Deer have empathetic hearing and smell, making them very attuned to their surroundings. A light breeze can quickly carry your scent and small sounds to alert deer of a hunter’s presence. However, strong winds also work to mask the scent and cover noise. So how much wind is too much when deer hunting?
Effects of Wind on Deer Behavior
Wind impacts deer movement and behavior in several key ways:
- Carries scent – Deer have an incredible sense of smell and winds carry odor, alerting deer to your presence
- Covers noise – Rustling leaves and branches mask subtle sounds deer can detect
- Alters travel routes – Deer tend to move into or with steady winds to better sense danger
- Limits long-distance hearing – Strong gusts impact deer’s ability to hear distant sounds
- Obscures vision – Blowing snow, leaves, dirt, etc. can temporarily impact visibility
- Influences awareness – High winds make deer more alert as they determine sources of input
Generally, a light and steady breeze of 5-15 mph provides enough scent and noise coverage for hunters while allowing deer to let their guard down. But stronger winds can make hunting unproductive.
How Much Wind Is Too Much?
When winds exceed 20+ mph, conditions become questionable for hunting, with gusts over 30 mph being extremely detrimental. Here is how different wind speeds impact deer hunting:
| Wind Speed | Impact on Hunting |
|---|---|
| Light Breeze | Ideal cover of scent and sound |
| Moderate Breeze | Scent masking reduced, movement and visibility more difficult |
| Strong Winds | Deer very alert and scent blows inconsistently |
| High Winds | Hunting nearly impossible as deer bed down and scents mix unpredictably |
Strong winds over 20 mph become unreliable for properly dispersing human scent downwind from deer. Winds blowing from multiple directions or switching erratically make it virtually impossible to predict scent movement.
Gusts over 30 mph also force deer to bed down and become inactive as they prioritize survival in severe conditions. They remain alert with high adrenaline, making them extremely difficult to scout and hunt.
Additionally, stronger winds lead to challenges for hunters by:
- Producing noise covering deer movement
- Blowing clothing, gear, tree branches that spook deer
- Moving tree stands excessively
- Limiting shooting accuracy and range
While light or moderate breezes offer an ideal balance, high winds degrade many hunter advantages allowing deer to detect and evade them.
Ideal Wind Speed and Direction
The best-case scenario is a steady breeze of 5-15 mph gently blowing straight into your face. This ensures:
- The scent is consistently carried behind you and away from deer
- Subtle deer sounds are masked effectively
- Your clothing/gear makes little to no sound
- Tree stand or ground blind remains relatively still
- Clear visibility with no blowing debris in the eyes
However, directly facing the wind is not always possible depending on stand placement and deer travel routes.
A perpendicular breeze blowing from left or right is also effective as it carries scent away at an angle. Just ensure the general wind direction remains consistent.
Frontal winds blowing directly at you or shifting winds offer the worst-case scenarios. The scent lingers near deer level and blows unpredictably to compromise your presence.
Managing Scent and Noise Control
On high wind days, focus on minimizing odors and noises that may still reach deer:
- Carefully plan approach routes – Use terrain, vegetation or manmade cover when travelling to stands
- Reduce clothing noise – Wear tightly woven fabrics instead of loosely woven brush pants or jackets
- Secure gear – Tie down backpacks, bow quivers, etc. so nothing blows or flaps
- Use scent elimination products – Spray down clothing, gear and stands with scent-killer
- Remain still and quiet – Move as little as possible and verbal communication
Avoid allowing winds to carry any distinct human smells or sounds deer recognize. Not detecting these cues may relax deer to resume activity during adverse weather.
Using the Wind to Your Advantage
High winds can impact hunting, but also present opportunities to use wind and weather to your advantage:
- Hunt bedding areas – Strong winds force deer to shelter in beds allowing stand ambushes
- Adjust to prevailing direction – Observe wind directional shifts and adapt stand placement
- Focus on funnels – Hunt pinch points or corridors deer use to escape winds
- Improve approach – Stalk into the wind or perpendicular to wind when possible
- Use post-frontal window – Big winds are often followed by ideal conditions when deer begin moving
Do not write-off hunting on windy days. Instead, concentrate activity in protective terrain deer gravitate towards and capitalize on their unpredictable movements when winds briefly stabilize.
Best Stand Set-Ups for Windy Days
Certain stand strategies can make hunting more productive during wind events:
Ground Blinds
Ground blinds conceal movement completely and offer relief from high winds. They can be easily repositioned to remain downwind as winds change. Clear windows allow shooting opportunities in all directions around the blind.
Brush In Stands
Stands brushed into trees or shrubs help block direct gusts while also concealing the stand. The vegetation barriers absorb both noise and scent when winds blow. They offer comfortable concealed ambush points.
Ridgeline Stands
Stands positioned just below ridge peaks see less direct wind exposure while allowing activity monitoring in valleys/saddles deer use to avoid winds. They take advantage of steadier air currents along hillsides.
Swamp Stands
Hardwood wetlands, cattail marshes, and other wet areas absorb wind energy and provide refuge for both hunters and deer during high winds. The place stands along the edges/transitions.
Avoid setting up stands in completely exposed areas during periods of high wind forecasts. Instead, concentrate efforts in protected terrain features.
How Barometric Pressure Impacts Hunting
Rapidly falling barometric pressure signals an approaching storm front that generates high winds. But this vertical drop also triggers a behavioral response in deer:
Whitetail activity peaks when the barometer falls below 30 inches of mercury. As pressure plummets, deer sense the impending winds/rain and begin intensively feeding in preparation.
As the front arrives, the combination of low pressure, strong winds, darker skies, and higher humidity also replicates late afternoon when deer naturally become more active.
Therefore, the period right before the stormy front arrival triggers feeding movement ideal for taking advantage of poor weather conditions:
- Adjust stand sites to predicted wind direction
- Focus on food sources deer will move toward
- Prepare to encounter deer already on their feet
While high winds make conditions poor for hunting, the short window beforehand allows unique opportunities that should not be ignored.
Questions to Ask Before Hunting Windy Days
Before gearing up to hunt periods of high winds, ask yourself:
- Are winds strong enough to force deer to remain bedded down?
- Is the wind direction shifting often making adjustments impossible?
- Do I have proper anchor points or cover for sitting out gusts?
- Am I hunting terrain features deer use to escape winds?
- Can I capitalize on barometer drops before winds peak?
If winds reach speeds keeping deer inactive and completely unpredictable, abandoning the hunt is recommended.
But light breezes up to 20 mph can still allow for ambushing deer in the right terrain. Just ensure the winds work predominantly in your favor regarding noise abatement and scent control.
Conclusion
Deer live very much in tune with their surroundings, so changes in wind speed and direction influence their awareness levels and activity patterns. Light steady breezes offer reliable scent control for hunters. But gusts over 20 mph make conditions unreliable and deer difficult to pattern.
Hunt during periods of high forecasts by concentrating on sheltered bedding areas deer gravitate towards and remain mobile to changes in prevailing wind direction. Time hunts to capitalize on falling barometric pressure triggering movement just before frontal winds peak.
While too much constant wind can ruin a hunt, slight breezes enhance success by masking a hunter’s presence. Learn to hunt “on the edge” of being too windy for maximum effectiveness.
