Hunting In The Wind: 3 Tips That Make It Worth It

However, this is not always the case. True, deer might not be moving where you've placed your two or three stands – but that could be because they have changed their habits for the windy weather conditions.

So, should you hunt in the wind – or is it wasted effort and time in the field? We believe it can be worth it, and with the WindCast feature in the HuntWise app, you can use the wind to your benefit! 

Deer Lead Simple Lives

Overall, deer lead relatively simple, non-complex lives. They typically have four different variables running through their minds to survive daily life. 

These variables are: 

1. Avoiding predators
2. Finding sufficient food and water
3. Reproducing
4. Minimizing their environmental stresses 

These four variables drive their movement, including where they bed, where they make scrapes, and more. 

Therefore, understanding how to hunt in the wind and how it causes deer movement to change can give you an added incentive as a hunter, giving you another opportunity to go out in the woods and land the monster buck. 

How to Harness (or Understand) the Wind for Success

First, it is essential to understand that wind limits a deer's ability to detect predators. It is much harder for them to hear movement throughout the shaking forest, which increases their stress when traveling to search for food, shelter, etc.  

With that said, deer movement is in a much smaller circumference in periods of high wind to minimize their exposure to predators. This is why many hunters believe hunting in the wind is useless. However, since they are confined to a much smaller area, your chances of seeing a whitetail on a windy day are much higher if you find their new hideout. 

As hunters, we truly believe this is a time to capitalize on filling the freezer or landing the whitetail of your dreams.  

If you focus on very sheltered areas and near bedding sights, your chances of seeing a big buck on a windy day will vastly increase. However, moving your stand and getting out of the realm you typically hunt can be uncomfortable. So, applying a few different strategies for success while hunting the wind becomes necessary.

 1. Abandon Your Stand

As we stated earlier, deer are bound to change their movement patterns on a windy day. They inevitably want to steer clear of their predators. 

Therefore, leave your tree stand, get on the ground, and go where the high winds cover your sound and movement!

The HuntWise app allows you to view wind direction and speed; therefore, with this knowledge, you can make your way to an area where deer are milling around in a smaller pattern.

2. Map Your Area and Understand Your ScentDrift

Getting out of your stand and quietly searching for the deer's newly marked territory is crucial. 

Start by marking your area in the HuntWise app. Based on different pins, you can see where to hunt day by day and even throughout the day. 

These marked pins will compare wind by location, telling you where the wind is blowing in your favor and how your scent will blow with the ScentDrift feature in the app. 

ScentDrift even allows you to customize wind direction, plugging in your ideal direction to better gauge the way your scent will blow. This is a very quick and easy way to determine where you want to take on the wind for any particular day.

3. Understand Pressure Within Your Area

Barometric pressure and wind often go hand in hand. 

For example, when the wind blows sideways, the air pressure also goes up and down. Additionally, the barometric pressure of the woods rises as the day warms and falls as the day cools off. Therefore, hunting during the high-pressure point of the morning and the low-pressure point of the evening will provide you with the most optimal deer activity.  

You can see barometric pressure within the HuntWise app's daily deep dive. Using this feature allows you to easily and effectively compare the wind direction and the barometric pressure to utilize your time the best. 

Use HuntWise for Hunting in the Wind 

At the end of a day in the field, it is all about putting the odds in your favor. If you thoroughly understand the wind direction, are comfortable being on the ground versus the stand, have your areas mapped on the HuntWise app, and do everything possible to control your scent against the vast winds, the odds will go up of having great success landing a monster whitetail. 

With HuntWise, hunters don't have to skip a day in the field simply because it's windy. You can use the wind to your advantage with our WindCast feature, giving you an advantage over other hunters every season. 

WindCast tells you the precise locations of prime hunting spots based on the wind conditions of your chosen hunt day. It also helps you understand your ScentDrift so animals don't smell you before you're in the ideal hunting spot for the day. 

Get ahead of the wind. Download HuntWise and try it for free for a week!

Content updated September 5, 2023.