A popular topic is do I hunt the wind or weather? I’ve hunted in all types of wind and weather and this is what I have noticed. Deer rely on their keen sense of hearing and smell, and wind will lower this ability depending on speed. If the wind is very fast it will make it harder to hear, everyone has been outside during a windy day and can definitely tell the difference. Also with fast wind it usually swirls to a point so if a deer smells you most likely it will not be able to pinpoint you. Although if it is a slower medium speed wind, it won’t diminish the hearing as bad, and if it stays steady the deer will have a pretty good pinpoint of where you are and avoid that direction. My suggestion if you’re going to hunt a windy day, deer seem to be attracted to hollows and thicker area to help reduce the wind they endure. The weather is a simple breakdown, if it’s very hot deer tend to move less than if it is cold. What about the rain? Well as an archery hunter I absolutely hate the rain due to losing the blood trail so I limit myself to buck only under 30 yards, were I know I’m comfortable to make a great shot and hopefully see the deer drop. On the other side when I rifle hunt I have been very successful in even in a downpour, this is due to me being able to silently spot and stalk just about anywhere. With all that said if you take precautions with your gear to remain as scent free as possible the wind shouldn't affect you, with the right clothes the cold or rain shouldn't affect you, and know your personal capabilities with your weapon. To conclude, even with the wind I never pass on a good weather hunt.
Establishing a mineral site on your property has alot of perks but the main three I will focus on is Deer attractant, herd health, and Antler growth. Deer are curious feeders, so when they smell the mineral you put out chances are they are going to come check it out. No this doesnt mean immediately deer from all over are going to flock to it. Mineral sites take time and effort but in the end you should prosper. Herd health should be every hunters priority, I like to put fresh minerals out starting in mid-febuary. This gives the pregnant does plenty of protiens and key nutrience to have a healthly end until they give birth. After birth it becomes more key in my opinion, a fawn needs at a minimum 10%-20% of its weight in milk from its mother. So a good food source such as a mineral site that includes calcium and phosphorous can give it to them, possibly in a close proxcimity of where she leaves her fawn lay.Those Minerals also can help the fawns with growth and bone deveolpment. Now to what most hunters love to hear....Antler Growth! Most bucks will start growing horns in April, during this phase the horn is made of primarily proteins, with some minerals.According to QDMA in late summer when horns have hardened they are roughly 50/50 Protein and mineral, the main two minerals found is calcium and phosphorous. So when your checking the type of mineral you want, yes there are tons of other important minerals but id be sure to make sure these were part of the ingregients.
In this Article I want to Talk about Getting dressed in field. Many Hunters dont understand how much scent you will pick up for simply wearing your hunting clothes out and about on your way to your hunting spot. Yes your truck may be clean but just think of all the scent you drang in from the gas staton and work. I never paid much attention until I began bowhunting, which opened my eyes to the Amount of scent control percautions you should take, sadly this was from being winded quite a few times. So I started simply using a tote to put all my clothes in until I go to the feild (Helped Greatly). Now Since then I have Upgraded to the Scent Lok OZChamber 8K Partnered with the OZ500. Which not only keeps my clothes scent free but re-activates the Carbon within my clothes. So enjoy this little tip and hopefully a more productive hunting season.
A lot of people ask me where and how I set my trail cameras, here are a few techniques I have learned over the years.
Where to Place it
The food Source approach: The food source approach is simple as finding acorns or even your own food plots or mineral sites. Once you find these I look to see where the deer are entering the source. Then I look and see where the animals have been feeding most prominently, “tore Up dirt or leaves” or even the place with the most droppings.
The trail approach: The trail approach can be simple and difficult together. Once I find a heavily worn trail I follow it until it meets an intersection with another trail “The more intersections the better. Once you find your spot you feel has the most activity it’s as simple as putting up a camera.
How to Place it Properly
There are 4 basic rules when putting up your camera.
1. Don’t put it too close! By saying this I do not mean go crazy like 30-50 yards but give the animal enough space were your unfamiliar camera isn’t going to spook it.
2. The proper tree, When I hang my cameras I try to get a tree bigger than my camera to help conceal it.
3. Brush! This can be tricky, you want to have a clear path of what you want pictures of but you do not want to cut too much brush to alert the animal that something isn’t right, so cut enough but not too much. Another problem can become of brush is if the wind blows too much you will have thousands of pictures of nothing but the wind.
4. Many people don’t take the sunrise/sunset in consideration I always make sure I angle my cameras to avoid sun blinding or sun glare during the prime time hours. I hope this helps you! If you follow these steps your trail cameras will be prime and ready!
