So let's say you have a fairly defined funnel or pinch point. You are pretty sure you know deer can be coming from two directions. The perfect spot for the wind based on either of the travel routes only leaves you with a 14" diameter tree that has very little cover to conceal you. Alternatively you have another tree with great cover 20 yards away but unless the wind is perfect one of the possible travel routes might have a deer wind you once they are about 30 yards away. Will you compromise on tree cover for the perfect wind or vice versa?
I'd take the perfect wind tree every time and twice on sunday. To me its a no brainer. You cant beat that nose.
You can control your movement in a bare tree but you can't control the wind...hunt the tree with the wind in your favor and do whatever you can to conceal or camo yourself.
Well played sir. the above would be my answer. It does no good to sit in a tree where a deer will likely spot you from 50 yards or more out.. If it's true he may smell you from 30 yards.. Well.. At 30 yards he's already dead. So it doesn't matter. Tree cover is under rated.
With me it would depend on what cover you may have on the ground to be able to draw. Is it an open area? Are there trees, brush, high grass or anything the deer would be walking behind to give me the opportunity to draw from either direction? If so, I would go with the tree with the wind in your favor. If not and you know it is a high traffic area, I would hunt the tree with cover and only hunt it if the wind is right. The only thing that would be difficult on that would be if the predominate wind is not usually in your favor. I have found in that type situation it is very rare all the conditions align for a good hunt. I have a scenario just like this on my property. I killed my buck last season under not so perfect wind direction but, luckily for me he came in on the favorable side and I was able to get the shot off before he reached where the wind was crossing his path. Had he came in from the opposite direction, I may not have been so lucky.
I won't hunt out of a tree that isn't wider than my profile, and I won't hunt out of a stand with bad wind, try a ground blind
I've killed a few deer out of trees with no cover in the middle of a clearing but I've never killed a deer in the wrong wind. I'll play the wind.
I guess it depends. A lot of factors to consider. If possible I'd play the wind and add some back cover. I have an area like this. I chose to hang my stand where the wind is good, but I'm only about 5' off the ground to stay within the available back cover. I also have a second tree for a different wind
If you can get up real high 20' or so. Then hunt the cover. I wouldn't go 20' up in a 14" tree. At 15' they will spot your movements easy. The wind thing can be a little over stated. Just don't over hunt the spot. Also, Use Conquest Evercalm. If the wind isn't perfect, it will give you a little more of an edge. I've hunted 30' from a deer trail let alone 30 yards. Wind is very important. But a 14" tree with no cover is a recipe for disappointment.
I would take the tree that's best for the wind, not the cover. IMO it's easier to fool a deer's eyes than his nose. Although in Mike's scenario if the deer isn't going to smell you until it's too late for him that's a viable option. I have a few stands like this. By the time the buck is down wind he's got an arrow headed his direction. The trouble is if your wind is blowing straight into the area the deer is coming from and he smells you 100 yards off. In that case you're screwed before you ever get a chance.
I respectfully, don't agree. While cover something important to consider, wind is much more so. What about once the leaves all drop and there really is no cover in the woods at all? The best you have is some branches to break up your outline, but thats it. I have had mature deer, down wind of me, pick my scent off at over 100 yards. An educated, smart mature deer will catch the absolute slightest scent and blow out. Keep in mind too, most of my hunting spots are small private land spots. The deer are used to human scent carrying all the time.. but they can distinguish between different smells and/or how fresh that scent is. In my opinion, if you can pattern them out, IE: they come from this direction in the morning since they are going from food to bed, and opposite at night for bed to food.. then take the cover tree if the wind is right. You may be the occasional odd ball coming from the direction you didn't expect, but the majority of the deer, especially in early season, will follow the same route, same timing over and over. Once hunting pressure sits in and/or the rut.. switch to the wind tree as they will be coming from every which way.
What some of you guys are failing to realize is we are all bound by real life constraints. Some people are forced into the situation in the which the original poster outlined. Sitting in a skinny tree only 12 feet off the ground without much cover=getting picked off easily from all directions. Sitting in a tree with good cover and a bad wind for one of the two directions you expect deer to come from=50% chance you get busted. I am going with the 50% of getting busted as opposed to sitting in a crap tree and getting skylined from 360 degrees. Also there are many other factors to consider and I am sure you all know these...time of year, hunting pressure, educated deer, time of day, exact location of the bedding areas, how much time you have to hunt, hunting land available to you....and on and on.
Or you can always go with the third option which is not hunting that spot. Sometimes you're better off simply finding another approach than you are hunting a stand where you feel like you're going to get busted by either sight or scent. Too often I think we try to force things to happen and only end up hurting ourselves.
So true! I forced a spot last year when the wind wasn't right and got busted at first light. I learned my lesson and will only hunt that area if the wind is right. you could ruin the spot without even knowing it. In this situation the hunter needs to use self disciplne and NOT hunt the spot, if it means not hunting that day.....then you don't hunt that day. spend the time with your family instead get some browny points with the wife!!!! but to play along, i would take the wind and the skinny tree up 25'-30'.
Good wind over tree cover any day. I could really care less about tree cover, I move the bow and draw back when they aren't looking anyway.
