How to Read the Wind Direction?

A handful of environmental factors are essential to hunting as knowing how to read wind direction.

Wind controls several things in a hunt. It dictates when to stalk and where to sit. It also determines whether a deer walks right into your crosshairs or runs away.

Even more importantly, the wind direction plays a critical role in shot placement, especially for short-distance hunting.

Simply, learning how to read wind direction in a hunt can make the difference between hitting your target or missing a shot.

That said, here’s what you need to know regarding wind directions and how to take advantage of whichever direction the wind is blowing.

Wind Direction in Different Terrain

Seasoned hunters know how wind blowing through their hunting ground works without interference.

What they may not know, however, is what happens when it runs into trees, ridges, mountains, and valleys. How does the wind behave in the evening compared to the morning?

Wind blowing across an open field is easy to decode to decide where to position your hunting stands.

In such a situation, you’ll want to remain on the downwind side of an oncoming deer. Put differently, the air should be blowing from the deer to your location and not vice versa.

The scenario is different when the terrain isn’t open or flat.

While it takes significant topography change to alter the wind direction, it is essential to understand what happens if there’s an obstacle between you and the deer.

When the terrain isn’t flat, you’ll want to monitor deer activity at different points to determine the wind’s direction.

A mature buck moves at either the top third or bottom third of a ridge or hillside. Air current swirls when it blows into the face of the hillside, and bucks use that to their advantage.

What does this mean?

It implies that when looking for a good sitting position, it would be best to place your tree stand above or below the point where wind currents swirl.

Air Flow and Terrain

The fewer obstacles the wind has to run into, the better the hunt. In other words, the more mountainous your hunting ground is, the better you have to be at reading wind direction.

Still, that doesn’t mean you should ignore small ridges, valleys, and hills. Prevailing wind will still affect your hunt if you’re not in a typical mountainous region.

Based on the terrain’s drop, you may consider hanging your stand for an oncoming deer on your downwind side. A topographic map can come in handy when determining the extent of the drop in a particular area.

Thermals Wind Direction

Thermals are the rise and fall of air particles caused by uneven heating of the ground caused by the sun’s radiation.

Thermal wind currents blow based on air temperatures in relation to the ground. Because warmer is lighter, it moves upwards. Cooler is dense, so it moves downwards.

Thermal current rise and fall occur around lakes, rivers, ponds, and creeks. It is an essential factor when hunting deer in the mornings and evenings in the mountains.

Furthermore, thermals play an integral part in wind direction when the speed of prevailing winds is slow.

You’ll need to invest in good wind indicators to help you forecast thermal effect and how other environmental factors affect wind direction.

You can also erect and monitor multiple stand sites during the off-season to enable you to adapt to the prevailing wind and the impact of morning and evening thermals.

Human Scent and Wind Direction

Your smell can ruin a deer hunting mission. You’ll, therefore, want to fool a deer’s nose by implementing the following strategies:

• Use scent-free laundry detergent
• Scent check your hunting gear before going out to hunt deer
• Control your body scent by keeping off strong perfumes and body wash
• Avoid picking scents on your way to the tree stand
• Store your clothes in a Ziploc container to keep contaminants at bay

The idea is to manipulate the buck’s nose by suppressing its ability to detect scents.

Time of Day and Wind Direction

Air flow slows down in the morning and evening. The slower speeds cause inconsistent and swirling wind direction.

When deer hunting, you’ll want to remember that the animals take advantage of the swirling to pick up scents from different directions.

Wind speeds often increase and become more consistent as the sun heats during the day.

Deer and Wind Direction

A deer’s nose is its greatest asset. In most situations, a buck relies on its nose to stay alive by checking travel routes without stepping near them.

Bucks are also known to circle the downwind side of hunters who use doe bleats, buck grunts, and rattling antlers to confirm what they’ve heard in the woods.

The hunt is as good as over when a deer determines the noise source. The buck walks away from danger, making it almost impossible to hunt them down.

So, what if you knew the directions of the winds every time you went hunting deer? It could increase your chances of success, right?

One of the ways to read wind direction is to find a location that’ll place an obstacle on the downwind side of your tree stands. This can be a large creek crossing, a rock cliff, an open CRP field, or anything that deters the deer from going where you don’t want it to go.

Now that you know the factors that affect the direction of the wind, which tactics can you use to determine the direction? Here are several strategies:

• Commercial wind indicators: These are available online and at outdoor retailer
• Milkweeds: Many hunters prefer this method because it gives longer reads, enabling you to detect even the slightest change
• Weather apps: These are downloadable on Android and iOS devices with features like sunset, sunrise times, and temperatures.
• Smoke bombs: These are ideal during the offseason. Like milkweeds, smoke bombs also give longer readings.

Wrap Up

Reading wind direction can be a tricky balancing act. Still, you don’t have to rely on guesswork when deer hunting.

Once you know what determines where the wind is blowing, it becomes easier to read the winds more accurately. The tips provided here will get you started.