Which way do you face?

I've always been taught to face into the wind because a deer moving will keep the wind at its back to smell anything try to sneak up on it and his eyes will see anything in front. I do this most of the time except when I put rinks out then I find my self facing down wind but in a way I can see something if it circles

It's Alabama.I try to get above them.

^^^^^This. If possible, I also try to get in a crosswind so it can blow the scent into where the deer will come in. You need to distance yourself as far back as possible without compromising a good shot.

North. Always. I always want the sun at some angle to my back. There is no way of knowing where a deer may come from most of the time so I'll take my chances at not looking directly into the sun for both morning and afternoons. Predominant wind is N/NW for most of the winter anyhow so it works out.

This is funny to me. I hear people all the time say hunt the wind. I got a buddy that his favorite saying is " no I wouldn't Hunt that spot cause the wind is wrong". It's funny because he gets blown by deer more than anybody I know. A lot of folks say deer always have the wind in their face so you gotta get down wind of them.........WRONG! If a deer always walked into the wind, they would get dizzy and die.

Codie always hunts up wind and he knows best.

Lock the thread.

While once discussing this topic, I heard an old timer say "Hell, if you want the wind in your face, just turn around in your stand." That feller killed a pile of deer.

In Alabama deer have too many choices of travel routes. What may be good wind for that particular trail may suck for the other.

You better be jacking up high as freakin possible in a tree. Nose bleed section

On the coast our predominant wind is north, south , east and west usually all in the same hunt lol

That was yesterday for sure.

I put my back to the place that I can't shoot/see good.

Yep. And I have had times where my face is in the wind and the deer come in behind me. My setup was 100 yards off. It happens.

Nice thing about climbing stands is that when the wind shifts, you can move to the other side of the tree. IMO its a crap shoot when hunting in wooded areas so I just check the wind direction forecast and hope for the best. Then if the wind is wrong I always have a second stand location ready.

In my experience, unless you are bowhunting, the wind really isn't as big of an issue as it use to be. With scent killer, scentlok clothing, code blue and/or tinks, if the deer is 50+ yards away, you will be fine. If the deer is any closer (bowhunting range), you need the wind blowing from the direction of the deer towards your face or you will get busted, regardless how much scent killer you use.

Codie faces the corn pile. Let it be written.

Hunting up here in the mountains, you cannot hunt the wind. You can hunt wind thermals, but not the wind. The wind screwed me all year. I've got one particular stand that I had pics of good bucks chasing every day in the area. I had to have either a west or a north/ northwest wind. Didn't hunt it until I saw the forecast showed those winds here. And I hunted the thermals. The first hour of daylight the wind blew from every direction possible, honestly.

I mean, I know it's Alabama, and the wind is crazy here. But this year seemed horrible. Even with 20+ mph winds out of the north it would NEVER stay constant in one direction. You cannot see deer up here that way, plain and simple

A deer can smell you 400 yards away, I know, if the winds blowing toward them. Maybe further, but 400 yards I know. Seen it happen.

The wrong way 99% of the time.

I watched 5 deer wind a guy from 275 yards away a couple of weeks ago. He never knew they were there but they sure knew where he was.

I don't worry about the wind. It's the property line I try to keep to my back. Just kidding. I do try to play the wind as far as not having it blowing from me to where I think the deer will be coming from. You can get away with crosswinds and quartering winds sometimes.

I always climb 40' to begin with. The direction I face is dependent on the surroundings.

I saw more deer this year than I ever have and I can tell you first hand that I saw more deer moving into the wind than anything. Some deer had it at there back but more often than not they went head on.. Most deer crossed my scent and I didn't get busted but once (watching a buck at 35 yards and they slipped in from the other direction and busted me at under 10 yards) the places I hunt, the deer come from all directions so I was very careful about my scent control this year and I saw a big difference when it came to seeing deer.

Only to me I hunt the wind is the afternoons.
Morning time thermals take care of your scent. It doesn't matter how high you get in the afternoon the thermals force your scent down. But if you hunt the wind you better know where the deer are at.

I tend to setup to the south of the feed tree or trail I am watching. I have found by looking north, this takes the sun out of play and usually gives me a favorable wind. Ridges in the am and down low in the bottoms in the evening's.

Just make sure you have good scent control. I washed all clothes in scent away this year if I sweated the least bit in them and odor free deodorant then spray once I got to the stand. I never got winded even with many deer downwind

I meant upwind of the corn pile.

I don't worry about the wind much. For bowhunting I try to be on the shade side of the tree or near cover.

You guys are killing me saying you don't worry about the wind!
I've seen deer wind ME from 200+ yards when it shifts wrong, and I try to be as scent free as possible. I have 3-4 dif properties I hunt and I go to which ever stand best suits the wind. My confidence level would be zero if I hunted the south side of a power line with a south wind.

X2. I have bathed in scent-free, washed the clothes in scent-free and sprayed down with scent "eliminator"....and then still get busted when the deer is not even within view and is over 100 yards into the woods. And of course, I've had them walk right underneath me. I am convinced that they can smell you 500 yards away, but it is up to them to ignore your scent or raise up the white tail and head the other direction.

Dumb deer don't live long!

I try to hunt with the wind in my face,but most of the time it ends up swirling,Also,when I think I know beyond a shadow of a doubt which way the deer will be coming from they come from somewhere unexpected..Just hunt.

Certain weather conditions will get you winded from anywhere.Other times they seem oblivious to me being around them.

I usually tend to hunt with my face into the wind, but we have fingers on our property that we know the deer travel south on in the morning and north on in the afternoon, so there will be times when their normal travel route dictates where I sit even the wind is not necessarily in my favor. There are times especially during the rut that want to upwind of the deer, especially if have put out a scent drag or buck bomb, in hopes that they will wind the scent and come in to investigate it. Scent control is KEY ALWAYS, I always wear fresh washed clothes and shower with dirt soap and then spray down before walking into the woods. Rubber boots are a must.

My son killed a big 10 this past Sunday that was walking one of the treeline fingers I mentioned and he was walking dead downwind, along with another buck that had passed earlier. They cant and dont always walk with the wind in their face. If they did, we would never see the same deer twice, by now they would be up in Huntsville somewhere, heading on into Tennessee.

I watched a 2 year old 6 point wind me yesterday and he didn't like it but he just kind of slinked on off but the day before, I had a 3 year old busted up deer come almost to the base of my tree in response to a grunt call. The wind was not blowing to him but he smelled where I walked through some weeds to climb. It had rained pretty good on me all morning but he still smelled me. He did not hesitate to get out of dodge. For those that don't worry about the wind, try hunting a food plot with the wind blowing directly into it and let me know how you do. Young deer will tolerate a lot of human intrusion. Older deer, not so much.

I usually end up with the wind blowing across my face I feel like. I am careful enough with scent control and get high enough usually that I want a shot at my downwind side if possible.

I have two approaches I usually take to my down wind side. Often times I'll give myself the easiest shot I have close to my down wind side so I can whip around and take one out that may hesistate and smell instead of bolting. Alternatively I'll try to position cover, say a sweet gum tree or a mess of vines, on my down wind side so I can only be smelled, but not seen clearly if one approaches.

Thermals in the morning also rule over predominant wind. Killed the biggest buck of my career facing south east on a day when a light nw wind was blowing. But I had a large 90 acre bottom land cut over to my left/front and a steep hill behind me. That buck came in exactly "down wind" of me according to the wind direction, but due to thermals/topography my scent was really being carried up directly behind me and to my right. He got within 10 yards before realizing he messed up, then he got a 30-30 bullet through both shoulders.

Been facing the wrong way all year!!

Seems that way sometimes.

you forgot to clean your ears, they smelled your ear wax