Hurricane Impact on Deer Movement?

If you find the answer please make it known I’m also curious my father in laws property has had bucks showing up in the daylight the last couple days

@Gary I definitely will!

@Whetstone any insight??

I am from Ohio and from experience, I have noticed more deer movement during North/East winds. I believe the reason for this is because its an irregular wind. And most of their bedding is set up for South/West winds. I have also learned that an East wind typically indicates a prefrontal wind which also may play a factor in their movement.

@Max awesome. Thanks for that answer man!

@Brayden No problem. Again, thats just from my experience along with other peoples Ive taken information from. Such as your buck in your picture (which I am assuming deer typically do not bed there) I have noticed deer bedding in super funky areas during those winds. Like areas you usually dont see them bed. Its almost like every time I see a deer bedded in a “weird” area its an east wind. I just think it throws them off so they try and find a spot to bed for that irregular wind that they arnt used to.

I am no genius but the first photo is right now and the second is a week from now.

Next sunday

That’s a crazy difference

@Brayden But I know what wind is

@Max well said. @Brayden Precisely why I try to have multiple stand locations in an area to accommodate that. I’ve found that bucks generally move perpendicular to the doe groups and that has another affect on how they move with different wind directions. In other words, in my area, bucks general move north and south while doe groups generally move east/west. Terrain obviously plays into it, but if you overlay the wind and terrain concepts you can dial in. Do an autopsy in that photo. Which direction is it facing? What direction is the buck facing? Why bed in that exact spot? How long was he there? Which direction did he go when he left? Grab every piece of the puzzle you can ! 👊

@Mike dude that’s great. Thank you! I’ll start breaking it down. I have a few other pictures I can do that with!

@Mike i was thinking the same thing about why that buck was bedded there. @Brayden is it thick behind him? Have any idea what direction hes facing? I’m assuming that its kinda open in front of him, thick behind, facing west/south?

@Max he’s facing NE. He walked away in that same direction when he got up (I have 2 videos). It’s actually not that thick behind him. He’s basically on the edge of a bowl-like area on the side of a ridge. It’s steep and thick to his right.

@Brayden here in Ohio and I feel most of the country right now is a NE wind. So I’m assuming its the same in your area? If thats the case, hes facing the wind. Which I dont really think matters because with the information on the “bowl like area” you described, that wind is probably swirling in there which makes total sense why hes bedded there. This irregular wind sets him off, so he beds in an area where he knows he can smell pretty much everything. But when he gets up and moves, he is walking with the wind in his face which is very much the normal behavior of a buck. “Small” things such as this helps you become a much better hunter. Every time I even see a deer, whether it be driving or while hiking, etc. I’m always thinking of the way. If you start doing that, and researching the bedding behavior or deer/bucks, you will notice how much your success rate increases. Good luck out there!!

Interesting (assuming you’re having the same NE winds we are having up here). Deer generally bed down with the wind at their back it a crosswind. That way they can smell what’s behind them and see what they wouldn’t otherwise smell. The thermals can defy wind direction in bowls, canyons and ravines with swirling. That’s good to know about that camera location. I use milkweed everywhere I go to see how winds act in different areas. Just read @Max ‘s comment above. We’re saying the same thing pretty much, haha.

@Mike @Max great stuff here. I’m already working on picking this apart. I’m gonna apply what y’all are sharing to setup alternative locations to hunt that same area in different winds. I really appreciate it!!

@Brayden 🏹🦌👊

@Brayden Ware don't know about hurricane weather making a difference, but there was a lunar eclipse one rifle season and the bucks here in Ky were absolutely INSANE!! Everyone was either seeing or killing nice bucks for about 2 days. All you had to do was find a place and sit down and you had a good chance of seeing one if not more.

@Keith well I like the sound of that haha

On Saturday in Virginia the winds were 180 degrees different from normal. My opening day stand made no sense with those winds. I relocated the stand, but Sunday was rained out bad. Opening weekend game plan did not survive contact with this weather system.

@Joe ya it was wild

@Brayden he’s facing NE because of the NE wind we’ve had the last few days. Makes sense.

@Mike I was hunting a pretty flat area last night and the thermals were strong there. The NE wind turned into a west thermal (not what I wanted) when the sun broke under the trees. Didn’t take long and I heard a snort. Thermals are weird though, it won’t do that in every location. Certainly didn’t do what I thought it would with no real terrain fluctuations.

@Brian ya man. To say opening weekend was weird would be an understatement for me 😂. Looking forward to things leveling out. But that’s the wild man. As soon as you think you have a plan…boom a hurricane changes everything. Here’s to hoping for a better sit next time.

@Brian vegetational pull is the worst.. even it flat spots they have heat signatures that can mess with the thermals. It’s a wonder we ever kill anything with a nose.

@Mike now that’s a new one for me. “Vegetational pull”. Seriously how have I ever even seen a deer?!?!

@Mike a lot of it for me was that I wasn’t far off of a field, so I had the path of least resistance working against me too. I’m hoping I learned something, but if I’m honest I can’t pinpoint what.

@Brayden next weekend isn’t far off. I might get out another time or two this week, but I might hold off if this wind doesn’t switch up. At least I stayed out of my prominent spots.

My stands are setup for the primary SW wind we get. So yesterday was really tough to find a setup.

@Brian yep same plan for me and @Todd it was definitely a tough one

I'm in Ga and didn't notice any huge changes changes except that they bedded down more than usual. Still feeding early in the morning and late in the evening

@Brian yessir, way too many variables, both fixed and changing. If you figure out a formula you’ll become a millionaire

That’s a really good photo? When is deer season open up there?

@James October 1st