Weather and deer movement

What's everyones thoughts on optimal weather patterns to catch a good buck offguard?

I've gotten more than my fair share of does and 6pts, just never been able to tag anything larger than a 7pt. Trying to make this year the year i finally get an 8pt. Anyone have any suggestions on which weather patterns are best to try and hunt? Ive had awesome luck as far as seeing numbers go when a heavy rain lets up, but thats about the only consistent pattern ive noticed for weather. As much as everyone talks about cold fronts getting the deer moving, i just end up freezing my ass off on those single digit days and usually dont see a thing.

Right after low pressure precipitation event, as high pressure comes in and clouds roll out. Sun with a 20+ degree temp drop is magic. Most consistent deer movement predictor there is.

I'll have to try that one out. I started making an excel spreadsheet to track their sightings on trail cams to weather, but im sure its all going to change by the time bow season rolls around. Have a few nice 8pts visiting the back of my pasture every week or two. Im sure those are gonna be long gone by opening day as well

This ☝️

Or any time during the seeking phase. But you gotta know when that is.

I am fortunate to be able to go most everyday of the season and these are jam up times. Although, it has more to do with being in the right place at the right time.

Prolly.

A good, cold high pressure cloudless afternoon is about as sure of a thing as it gets for me. North wind is nice too.

I listened to a podcast about this very subject. A study was done by Penn State on gps collared deer. In a nutshell their findings show weather has little to no effect on deer movement other than really high winds. I also heard Drury talk about weather being a large factor in deer movement based on years of record keeping.
I am starting a journal this season to record weather data, moon phase etc. for comparison sake.
Most hunters who have to work for a living only get a couple of days a week to hunt. I’m gonna go every chance I get and see what happens.

If I can see my breath at 3:30 pm deer will be moving good

Ive seen data on both sides. Kind of the problems with the times of today. For every datapoint you find, there's always another that disproves it. I will say that the immediate post-front right after rain lets up has always produced for me though.

Im fortunate enough to have a semi-flexible work schedule so i can kind of work around hunting whenever i want, but i need to give notice a day or two in advance of doing so.

Im pretty much just giving up hunting green fields and trying to catch them enroute instead. I was chasing a decent one last year, but he just wouldnt go into the small foodplots i was hunting until it was past shooting light. Im spending saturday checking and moving cams to try to nail down routes of travel in the woods, and clear some tree trunks for my climber.

I guarantee this to work!!!

First, Figure out what what days you are gonna be off work.
Then, Figure out what days you don’t have any other obligations.
Lastly, Hunt every available day.

I have killed mature bucks on days that I almost didn’t go hunting because of weather and I have also not seen a single deer on days that I swore would have been great. The most important part about hunting is putting in time in the woods.

Hunt the wind, don’t hunt a stand to death, slip in and out as undetected as possible, and have realistic expectations for the properties you hunt. The rest will fall into place.

A good cool frosty morning, sitting in a funnel and you hear a pack of blueticks coming your way.........

I dont see jack squat on a windy day but i refuse to not go cause of it. I have luck right after the rain stops or sharp temp changes.

Words of wisdom^^^

On those days they move and that 6pt walks out, don’t shoot. May be an 8 pt behind him.

The best deer that I've killed have been over abnormally, windy days where I could easily play the wind.

I couldn't agree more. In my neck of the woods, it starts around Christmas thru the first week in Jan.

Also, sit long during prime times of the year. I like quality sits instead of quantity.

This is my philosophy. As long as its not lightning or an absolute downpour I’ll go when I can. I’ve killed deer in 70 degree weather, light rain, before a front, after a front, and with snow on the ground. The only weather that keeps me out of the woods is temps over 80 degrees. That’s just because I hate sweating when hunting. If you have a spot you know is good, I would try to stay out until you know you can dedicate a full day or at least half day to hunting it, and the wind is favorable. If you minimize your scent and have a stealthy entrance and exit that will go a long way towards seeing more (and hopefully bigger) deer.

I think there's a point with wind where deer shut down. Not sure what the specific MPH is but I think there's something to it, whether you're here in Bama or Kansas or Wisconsin.

Some will move, yeah, either if they have to or are bumped. But IMO if they're chilling out, protected in some way (like under a tree or beneath a ridge), and don't have to move, they won't. Wind dulls the ability to hear acutely on the Plains and creates rattling-crackling noises in our woods here, and their nose may not be able to detect scent as well. Eyes possibly could not see movement as well if grass-trees-limbs-brush is moving and swirling.

Nothing's a given but at some point I think the wind makes them booger up until it stops or they absolutely have to move.

Right before a strong front coming through and immediately after when the skies clear. Rain or snow - not so much. I've hunted in the snow several times and the deer just don't move, at least not around here. Wind doesn't seem to matter. Actually, the harder is blows after a front moves through if it's cold, the better. this data collection by Bent Creek Lodge, about an hour and half from me confirms what I've observed.

https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/cuzs-corner/20-years-of-deer-research-on-deer-movement

i've been deer hunting for 60 years and have killed many deer including a lot of good ones and I can tell you for sure you cannot predict deer movements. The biggest deer I've killed was in a sleet storm. I've killed deer in the rain, snow, sunshine, cloudy and in between. Just go hunting and don't worry about the weather.

Be present every chance you get😁

Thanks for everyones input so far,. I already got the first week of bow, both days of muzzleloader, and first week of rifle off work so hopefully a lack of time in the woods wont be my excuse for not getting something bigger than a 6pt this year.

Go ahead n put in for a week off during normal peak rut

As mentioned deer movement unpredictable, but in Barbour Co, 50 degrees, sunny and pressure above. 30.1 and steady or rising is a good recipe for the afternoon. Sunny and 30-45 degrees in am with similar pressure is good. Basically go any time because I enjoy it, but don't expect to see anything if pressure is not favorable.

Watch the wind, don't over hunt the same spot and sit long during times of high pressure and good weather.

I actually like hunting windy mornings so long as the wind is fairly consistent. Two of my best bucks have come on mornings where the wind kicked up to 15+ mph after daylight. In both instances I sat in a large draw out of the wind ( Ex: west wind in a draw that runs N to S.) Obviously, you never know anything for sure but I've had luck doing this several times and It seems that the deer travel these routes to avoid the extreme wind speeds on these mornings.

Temp drops occurring around noon - 2:00 produce the best evening hunts for me.

A lot of my big bucks have come from 15-25 mph unbearable NW winds too.

Just a follow up for everyone.

Was finally going to get one bigger than a 6pt. I had a 7pt (not huge by any means but decent) dialed down to the exact hour he traveled by my stand every day (3pm). They cut the corn down the road and now he's a ghost. There is a small 8pt now that has visited twice, but it's always at 3am. Cant catch a break.

Large movement in barometric pressure= high deer movement, no matter the wind speed. Moon overhead, underfoot, moonrise or set at the same time as the sun sets or rises= increased deer movement. Any temp that is below 5 degrees departure from normal for the hour and day you are hunting is increased deer movement. Hunt on Thursday and Friday. Never hunt an area where someone has set foot in the past few days. I will never say this again on here. You're welcome. Post pics of dead deer here.

If you are not getting pics of a mature buck, you're not in the right place. Get next to bedding. Get in there now and scout it out, find a decent tree that is dropping acorns next to the bedding area, or find a new food source they are coming to and track the deer back to their bedding, find a stand location right next to that bedding area. Do this tomorrow, then don't set foot on it again until you have the right wind and are ready to kill a deer in bow season.

^ Listen to this advice

I have a few that nicer ones I've caught on cam, it's just infrequent. Property is 20 acres. Mostly pasture but back 6 or so is a bunch of white oaks and has a wide and swampy creek running through it so I'm pretty limited on where I can set up. The woods themselves are thin enough that I can see lights from houses on the other side when all the leaves fall. I did leave the grass about 5ft high and plant a small foodplot of clover, brassica, and turnip at the bottom of the pasture by the woods. It's just starting to sprout but I'm hoping itll keep the bigger ones around once the acorns dry up.

To keep it simple, I’ve generally had my best sightings right after a front (rain, snow, etc.) or two days before the front. A lot of people say they see deer right before a front, but I haven’t had much luck then. Right after a front in the winter it is going to be windy and cooler which isn’t comfortable for humans but it makes the deer move. Some people will say that deer don’t move in the wind. My observations of this Is that it is baloney. I see plenty of deer in a high wind. One of the tricks I’ve learned about hunting these days are this; where I hunt there are fallow fields of Sedge. If it is cold and windy, but sunny, the deer like to get into these fields. Apparently they feel like they are in cover from the waist high Sedge, but the sun still shines down giving them a little warmth. Generally speaking, you are going to have a north or west wind right after the front and a south or east a day or two before.

If I read what days you are going to be off to hunt I don’t think you’ll get much cold weather or rut activity. In that case your best bets are to hunt food sources, acorns in particular. Another suggestion I would have is to find a spot where 3 or more different types of terrain meet. Common in Alabama are planted pines, hardwoods, fields for row crops, swamps, pastures, etc. you get the picture. For some reason deer like the areas where several of these intersect. Good luck.

8:30-11:00 the first sunny morning after a weather front during the rut

Around food before a front

In the troughs during heavy wind