Hunting the Wind

G

Greenheaded_hunter

New member
Hey guys,

I was just curious how you hunted your dogs based on the wind. Obviously, working them into the wind works best, but you can't hunt into the wind the whole time. So I was just curious to know everyone goes about hunting the wind.

Thanks in advance!
 
I always hunt into the wind when possible. Probably 90% of the time. When I can't, I hunt anyway. Not rocket science. Just hunt into the wind when possible, go very slow, and don't talk. I don't say a word to my dog. Hand signals and whistle if I need to communicate. I can't put enough emphasis on keeping quiet and going slow. We kill more roosters than most every hunter we run across or talk to. Most people walk over birds or blow them out of the field. If we can't go directly into the wind, then we try to catch a cross wind. If the wind is at your back, your chances of killing birds declines.
 
One thing I have found is if you know you will have to walk with the wind at some point I try to walk the less productive cover with the wind at my back and circle back into the wind through the better quality cover. Sound travels more than a guy thinks with the wind so being quiet is a must. I treat pheasant hunting just like deer hunting as much as I can in attempts to keep the noise level down.
 
agree, walk the marginal cover or fence line (with wind) at your back, and hunt the best cover into the wind, or cross wind if no other way to work the ground......be quiet, plenty of time to bullshit when you get back to the truck.
 
It may also depend on your dog... Flushing or pointing, range and tempo... All those things matter. My pointer is naturally drawn into the wind, so if I have to hunt a crosswind, I stay to the downwind side so she can cover more with her nose. My spaniel cuts her "into the wind" casts short in a crosswind and has bigger with the wind casts so I walk the upwind side in a crosswind.

Wind is a bigger factor with my pointer because she runs with her head higher. My spaniel excels at tracking foot scent, which means many times she's trailing a bird and I just keep up.

This is all said with the prerequisite that into the wind is best, as well as going slow.
 
Use the wind in conjunction with Rule Number One for hunting a particular field: Always hunt the best part of the field first; don't save it for last like dessert or you may get no dessert. If the field is uniform without a better part, always first hunt into the wind if possible. Why? As soon as a hunter enters a field, that field begins to degrade as a place to hunt pheasants at that moment.
 
I agree with BritChaser! Hunt the best part of the field first if at all possible. Once the first shot goes off, the gig is up and the smart older birds know you are there.

BritChaser said:
Use the wind in conjunction with Rule Number One for hunting a particular field: Always hunt the best part of the field first; don't save it for last like dessert or you may get no dessert. If the field is uniform without a better part, always first hunt into the wind if possible. Why? As soon as a hunter enters a field, that field begins to degrade as a place to hunt pheasants at that moment.
Click to expand...
 
goldenboy said:
I agree with BritChaser! Hunt the best part of the field first if at all possible. Once the first shot goes off, the gig is up and the smart older birds know you are there.
Click to expand...

You, sir, are brilliant!! LOL:D
 
not always true.....walking up the sparse/broken cover often causes birds to drift into the heavy stuff and hold up for a point.
....there is no one size fits all here boys!
 
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