1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 2: which has brought to you by first Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and this week's show is all about understanding wind. 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 2: A couple of weeks ago, I did an episode on 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 2: bugs and creepy crawleys and the inevitable multi legged nastiness 11 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 2: that you'll deal with while scouting and hunting at some point. 12 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 2: There are just some parts of what we do that 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 2: are always there and always influencing our hunts and never 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 2: get as much love as I don't know. Three hot 15 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 2: new tactics for hunting the rud or how to east 16 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 2: scout whatever. Well. Wind is one of those elements of 17 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 2: any hunt. And let me tell you this, if you 18 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 2: don't understand how moving air affects your hunts, you're gonna 19 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 2: have a lot of bad hunts. You are out of luck, partner. 20 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:16,399 Speaker 2: This goes for a lot of different pursuits, but it's 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: so important to deer hunting, elk hunting, bear hunting, probably 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 2: some other kinds of hunting I'm forgetting. When I was 23 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 2: in high school, a buddy and I drove six hours 24 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 2: north to the edge of the Boundary waters to stay 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 2: with my aunt and uncle while we fished our hearts out. 26 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 2: Those Ely area lakes were like heaven to us, partially 27 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 2: because the undeveloped shorelines and unpressured fish, and partially because 28 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 2: the folks who did spend a lot of time on 29 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 2: the water up there always fished hungry. They targeted walleyes 30 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 2: and mostly crappies throughout the summer, and would often spear 31 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 2: northerns in the winter. The pressure was on the good 32 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 2: eating fish, so the smallies in the large mouth up 33 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 2: there were largely ignored by the locals, which made it 34 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 2: so much fun. Well, my buddy, who will call Hawk 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 2: because that's what we call him, he and I drove 36 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,639 Speaker 2: up there to fish for a few days, and like 37 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 2: we did in that time of our life and for 38 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 2: way too many years afterwards, we brought a bottle of 39 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 2: vodka with us. Right before my aunt and uncle went 40 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 2: to sleep. My aunt casually said that we should go 41 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 2: outside and check out the northern lights, being from a 42 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 2: place where you don't see them often hardly. Ever, we 43 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 2: did just that with screwdrivers in our cup. That's vodka 44 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 2: and orange juice and not some weird tool fetish. Hawk 45 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 2: and I went outside and craned our next toward the heavens. 46 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 2: It was unbelievable. If you've ever seen real northern lights, 47 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 2: you know what I mean. We were in awe and 48 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 2: as we chipped away at that bottle of vodka, we 49 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 2: just stared at the shimmering green lights in the sky. 50 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 2: The next morning, as we bounced across the waves of 51 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: Bear Island Lake, Hawk turned awful pale, and then lost 52 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 2: his breakfast in the drink, and then very urgently asked 53 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 2: me to bring him to shore so he wouldn't shit 54 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 2: his pants. Now, I've seen a few people hop urgently 55 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:12,800 Speaker 2: out of a boat when nature called, but that one 56 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 2: was the most urgent, the most athletic, and the most shameless, 57 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 2: considering the boat was maybe three feet away when he 58 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 2: dropped trow and cut loose. While I can't explain really 59 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 2: how dumb we were, then I can now explain kind 60 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 2: of how northern lights work. You see, the Sun is 61 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 2: an enormous ball of fuel that is really, really hot. 62 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: You guys probably knew that part, but did you know 63 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 2: that the Sun is in a constant state of throwing 64 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 2: off solar wind, which carries charge particles at nearly five 65 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 2: hundred miles per second, not miles per hour per second. 66 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 2: That wind and all the charge particles it's made of, 67 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: shoot across the cosmos, and if you're unlucky enough to 68 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 2: be on the wrong planet, it'll strip away the atmosphere completely. 69 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 2: This is something that happened on Mars. What keeps it 70 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 2: from happening to us is the magnetic field that surrounds 71 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 2: the Earth. Thanks to all of that molten iron rolling 72 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 2: around in the core of our planet. When solar winds 73 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 2: hit that invisible shield, they bounce and scatter around it. 74 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 2: If you're in an area with low light pollution and 75 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 2: clear skies, you'll see that as northern lights pretty wild huh, 76 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 2: well far below where that's happening. We hunt deer in 77 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,040 Speaker 2: areas with wind that doesn't blow quite as fast as 78 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 2: solar winds, but still influences us in many many ways. 79 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 2: As hunters. We know this intuitively, but it helps to 80 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: understand what wind is before we get into why. It's 81 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 2: important to understand as hunters, So for starters, wind is 82 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 2: the result of different temperatures of air meeting. This is 83 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 2: most easily understood with thermals, but in my experience a 84 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 2: lot of hunters don't really understand thermals. Wind is just 85 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 2: the replacement of one temperature of molecules with another. Teen 86 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:03,840 Speaker 2: p butture molecules. How fast are they moving? Generally, as 87 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 2: air gets warmer, it gets less dense than it rises. 88 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 2: This creates a space for cooler air to move in, 89 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 2: and well, there you have it. This is why with 90 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,679 Speaker 2: thermals the scent moves uphill in the morning and downhill 91 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 2: in the evening, or why when you're elk hunting, which 92 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 2: basically involves thermals on steroids, the wind at times will 93 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 2: absolutely rush uphill or downhill, depending on whether you're there 94 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 2: in the morning or the evening, or whether the sun 95 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 2: is out or not, whether it's early September or late November, 96 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 2: or often unfortunately, whether you have an elk coming in 97 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 2: or not. You might think, well, I hunt the big 98 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 2: woods and as flat as a pancake and harder to 99 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 2: hunt than those dumb deer that just walk into every cornfield, 100 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 2: and so I don't deal with thermals, and the wind 101 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 2: just blows straight across the landscape every day. Hold on there, partner, 102 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 2: you might be missing something. There's another kind of thermal 103 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 2: that you might want to consider. Although to be honest, 104 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 2: I don't know if it's actually called a thermal or not. 105 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 2: I'm going to call it that because it makes sense 106 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 2: to me and it's my podcast. If you're that big 107 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 2: woods hunter, ask yourself, do you hunt around swamps or reservoirs, rivers, ponds, 108 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 2: some kind of standing water, some kind of body water? 109 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:15,360 Speaker 2: Because the air above land tends to heat up faster 110 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 2: than the air above water. You know what that means. Yep, 111 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,360 Speaker 2: the air is going to move and create wind. But wait, 112 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 2: there's more. The air above the water not only heats 113 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 2: up slower in the morning, but it cools off faster 114 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 2: than the air over the land in the evening. So 115 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,840 Speaker 2: you once again have a situation where your scent might 116 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 2: be getting pulled somewhere by the ever present temperature differential 117 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,119 Speaker 2: in the air around you. Here's what I know about 118 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,480 Speaker 2: this stuff, at least when it comes to thermals. The bigger, 119 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 2: the temperature difference, the faster the thermals will move. We 120 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: often talk about thermals as if they are a constant 121 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,359 Speaker 2: in bluff country in the mountains, and while they probably 122 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 2: are to some extent in elk Habitat for white tails, 123 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 2: they aren't exactly a sure thing. If it's twenty seven 124 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,280 Speaker 2: degrees before first light and supposed to reach seventy at noon, 125 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 2: you're going to see a rapid change in temperature that 126 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 2: is going to create thermals. If it's twenty seven degrees 127 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 2: before first light, it's only in the claw its way 128 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: up to thirty one, you won't see much for thermals. 129 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 2: This is worth understanding because it's also the driving force 130 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 2: and why so many people won't hunt in valleys or 131 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 2: in bottoms they reckon wrongly. I might add that the 132 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 2: wind will always be swirling in the odds of not 133 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,160 Speaker 2: getting busted or zero, so it's not worth hunting. But 134 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 2: calm conditions exist, Reliable winds exist even in broken, weird terrain. 135 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 2: Experience in these spots is the key to understanding when 136 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 2: to hunt and when to stay out. Staying out without 137 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 2: hunting and the experience what the wind actually does is 138 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 2: a shortcut and not a smart one. Wind is unreliable sometimes, 139 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 2: but understanding how it works is important. It flows over 140 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 2: the land kind of like water. It takes easy routes 141 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 2: when it can. The best wind, in my experience, is 142 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 2: wind that is blowing a decent amount, say ten to 143 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 2: fifteen miles an hour, but sticking to a very predictable direction. 144 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 2: That's the easiest wind to play for your setups, but 145 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 2: also the easiest wind to predict deer movement around. This 146 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 2: is the other part of wind that we don't really 147 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: give a lot of love to how it influences deer movement, 148 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 2: since they trust their noses more than anything. A deer 149 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 2: are heavily motivated to travel certain directions and at certain 150 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 2: times in relation to how strong the wind is blowing 151 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 2: and in what direction it's blowing. They enter fields on 152 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 2: specific trails just because of how the wind is blowing. 153 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,439 Speaker 2: They bet according to the wind direction and will reposition 154 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 2: if the wind changes direction. They mostly, and I say 155 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,559 Speaker 2: that with an asterisk, walk into the wind or crosswise 156 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 2: with it if it's possible, although that's far from written 157 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 2: in stone. They often approach decoys and calling sequences according 158 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 2: to wind direction. If they see something they don't like, 159 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 2: or here's something they don't like, they'll head down wind 160 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 2: to verify their suspicions. Bears do this a lot, too, 161 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 2: and if you think you can fool a bear's nose, well, 162 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 2: you have more confidence in yourself than you should. Ditto 163 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,440 Speaker 2: with elk. Most of their movements are influenced by wind, 164 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 2: even during the rut, when they have other reasons for 165 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 2: going from one would lot to the next. I also believe, 166 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 2: through lots of personal observation, that pressure deer rely more 167 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 2: heavily on their noses and the wind than unpressured deer. 168 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 2: Now I know that's not revelatory, but let me explain. 169 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 2: I've hunted Texas deer that were so dumb and so 170 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 2: oblivious that they wouldn't run away when they winded me. 171 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 2: They just didn't care. Most of us don't deal with 172 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 2: those deer. We deal with deer that are far less forgiving. 173 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 2: I've seen deer in other places get a whiff of 174 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 2: me that left but didn't totally turn inside out. And 175 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 2: I've seen deer that snorted five thousand times at the 176 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 2: mere hint of a whiff of a human. Where I 177 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:13,679 Speaker 2: hunt in northern Wisconsin, I see the wind play a 178 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 2: major role in deer movement and how they position themselves 179 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 2: to feed. Since the hunter numbers are high and the 180 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,319 Speaker 2: predator numbers are really high over there, the deer are 181 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 2: just kind of neurotic. They don't take a lot of risks. 182 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 2: That makes them really challenging and really frustrating to hunt. 183 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 2: The times I've had a chance to hunt them on 184 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:35,960 Speaker 2: a meadow or a hay field over there, I've watched 185 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 2: how they leave the cover and either go out into 186 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 2: the middle where they have a good field of view 187 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 2: in every direction, or often they'll position themselves out far 188 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 2: enough into the field where they can still check the 189 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:49,680 Speaker 2: cover while watching the rest of the field with their eyes. 190 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 2: The harder the wind blows, the cagier they get, but 191 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,559 Speaker 2: also the more predictable it is. When they do come out. 192 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 2: They trust their noses to tell them what is in 193 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,000 Speaker 2: the woods that they can't see, and they give themselves 194 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 2: an advantage by being far enough out there to get 195 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 2: away as soon as they smell something fishy. How they 196 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,440 Speaker 2: travel out of the cover is related to wind oftentimes, 197 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 2: but how they travel in cover is almost always influenced 198 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 2: by the wind. This is why a really good funnel 199 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,920 Speaker 2: or pinch point is so beneficial to find. It forces 200 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 2: them to give up their noses a lot of times, 201 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 2: which is something they will do. Elk will too, so 202 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 2: will bears, but it has to be a very specific situation. 203 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 2: For white tails, you can find these spots where they're 204 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 2: just going to walk even though the wind isn't going 205 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 2: to give them an edge and will actually take away 206 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,839 Speaker 2: their best predator detecting sense. The folks who figure out 207 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 2: how to identify these spots and then the conditions when 208 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 2: they should hunt these spots to reap the real wind 209 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 2: benefits are the hunters who kill more big bucks than 210 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 2: the rest of us. Trust me on that. So how 211 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 2: do you figure out how they use the wind in 212 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 2: certain spots, and then how you can use use that 213 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 2: wind to hide your presence and position big bucks so 214 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,440 Speaker 2: you can shoot them. Well, you can look at the 215 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 2: terrain first. Ridge tops are great for this because you 216 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 2: have built in locations to hang stands where your scent 217 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 2: will blow out over a big valley of nothingness. But 218 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:18,319 Speaker 2: it's not so simple. If the wind is blowing across 219 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 2: the top of a ridge perpendicular to the ridge, we 220 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 2: will say then playing it is as simple as getting 221 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,560 Speaker 2: on the downwind side. But if it's a knife ridge, 222 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 2: they might not want to walk up and down it 223 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,440 Speaker 2: if the wind is blowing across it, because they can't 224 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 2: smell what's ahead of them. So you'd need a wind 225 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 2: that blows down the ridge lengthwise. But then your scent 226 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 2: is also blowing down to where the deer will be 227 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,719 Speaker 2: coming from or where they're going. It's quite the dilemma. Now, 228 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 2: imagine a little juke in the ridge somewhere, or a 229 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 2: bunch of dead falls to concentrate travel on one side. 230 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 2: You might be able to set up off of that 231 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 2: ridge with your scent blowing straight down it, or real 232 00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 2: close to straight down it, but not quite. It might 233 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 2: be enough of the right direction to get the bucks 234 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,560 Speaker 2: to walk it and trust their nose, but it's just 235 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 2: off by a few degrees, giving them a disadvantage, and 236 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 2: you a slight margin of an advantage. Now he thinks 237 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 2: he's safe to walk it, and that is when you 238 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 2: kill him. There are situations like this in the woods 239 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 2: all over waiting for you to find them. There are 240 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 2: situations like this in the mountains too, that you might 241 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,240 Speaker 2: find if you haunt elk, if you bait bears, You 242 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,240 Speaker 2: can look for a situation like this where you put 243 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: water or some kind of wet swamp to your back 244 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 2: and set up with a bait just into the higher ground. 245 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 2: Even if the approaching bruins want to get down wind, 246 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 2: they might not do it because they don't want to 247 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 2: get their feet too wet or go swimming. There are 248 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 2: a lot of ways to play the wind that go 249 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,680 Speaker 2: far beyond simply hunting a spot in such a way 250 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 2: that you think the wind won't get you busted. That's 251 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 2: part of it, and believe me, it's no small part, 252 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 2: but a bigger part is learning how animals bed and 253 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,559 Speaker 2: feed and travel in relation to the wind. Because when 254 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: you start thinking about that, start to be able to 255 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 2: see into the future a little bit. You see, you 256 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,760 Speaker 2: have to think about the wind as a constant in 257 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 2: your world as a hunter. Then once you do, you 258 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 2: have to think about it as a constant in the 259 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 2: deer's life, or an elks or a pheasant for that matter, anything. 260 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 2: It's going to have an effect on them every day 261 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 2: because they sure as hell think about the wind and 262 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 2: whether it's going to carry sent to them from a 263 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 2: wallow in the meadow, or whether it's going to make 264 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 2: it impossible to spot hawks and other aerial preudters that 265 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 2: might be looking for a rooster snack. It's an ever 266 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 2: present element of all hunts, and it goes so far 267 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 2: beyond just some invisible thing that carries are sent to 268 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 2: their noses or not. It's the number one way in 269 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 2: which some of these critters survive to see another day 270 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,119 Speaker 2: because it's such an advantage to them. But every advantage 271 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:50,640 Speaker 2: is also some sort of weakness, and that is that 272 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 2: if you can give them too much confidence in their safety, 273 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 2: you can beat them. Recognizing those situations is the key 274 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 2: to figuring out season after season spots that will always 275 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,760 Speaker 2: produce sightings and encounters. So think about the wind not 276 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,640 Speaker 2: just as a reason to sit one stand that's set 277 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 2: up for the northwest or west or south or whatever, 278 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 2: but as something that controls to some extent, you know, 279 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 2: oftentimes small, but sometimes larger, the overall movements of the 280 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 2: animals you hunt. Once you get it figured out, you 281 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 2: not only have more educated guesses on where to sit, 282 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 2: but you can figure out where the deer or elk 283 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 2: or whatever should be coming from because they will bet 284 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 2: or feed in certain locations based on the wind. This 285 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 2: means that the buck that entered soybeans from a specific 286 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 2: trail while the wind was out of the northwest today 287 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 2: will probably do that very same thing the next time 288 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 2: the wind is out of the northwest. Unless some other 289 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 2: factors change. That small herd of public land elk you 290 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 2: find heading up a certain drainage to bed on September 291 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 2: tenth might do the same thing on the twelfth. Is 292 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 2: the wind is in the same direction. How bears approach 293 00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 2: bait sites, how bucks approach scrapes, how bulls approach what 294 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 2: they think is a rival, bogling it head off in 295 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,240 Speaker 2: a bad ideal of challenge. It all depends on the wind. 296 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 2: So think about it and think about what the wind 297 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 2: is doing. When you see animals doing something, Which direction 298 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 2: was it blowing? When you watch that big woods buck 299 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 2: cross the tiny stream and enter the clear cut, how 300 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 2: hard was it blowing? Is there a reason to believe 301 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 2: there were some thermals that play where he crossed? Think 302 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 2: about this when you see bucks and does and all 303 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 2: kinds of animals moving around naturally, All of it, or 304 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 2: quite a bit of it anyway, has a little bit 305 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 2: to do with the wind. And lastly, think about coming 306 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 2: back next week for more hunting wisdom, because I plan 307 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 2: to talk about how to figure out dear by accident, 308 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 2: but sort of on purpose, whether you hunt the big 309 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 2: woods or the western plains or wherever. Now, I know 310 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 2: that doesn't make any sense at all, so just give 311 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 2: it a listen and I'll clear the whole thing up. 312 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 2: That's it for this week. I'm Old Antonio and this 313 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 2: has been the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is 314 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 2: brought to you by first Light. Thank you, thank you, 315 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 2: thank you so much for listening for supporting us here 316 00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 2: at meat Eat. All of us really appreciate it, so 317 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 2: thank you, thank you for that. If you want some 318 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 2: more white tail content, you want to listen to Clay's 319 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 2: podcast or the Elements podcast, or you want to check 320 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:10,920 Speaker 2: out some of our series in our videos some articles, 321 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 2: go to the meeteater dot com. You'll find all that stuff. 322 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 2: And if you have a hanker and to pick up 323 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,040 Speaker 2: some new first light gear maybe a Phelps Dear Call 324 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 2: or whatever, you can also find that there as well 325 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 2: at our met Eater's store. Again, thanks for your support. 326 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:26,960 Speaker 2: See you next week.