Small Acre Property with multiple wind directions

[photohunt]

I was hoping to get some ideas from you guys. I have a property that is 12 acres and 6-8 is huntable.  I say 6-8 because of recreational trespass from 4 wheelers and neighbors (owner does not want to take time to stop).  My main problem is the fact that ridges are all the way around and creates multiple wind patterns.  Has anyone run into this problem and what did you do?

[David Bartholomew]

TTT... I'd like any info on this concern too.

[Red Beastmaster]

I have the same scenario in the woodlot next to my house. Small place, swirling winds, neighbors on one side and farm fields on the other. The deer have 1000' of field edge to come out in the evenings, and they use every bit of it.

I am currently in my 23rd season trying to figure out how to hunt this place. Here's what I do..........I spend the first couple weeks playing hopscotch with the deer. I sit one spot and they come out another. The next time I sit somewhere else and they come out at my original spot. It goes like this over and over again.

After I'm done playing around I call in my stickbow shooting buddies and we put on quick after work deer drives! We post standers at likely travel routes and send one guy in the far end to drive the deer. It's a blast! We've had some shots, a nice buck down once, and always lots of fun! The whole thing only lasts about 20 minutes which is about all the time we have before dark.

In our late season after Christmas we get together on Saturdays or New Year's Day to put on a drive and shoot our bows. It's really a lot of fun and a productive way to hunt a difficult small woodlot.

Good luck,

[Yankee Bill]

I have a place similar to this that I hunt in the Blue Ridge mtns. in VA.  It is in the base of a steep hollow w/ a creek running thru the bottom. The mountainside on one side of the creek is covered in thick Laurel (bedding area) and the mountainside on the other side of the creek is covered in White & Red Oakes.

No matter what the wind is doing on top of the mountain, it is always swirling down there. It will be hitting you in the face one minute, then on the back of your neck the next. It used to frustrate the crap out of me when I first started to hunt the spot, but I've "trained" myself to not even pay much mind to the wind until I see a deer when I hunt there now. It is such a productive spot that if I just set up and stay put for a few hours I ALWAYS see deer there, and they come in from all different directions.

I'm sure the constantly swirling winds there have cost me some nice bucks during the time I've been hunting the area, but I've killed a few good ones there too.
YB

[John Scifres]

I have a small spot that has a 10 acre creek bottom.  I try to stay up on top if possible but sometimes I can predict which ways the swirls will be in the bottom and will hunt down in there.  When I don't feel like I can predict them, I stay out.  A very high tree stand sometimes helps too.

[VictoryHunter]

If there is a saddle in the ridge, I would set up in that saddle with the wind blowing through it the opposite direction you expect the deer to come. The reason being if the property is completely surrounded by a ridge the deer will use the lowest point in it (the saddle) to move through. Also a saddle with help create a steady wind direction for multiple winds. For instance on one of the properties I hunt there is a saddle that can only be hunted in some combination of an east wind (northeast, southeast, east etc.) So figure out how the deer moving and how the terrain affects the wind and adjust accordingly. Hope this helps!

[Pine]

A weird way to hunt this type of property is to figure out where you want to sit and a month or so before the season take one of your T- shirts that you have worn and hang it up where you are going to sit . Put another one out every day or so , right up to the day you hunt . The deer get used to your smell and don't pay any attention to you .

[Roger Norris]

Hang some wind detectors.....like strips of bright ribbon that you can see from a distance....and place them in different hunting spots around the property. You will pick up on whatever pattern there is. Maybe do this after the leaves drop so you can see them from a distance.

[dbd870]

Originally posted by John Scifres:
I have a small spot that has a 10 acre creek bottom.  I try to stay up on top if possible but sometimes I can predict which ways the swirls will be in the bottom and will hunt down in there.  When I don't feel like I can predict them, I stay out.  A very high tree stand sometimes helps too.

I have a very similar situation. I did arrow 1 doe from my climber in the bottom but for the most part I stay on top. It's a tough situation.

[photohunt]

Thanks for the ideas.  Reading posts while it is raining.  Replaying escanaba in the moonlight.  Good luck everyone.

[-snypershot317-]

i am currently hunting a similar almost identical piece of land. the total acerage is 25 but only 10 is wooded and huntable. its thick and located on a river bottom in the bottom of a valley with houses and fields all around. the wind will always be swirling in places like this; this is the honest truth. the way i hunt it is i have a couple of stands near crossing trails and watering areas, along with one by the entrance of the thickest part of the underbrush. i use some kind of field spray (hunters speciality, dead down wind, what ever is cheap and i currently have) and its mainly to just knock down my scent. because of the houses and fields i dont worry too much about scent but i do try to control it a little. i have found washing your hunting clothes in an anti-uv/de-scenter helps but not much (again just trying to know down my odor not element it cause human scent is everywhere) washing isnt necessary just a precaution i do. but i check the wind when i first go out and hunt like normal. hunt in the most favorable areas and change them daily. learn the land;  and learn it well. a lot of my shots are from the ground not a stand. just hunt smart, dont worry about fancy stands or cuts or ridges or sadles, learn where the deer are, where they go, how they move, when they move and hunt the ground in the most productive spots. 2 years a go i shot a big bodied 8 pointer (small rack but i shot him for the meat not the antlers  :p  ) with a "bad" wind, it was gun season and the shot ended up being just under 10 yards with a smoke pole after a short stalk and some sneaking up on him. hope this helps. good luck and feel free to pm me if you need any help. the land sounds like an awesome spot and should be easy to learn it better than the deer. good luck and may God bless!

[overbo]

As mentioned above, you must learn how the deer move thru your area according to wind direction and thermals. Being very small piece. You must also have a very good enter and exit stand plan as well.
Once you have those issues resolved. It's time to make the deer move to where you want them. The best way I've found to do this is w/ some sort of fencing. I've recently have set the plastic mesh style fencing that is common on construction  sites to alter deer movement, to make them pass by my ambush site. It takes some time and effort but once you have it established. It'll be productive for years to come.

Good luck

[Knawbone]

Good scent control!

[Sam McMichael]

Deer get used to human scent in small areas that are surrounded by people. You need to hunt the wind as well as possible, but the swirls are going to get you busted a certain portion of the time. That's just a fact of close in hunting. My small place has occupied lots on all sides, so human smell is a constant. However, they seem to know very well which smell is distant and which is close enough to be a threat, just as they do with noise.

The best oak trees on our place are in my son's back yard, and he regularly has multiple deer around the house, and they are not overly frightened. However, further into the woods, they get real skittish real quick; it is as if they realize that the odor is in a location that is out of the ordinary.

I have noticed that, as a general rule, prevailing wind direction in the morning favors certain stands, while evening favors others.  Also, set numerous stands hunting a given area, thus having a little help dealing with the wind.

In short, small populated areas can be tough to hunt. In my experience, cover scents don't seem to make much difference, but I still use them fairly often.