Anybody with an opinion or experience please add your 2 cents.

I went out early today for whitetail in Virginia. Over the last 2 days a storm blew in and the temps went from 40 and 50 down to the 30s. But very high winds also blew in. I was sitting in my tree stand getting tossed around and watching the wind gust this way then that way.20 to 30 mph wind.
I got froze out shortly. But I got to wondering where the deer go and what they do on a day like this.
The sheep and goats at my house were hunkered down just waiting it out. If deer do the same thing then hunting from a stand is a waste of time. I also noticed the squirrels were just popping out of their houses for a quick peek around then heading back indoors, presumably where it is warmer. But they DO have a house to go to, deer don't.
Thanks.

There is a cabin back in the woods where they stay and play poker until the weather lets up ! They do head for heavy cover in high wind and rain or snow. They can detect coming storms by changes in pressure as a system approaches and feed heavily before it arrives.An excellent time to hunt.Wind also makes them nervous as it makes everything move so they think 'predators' !

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The sheep and goats at my house were hunkered down just waiting it out.

The deer were probably doing the same. Around here they tend to head for cover (willows, spruce) or low areas (creek beds etc). Not only is the wind uncomfortable but it makes it difficult for them to see/hear potential threats.

They aren't really smart animals but they are smart enough to know that sometimes it is good to just lay low for a while (makes you wonder about people in treestands eh? )

Instead of hunting from tree stands we hunt from ridge tops here in the west. This year on opening day the wind was howling and a strong storm was coming in. I could see the wall of snow moving across the mountains int he distance and knew it would hit me soon.

On the ridge tops the wind was so strong, you almost lean out and touch the ground and the wind uplift would keep you from falling over. The deer had moved off the ridge lines where I usually see them. I knew they would be down deeper in the canyons where the wind was deflected and there were more trees to help block the wind. We dropped down a thousand feet deeper into the canyon, off the ridge top and found the deer schooled up in the oak brush. They were still milling about and feeding. The wind was almost non-existent here. I suspect like the mule deer I was hunting, Your whitetails find a place to get out of the worst of the weather so they can conserve their body heat.

Where I hunt in NW Oklahoma, the wind blows nearly every day, so the deer pretty much don't pay attention to it.

Here in east Texas, windy days generally mean no deer movement, but my son killed a 130 class buck last year in a 30 mph wind. I tried to talk him out of going hunting that day, but he insisted. It paid off big time.

This may not be others experience, but over the years, I have noticed the following.

Winds 0 up to about 10 mph., deer will move around normally.

Winds 10 to 20-25 mph., deer start laying up and not moving.

Winds 25 mph., and stronger deer will move out of nervousness, too many smells and sounds.

Usually, if you will watch how livestock is acting, that is how the wildlife is acting. JMO.

i dont always take the idea that livestock and deer always act the same becasue deer are more nocturnal by nature, but if the cows and horses ARE up and feeding thats a good sign.
when the wind is blowing it usually put the deer in the pines from my experience. pine being a conifer dont tent to shed leaves like hardwoods do so there isnt as much movement. a deers visual senses are messed up when everything is moving.
windy days are a great day to put on a stalk because your movement and sound are muffled.

I don't believe it affects them a great deal. In 2006 during peak rut I was watching deer from a ground blind in 75mph winds and about 35'F. I only have a few precious days to hunt so I'm out regardless of what mother nature throws at me. And like clockwork the deer came out of the brush into the hayfield just as they would on any other day. That particular day I saw the largest buck I'd ever seen, when he was on the move I could clearly see his rack at over 500 yards without optics. I watched him for almost an hour 'til he finally presented a good broadside shot at 250 yards. I was hunting elk in the morning and had my 338WM with me and 225 grain NPs which was probably the better gun to have when trying to shoot in gale force winds.

With only 10 minutes of legal hunting time left I squeezed off a shot rested from my bipod aiming dead center of the buck allowing over 12" for windage and missed.

According to the ballistics calculators I've checked, The drift was 30"+ when shooting at a right angle to the wind. Who would have thought? Now I know.

GordM

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Originally posted by KSTEPHENS:
when the wind is blowing it usually put the deer in the pines from my experience. pine being a conifer dont tent to shed leaves like hardwoods do so there isnt as much movement. a deers visual senses are messed up when everything is moving.
windy days are a great day to put on a stalk because your movement and sound are muffled.

I filled my last tag of the year on opener of muzzleloader season this year,30 mph west wind,I headed out hunting and jumped a few deer on the drive in to the pine grove,watched the general direction they went, and started stalking.took about 2 hours and a few hundred yards to catch up.

Last year, about halfway through PA's archery season, we had a major storm come through in the afternoon hunt. It had rained all morning. As soon as I got in my afternoon stand, 30+ mph gusts started, with snow, hail, sleet, and lots more rain. The tree was moving so much, all I could do was hang on and pray. Then the river of rain running down the tree trunk soaked me from my neck to my butt. After hanging on an hour or so (in terror) there was enough of a lull for me to climb down.

A slight detour on my way to the truck took me through a bedding and staging area. I had a noisy cross wind, and wet leaves. I slowly walked out watching for deer ahead of me. I got lucky and walked up on a button buck with his back to me, browsing in a brushy gully. As soon as I drew, he turned broadside, and I shot.

It was my third archery deer from the ground, and I learned something. The next windy noisy day I bow hunt, I'll try walking instead of getting blown out of a tree.

High wind pins game down because they can't hear predators, including hunters. You can certainly jump bedded deer and stalk them once they've moved, but stand hunting when it's windy is a waste of time.

In the UK when hunting mixed farmland high winds mean locating a food source in a sheltered spot. This actualy makes it easier as the options are reduced from good weather.

Shelter and food

I usually hunt deer twice a day for about 4 to 5 months a year. Contrary to what many people think, deer, and bucks in particular will move around when it is quite windy....15 to 30mph....if its more than that I'm usually not watching.

BTW, I'm not saying it doesn't affect their movements, it does, and appears to me to affect does more than bucks for whatever reasons, but I wouldn't stay home just because it is a bit windy, like several have mentioned above, pick a spot that you'd think about using if you were a hungry or horny buck. OTOH, if I did that, I'd never leave home.