Wind Mapping with Topo Maps: Understanding the Wind for Deer Hunting!

Wind Mapping. What the heck is it and why is it important?
Wind mapping consists of understanding what the wind is actually doing at a specific location regardless of what the weatherman is calling for. For us hill country whitetail hunters, the weatherman can call for a West wind on Monday but when we are in our stand it's likely for it to be something totally different due to the terrain, vegetation, etc. To take that a step further there's a long list of variables that will have influence like wind speeds, gusts, thermal pull/rise, and prevailing wind direction.
WAYS OF THE WIND
There are two ways to wind map areas of interest.
IN PERSON
Logically, the first is to be physically in the area/location of interest with some type of wind indicator. We prefer milkweed over smoke or other wind floaters but any of the mentioned will suffice. With all the variables, wind direction, wind speed, thermal pull/rise, terrain, vegetation, hunting height, etc in mind and noted, simply drop some milkweed and watch where it goes. Where ever the milk weed is going at this specific time and with the specific variables is where your scent cone is going and also gives you frame of reference for how whitetails will use the area with the wind to their advantage. Because there are so many variables the more data points you have the better you'll understand the area.
DIGITALLY
The second way to wind map and something not talked about too often, is doing it digitally. Digital wind mapping can save countless hours throughout the season. However, it is not nearly as precise as wind mapping in person. To start you need to collect the average wind speeds and direction for the area of interest. You can obtain this data from weather underground . In addition you will need topo maps and up to date aerial or satellite imagery maps. For this we use OnX Maps . By understanding topography features and vegetation you can forecast common wind themes and directions for the area. Again, this method is not nearly as precise as wind mapping in person but it's a great place to start and gain some baseline assumptions before putting boots on the ground. Also, once you have some experience wind mapping it becomes easier to look at digital maps and predict wind movements.
THE VARIABLES
This is where it gets tricky. It would be so nice if the wind direction was the wind direction regardless of other conditions. Unfortunately for us whitetail hunters that's not the case. Every single variable is going to impact how the wind travels through the area. Below is a quick synopsis of some variable and how they may impact the wind.
Thermal Pull/Rise - A basic guide line is thermals will rise as the air temperature heats up and thermals will fall when the air temperature cools down. Each occurrence will influence the wind, the travel of your scent cone, and how deer travel through the area.
Wind Speed - This is one of the toughest variables to map. A 3 MPH wind could do something totally different than a 12 mph. The more data points here the better. A general rule of thumb is 6-8 mph winds will give you consistent direction pending the area's topography.
Topography Features - We're talking saddles, drainages, ridge systems, thermal hubs, etc. Although it may take a some experience to understand different topography features once you begin to map them you can quickly and accurately look at similar features to accurately predict what the wind is going to do.
Water Features - Water can be a big deal when it comes to thermals and winds. It one of the easiest features to predict and can be a whitetail hunter's hunters best friend for both access and blowing your scent cone into a specific location void of whitetails.
Terrain Features - Stands of timber, open ag fields, planted ag fields, fallow fields etc all give the wind an opportunity to do something different. With variables within each feature there's a long learning curve but like topography features if you understand why and what the wind is doing in a specific scenario you can predict it happening again when you are in a similar scenario.
Understanding the wind and how to use it to your advantage is a never ending process for whitetail hunters. Wind mapping is a great way to further understand and hunt your specific locations. However, at the end of the day, you will never know exactly what it's doing at a specific location with specific variables without physically being there at that moment in time.
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[@jake-hofer]

Underrated topic for chasing whitetails. Good stuff!

[@DROK0352]

Think of wind flowing like water. If you can imagine what water would do It gives a visual. (I don’t know who suggested that but it works for me) Great vid as usual.

[@chadsyl23]

One of my favorites worms holes to talk about in hill country!!!!

[@mikeharryhunt1709]

Chad, please stop pumping the iron. Your getting too buff. Don't get me wrong," your body is beautiful right now," but if u get any buffer I'm afraid it may become unnatractive. Maybe just stick to 2 to 3 protein shakes ah day and just aim to maintain what u have right now.

[@jimreed3904]

Cool topic...this past year we definitely can relate to this topic as our crew does an annual doe drive management hunt but with limited numbers in our crew this year we found ourselves pulling up topo maps and orchestrating "wind deer bumping" drives to maximize pushes and it really seemed to work as well as when we have historically more hunters pushing... and we absolutely found to your point on how the wind varied off those prevailing directions depending on topo...

[@deercamp3479]

I use a small smoke machine that’s actually for grilling but it’s a real easy way to map your long range wind in different wind scenarios. Make sure you do it after the leaves are down for accuracy!

[@muskogeefisherman]

Guy that leases my land in Oklahoma (I live in louisiana with more than enough public land to hunt than most could imagine) says that he has to change stand locations after the majority of the leaves fall in a creek bottom in late November. He has tried explaining it to me but I think it's more of an experience thing.

[@deercamp3479]

@@muskogeefisherman … yeah I find the leaf cover makes a huge difference with the wind. Kinda like wind hitting buildings etc. it’s a real eye opener when you see what the wind does. Our leaves are all down by late October here in northern Wisconsin when I do most of my hunting . Good luck this fall!

[@jasonwipp2112]

Wind hunting in the Blue Ridge mountains is tough. Just the slightest wind direction change, will equal a huge change in some areas. Up drafts are killers. I have had the wind blow in 4 different directions in less than 2 hours.

[@OutdoorsAllie]

Good info, per usual.

[@cielrobinson]

using this to try and take wind more into account when selecting a campsite, thanks for the info!

[@tbob740]

Great video. I am trying to learn as much as I can about this subject so it’s appreciated. If you do another video on this subject you should do like a cold turkey hunt. What I mean is you know of a property you are going to hunt, you have never physically been to the property however you do a “desktop review” of the property and based on the top map, anticipated wind direction and areal phots you drop a pin on where you think the best stand location should be. Then go out IRL and see how you did.

[@hillbilly8716]

Dude great info👍

[@2ndAmdDem205]

Thanks for the info... What sites do you get your topo maps from?

[@johnsguideserviceandwildou5235]

Thanks :)

[@Flyingsidekickr]

If you see a purple streetlight, it might be upwind of an evacuation route

[@brandonyoung7760]

I was in the woods yesterday at a new stand location hunting off a West wind. The location is at the bottom of the hill on the east side. I seen the tree tops blowing to the east so i thought I was good. Nope. The wind was circling back down to the west and hitting me in my back. I completely got busted. Only thing I can compare it to is how the wind circles around on the bed of your pickup truck. Maybe if the wind is blowing across the side I'm hunting from the north to south or south to north it will be a true wind direction idk.

[@yogibear6271]

Boots on the ground. 👍

[@chadsyl23]

Definitely no substitute!!!!

[@camthecameraman5096]

For those who aren't able to physically wind map with boots on the ground, this will help a ton!

[@robertdeis132]

Anyone ever give bubbles a try as a wind indicator?

[@yogibear6271]

No

[@chadsyl23]

No but I imagine they wouldn’t make it very far in the timber before popping??

[@Idk65432_]

First

[@PaulOgie]

Fill up a vape with doe in heat. Perfect wind indicator with added scent attractant and great taste! By the way, not to be grammar Nazi, but it's Northerly, Southerly, Easterly and Westerly. There isn't an "N" in the middle of any of them. Astonishingly, you will lose credibility just because of things like this. When a guy says, "I seen three deers down in the holler" it's game over. Not saying you're that guy, but just trying to help you not lose credibility.

[@johndenver5029]

Says the guy who vapes deer piss lol