Bowhunter – September 2019

zarddoesthesameby usingwindsaloft
in flight. Both survive by using the wind
to their advantage.
I can remember one buck a few
years back that educated me in regard
to wind. It was early November, and I
was perched high in a maple tree on the
downwind side of a doe bedding area. I
was hunting a massive 5x5 that would
gross in the mid-170s, and I conserva-

tively estimated his live weight to bein

excess of 240 pounds. He was 6.5 years

old, and he had been walking that ridge

consistently on a southwest wind inthe

morning, working his scrape line on

the way back to bed. I was in what I de-

termined to be the best topographical

pinch-point for him to walk through

on his way to his bedding area.

The first deer to show up that morn-

ing was a family group of a doe and her

yearlings, followed by a young buck.At

approximately 9:15 a.m., the big buckI

was after showed up and headed my way.

As I took my bow off the hook, I could

te ll he wasn’t going to follow the previ-

ous group. Instead, he came to within 40

yards, checked the wind, and then was

gone in a flash.

After that blown opportunity, I made

note of the pressure, temperature, and

wind conditions. During the offseason,I

hiked up to that exact location with sim-

ilar conditions and realized what had

taken place. He was quartering intothe

wind, while still using the rising ther-

mals below at the same time. This creat-

ed an eddy, or wind-tunnel effect. While

working the ridge in such a way to give

himself the wind advantage, he also used

the terrain to conceal his movement

while scanning the large drainage to the

east at the same time. A parallel wind

would be another prime example of how

to give a buck enough of an advantage to

motivate him to move but still allow you

to capitalize on the element of surprise.

Lessons like this have helped me under-

stand how to hunt bucks in winds that

are good for them, and bad for me.

There are many variables in the game

of bowhunting. Each situation is differ-

ent, and every bowhunter is different.

You have to make a personal decision

regarding how much time and effort

you can muster to create opportunity.

For myself and my busy schedule, the

focus on learning more each year in the

offseason has produced better quality

opportunities. The details involved in

bowhunting mature whitetails can be

overwhelming to some, but the rewards

can be great. Like most situations in life,

hard work will pay off.

The author lives in northcentral Ohio with his wife,

Lindsay, and their two children. He is a commercial

helicopter pilot in the powerline industry. 

AUTHOR’S NOTE: On all my hunts, I carry a Tall Tines

Stickflinger longbow and 630-grain Douglas fir arrows

tipped with 160-grain VPA broadheads.

Pay close attention to rublines and how
they’re oriented in relation to doe and buck
bedding areas.

STUDENT OF THE GAME