From the Field: Blind or Stand Placement and Wind Direction
Tennessee Outdoorsman 10.31.11
As a follow up on our last article Placing Your Blind or Stand, we wanted to place some emphasis on wind direction and how it can affect your hunting set up. Being a wildland firefighter I have learned a thing or two about wind currents. The wind much like the tide will ebb and flow. Recognizing these wind directions and their related times throughout the day will increase your chances of tagging a deer.
Morning and evening winds will most often be in different directions. Many places will experience an increase in wind intensity in the noon hours lasting on into the afternoon. In mountain regions the morning winds will be up slope and then down slope in the evening hours. As a hunter wanting the edge over your game of choice, you will need to observe these conditions for a period of several days to determine the normal wind flows for the location you are hunting.
Most new hunters make the mistake of either not observing these wind changes or they observe them and don’t factor in other important weather events that may effect wind direction. You need to know what the weather is doing. Approaching fronts will change your wind direction drastically and suddenly. If you have chosen a location based on a wind direction but fail to observe an approaching front, you will find yourself sending scent in several directions throughout the day and alerting the game to your presence.
Break your hunting location down into smaller positions. Providing you have not already done this, you will need to determine the direction your game will be traveling for the morning and evening periods. Have one position for morning so that the wind is in your face, and then select another location to place the wind in your face during evening hours. Sometimes you may not observe much of a change at all. The wind change may be very subtle but more likely than not there will be a change of some measure. Once you have your games travel directions and wind patterns pinned down along with your set positions, you will have a greater chance at success.
When it comes to wind direction, as we said earlier weather fronts can have a huge impact on your hunting. Understanding the wind patterns before, during and after the passing of a weather front can, to a few, seem very complicated. In a later article we will try to break down what happens during the weather front, how it effects the wind direction, why it affects the wind direction and help you put a lid on how it can affect your hunting.
Tennessee Outdoorsman is sponsored by Cass Creek Game Calls and Outdoor Active Gear.
Roger Bunch, a wildland firefighter age 42, is the owner of The Tennessee Outdoorsman he was raised in the rugged mountains of East Tennessee. Roger began hunting at the age of six and throughout the many years has gained a vast amount of knowledge on the outdoors. During his teenage years most of his time was spent in the Mountains surrounding his home either hunting or just exploring.
In his own words “I don't claim to be an expert, as many of us are still learning to this day but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to the outdoors.”
In his years he has hunted deer, wild hogs, turkey, coyote and every small game animal his region has to offer. He has lived it and learned the tricks, some well known while others not so well known. He has often found that some really strange techniques can often mean the difference between game on the table or game lost.
In 2005 Roger started his website The Tennessee Outdoorsman as a hobby. Since then it has grown into a passion with a purpose. Roger says “I want to share the outdoors experience with as many as possible and help educate others on every outdoors aspect that I can bring to them.”
The Tennessee Outdoorsman began shooting video in early 2011 and is currently hoping to one day soon be noticed and who knows, perhaps end up on one of the networks some day soon. They are just your average country boys with a dream and the desire to keep digging until they make it happen.
The Tennessee Outdoorsman is currently working with Mitch Smith Outdoors on an upcoming video release. They are currently sponsored by "Cass Creek Game Calls" and "Harmon Deer Scents" all of which are part of the "Altus Brand Products." Other sponsors include "The Mangler Fishing Lures" and "Custom Lures by Don Seiber"
In the words of the owner,
“This is in dedication to my four best friends in the world, I am the father of three fine young boys Mike age 15, Matthew age 5 and Markkus age 3 all of which are like dear old dad, they love and live the outdoors. Without those guys I wouldn't have the dedication I have. All that I do, I do for them. My other best friend, my father William. He worked hard making sure I had what I needed in life and to make sure I learned many of the things I know today. If I had to choose a hero, it would be my father”
Roger currently resides in Morgan County Tennessee and his goal is to promote outdoors education and conservation because as he says “those two together equal preservation. Preserving the outdoors heritage is our responsibility and we must preserve it for our future generation.”
Pay them a visit, join and start helping to educate and promote the outdoors. Together we will ensure that a way of life is preserved forever.
