Playing the wind

[DJT]

I always try to hunt with the wind in my face and thats easy enough to do in the afternoons, but where i hunt and presumably where others hunt it dosent blow much if at all before the sun is up.  How do you decide on a stand or blind location and get set if you arent sure whats going to happen until well after you should be setup?

[varmint]

I usually try to follow weatherunderground.com.They are pretty accurate most of the time.Gives a good forcast of wind,temp,humidity,precipitation,ect.

[mmgrode]

Check the weather reports before you go out. At least it will give you a general direction of the wind and other weather conditions.  Good luck, Matt

[GingivitisKahn]

Varmint is on the money (though I will point out that wunderground.com is the same site and is shorter - making for less time typing and more time hunting :-p ).  

Type in your location and be sure to click on the daily 'detail' link.  That will show hourly estimates of wind speed and direction (and chance of percip, temp, etc.).

If you're hunting from the ground and the wind just refuses to cooperate, move out and be happy you aren't stuck up a tree.  :-D

[Whip]

You ask a great question!  I just wish there were a simple answer.  There are so many factors to consider and plan for it can be very tough.  This past Saturday was a good example for me.  The morning was very calm, and although the wind was from the south, I was on the downslope of a south facing ridge.  The thermals were stronger than the wind, so at my location the "wind" was out of the north for the first 1 1/2 hours, then when the sun warmed things up it did a complete 180 on me.  Frustrating.
Another factor that is very hard to play are the eddys and backdrafts that are created when the wind gusts and subsides again.  That also can shift things a full 180 degrees back and forth all afternoon.  The country I hunt is full of hills, valleys, and draws.  Along with treelines the tend to funnel the wind in very different ways than you find in open ground.  I have one valley on my property that I have totally given up hunting.  I have tried numerous set ups in there and cannot find a spot that the wind won't swirl and give me away everytime.

[razorsharptokill]

I always consult wunderground prior to going out. It's always right on!

[kennym]

As said before,see what the weatherman thinks it is gonna do.Pay attention to thermals(even in Mo we have em a bit) We have places we'd like to hunt,but like Whip says,just can't find a way.

Lastly,carry milkweed fluff and use it to study the wind even after it gets away from your hide/stand.(besides,it gives ya something to do while you wait)

Good luck!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

wunderground is the favorite of allot of tradganger's ... I also use wunderground

[Jeff Strubberg]

Here playing the wind is, I think, largely a matter of being flexible.  I have sat in treestands here and watched the treetops above me turn in circles from the wind eddies.

The only thing I have seen that is guaranteed is that the wind will change jsut before sunup/sundown.

[Kevin Bahr]

Haven't you heard?  "Forget the wind, just hunt!"  
Some company, which shall remain nameless, uses that idiotic slogan for their advertising...
Of course it might be the same company that is in court in Minnesota as we speak defending their product as they are being sued by several individuals that say it doesn't work.  Really? I never would have guessed that...LOL!

[Kevin Bahr]

Oops, forgot to tell you what I do.  Go to weather.com   That is the Weather Channel from TV's website.  Type in your town or zipcode and then save that in your bookmarks.  That way, all you do is click on it and it automatically goes to your local weather.  You can look at the wind direction, sun up/down times, hour by hour forecast and extended forecast.  
OR, if you are going out of town on a hunt, you can click on NOAA Weather and a clickable map of the entire US comes up.  Just click on the area you are interested in and it will allow you to keep clicking on it until you get almost exactly where you are hunting and see the forecast for there.

[Grizz 53]

Were my wife and I hunt its hard to hunt the wind. We have a small area and purty much have to hunt the same stand all the time. We started using some of the scent killer sprays and she had a doe come out and circled almost completely around here and she never smelled her. She even got a shot at 10yds ( arrow over the back) and she ran a little ways and came back. Made a believer out of me.

[Rufus]

Here in the Panhandle the wind doesn't have time to swirl. Just head into it and you usually don't have to worry too much about going too fast that direction either. Easy to get back to the truck, just spread jacket and sail. Really, wind around here does help cover the noise of walking in the crunchies that abound around here.

[BMN]

Lot's of great advice so far. On calm or very light wind days I like to make sure the stand is good for both the forecasted wind direction AND the prevailing wind direction for the area.

[Flatstick]

I use the weather underground site too. I use it to plan which area to hunt the next morning but I also am very mobile in setting up. I pack my stand & climbing sticks in every time I hunt. If the wind changes, I change trees. Never did like only hunting certain pre-set stands only when the wind allowed. If the wind changes, I move with it. Sounds terrible I know,but it works for me   :p

[Keith Karr]

I use a small weather radio that works on AC or batteries when internet access is not available. They give wind, temp and precip forcast for local areas 24/7. Never failed to get a signal even in Idaho, Nebraska and Arizona.

[Shawn Leonard]

Try not to hunt the bottoms in the morning unless ya have a good steady wind direction as thermals rise in the morning bringing your scent with them and deer are usually coming off of fields in the morning and heading to bed. Shawn