Playing the wind is just as important when walking to and from your tree stand.

If you are like the GrowingDeer Team, you have spent your summer preparing for deer season. Now that it has arrived, it is one of the most exciting times to be a hunter. In our eagerness to get into the stand, it is important that we consider the direction of the wind and where it will be blowing our scent. On the days we hunt, we pay close attention to the wind’s direction and speed. In the Ozarks, where we hunt, the steep terrain tends to cause the wind to swirl in the valleys but remains consistent on the ridge tops. This means there are very few days we can hunt the valleys. We wait until the wind is not carrying our scent all around us, spooking deer. To prevent this from happening, each stand location is hunted based on a specific wind direction. If the conditions aren’t exactly right for a particular stand, even on the ridge tops, we simply don’t hunt it. This practice has helped our team have successful hunts. If you are headed out to your stand, take a few minutes to consider the wind so you can have a great hunt without alerting deer of your presence.

Managing whitetails with you,

Daniel Mallette