first thing I do every morning when I get up is to listen to my weather radio and see what the prediction for the wind direction is for that day. Once I know the wind direction, I next choose the stand where I’ll hunt. Each day I hunt, the wind dictates the choice of stands I have. I only will hunt out of the stands that face into the wind. I have 10 to 20 stand sites in the woods with shooting lanes cut running from each stand in four different directions for about 30-yards from each stand. Generally I can hunt three or four of those stand sites in any wind direction on any given day. So, once I know the wind direction, I begin to narrow down my choice of stands. Another factor that’s added to the final decision of where I will hunt besides wind direction is how much time has passed since I’ve been to those stand sites. The two stand sites that I have hunted from the least in recent weeks will be my choice for the morning hunt. By depending on the wind, I will have narrowed my choices from 20 to two.”
  Once Sheppard listens to his weather radio and has decided which stand he will hunt out of because of the prevailing wind, he states that, “I don’t turn my brain off. When I get into my car and head for the woods, I observe every chimney I pass. I have my compass on the front seat of the car and check the direction the wind is blowing the smoke out of the chimneys. If every chimney I pass has the smoke blowing in a different direction during the 30-mile drive I have to make from my house to the woods, then I begin to wonder if I’m not hunting on a day when the wind will be variable and unpredictable and/or if there are thermals affecting the air current differently from what the weatherman has reported. By the time I reach the woods, if I determine that the wind is variable and won’t be blowing consistently from one direction during the time I plan to hunt, then I spend my time scouting that day.”
For more deer-hunting tips, get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks “How to Hunt Deer Like a Pro,”How to Hunt Deer Up Close: With Bows, Rifles, Muzzleloaders and Crossbows,” and “PhD Whitetails: How to Hunt and Take the Smartest Deer on Any Property.” Too, you can go to www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the book and download it to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
About the Author
John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.
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