Wind!

[Trumkin the Dwarf]

It seems that every rule of thumb for wind direction gets broken about 5 times in a morning where I hunt. In fact, I never see consistent winds in the mountains. How do you guys deal with winds that are always swirling?

[elkmtngear]

If it's real bad, I don't think the elk would like it much either...makes them nervous. At least in the mornings and evenings they like to move into a good steady wind.

What's the terrain like, elevations, etc?

[Lefty]

Im lucky
Winds in the desert are generally consistant, Where I hunt the first few hours the wind is generally from the east,
10-11 the winds will swing to the north then magically be be SSSw the rest of the day. Warm days are almost always a 10-25 mph wind, you can love it or hate it,
The occassional thunder cloud tosses a wrench in all of it.
Evenings winds are often dead calm, Yikes siting in a blind gets hot

[Jaquomo]

I hunt early, hunt very late, spend the rest of the day as far from the elk as possible, scouting feeding meadows in different drainages, checking wallows, checking feeding meadow entrance trails.

[>>>---WW---->]

Morning and evening thermals are much more predictable than prevailing winds. Good advice from Lou to hunt early and late.

[Bullnuts]

Morning and evening, like the other guys. Valleys are different, especially when you have an east/west downhill orientation. You'll have uphill wind on the sunny side and downhill wind on the shady side, with a swirl in the middle. Most of the time you can get on those edges and avoid the middle swirl and do ok. I once had a bull circle all the way around me, staring at me the whole time (he busted me moving) and he never caught up with my scent on the swirling wind. Afternoon currents are the worst since you have two competing forces - the warm ground versus the cooler air that is moving in with the setting sun. This tends to make the wind swirl. That being the case, afternoons I try to stay in the deeper part of the woods in the afternoon, halfway up a ridge, and will try to hunt side hill on the shady side that will tend to cool off and stabilize quicker. Morning hunts aren't a big deal unless you're working against a front. Otherwise, you should have consistent wind that blows downhill until the sun comes up. Once the sun is up in the morning move into the darker timber where the ground will stay cooler longer. Once the wind starts to swirl through the timber in the morning, I head for the truck.

[mainebrdr]

So I've waited all year for these few days, and for most of the day I'm supposed to sit at camp? Gotta admit the swirling wind thing has frustrated me to no end! If I was local and had a month I'd feel better!

[Bullnuts]

Yes, unfortunately that's the way it is. One thing I've learned over a lifetime of hunting elk is this: You can fool their eyes but you'll never fool their noses.

[RockChucker30]

So I've waited all year for these few days, and for most of the day I'm supposed to sit at camp? Gotta admit the swirling wind thing has frustrated me to no end! If I was local and had a month I'd feel better!

When you've got six days it puts an urgency into your actions.

Hunting is hunting, you try to keep the wind in your face. In the mountains that is harder because it swirls so much. All you can do is to make the smartest decision you can at the time based on the conditions you're seeing and the experience you have. Make a decision, and execute it.

On a swirly day I'm not going near where I think elk may be bedded, but I may set up on a saddle or a pinch point between that area and another likely area, especially if bulls are moving around due to the rut. When the thermals steady I may get after the main herd if I know where they are.

If you spot a bull bedded on a hillside in the morning, you may be able to wait for the uphill thermal and then stalk him from above.

Make the most of what you're given.