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    Hunting Journal

    *WARNING* LONG READ*

    I have been keeping a hunting journal for several years where I keep track of number of deer seen, weather conditions, moon phase, rut activity, etc. I was looking through my journal today to try and decide what my best days had been in the past so that I could schedule my vacation time for this season. I ended up diving in a little deeper and found a pretty cool trend I thought I would share.
    Over the past three seasons, consisting of more hours on a stand than I'm willing to admit, there were six days on the stand that stood out above the rest for me.

    Oct/29/2014

    8:35 a.m., overcast, 56°, Northeast wind 5mph, pressure 30.17 rising. I shot this buck at around 8:30 a.m. coming to a scrape. It was the first time the wind had switched to the North after four straight days of a South wind.


    Nov/19/2014

    4:55 p.m., clear, 62°, South wind 3mph, pressure 30.19 steady. On this day the barometer fell all day from 30.4 until it leveled out at 30.19. It was the first day of South wind after a week of North wind and cold temperatures. Highs for the week prior were in the low 40's, with lows in the high 20's. On the afternoon when I shot this buck the temp had risen to 62°


    Oct/26/2015

    8:35 a.m., overcast, 57°, North wind 10 mph, pressure 29.95 rising. A hunt I will never forget. I did not kill a buck but did video several mature bucks throughout the morning. This day was the first North wind after five straight days of South wind.


    Nov/21/2015

    5:15 p.m., overcast, 48°, North wind 10mph, pressure 30.25 rising. I watched an old stocky eight point guard a doe in an oat patch for most of the afternoon. There were two days of Southeast wind prior to this day. On this afternoon the wind was gusting up to 25mph out of the North


    Dec/4/2015

    4:55 p.m., clear, 52°, North wind 5mph, pressure 30.43 rising. I killed my best buck on this day just before last light coming in to check does in a large oat patch. This day had the highest barometric pressure of any day of the 2015 season. It topped out at 30.54 later on that night. This afternoon there was a shift in the wind from North to East after eight straight days of North wind.


    Nov/5/2016

    5:35 p.m., overcast, 63°, Northwest wind 5mph, pressure 30.22 rising. I rattled this buck in an hour before sunset. He was up on his feet cruising for does. The wind had switched to a North wind the evening before after 7 days of a South wind.


    After several days of wind from one direction, the day, and the day after the wind switches directions is when I had encounters with mature bucks. I ha e several other less impressive but mature bucks in my journal that fell into this pattern too. I know I'm over analysing but just thought it was a really cool pattern.

    #2
    Great post! Mark Drury talked about the same thing on the Wired to Hunt podcast #63. They mainly talk about midwest hunting but there's a ton of good info there.

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    Comment


      #3
      Excellent post and thanks for sharing. I keep journals on my hunts too. Not as detailed as some friends but it is still great to look back and compare notes.

      Comment


        #4
        Good info. I pick up BP always rising and a change in wind direction. Plus it helps to have big deer on your place. Thx for sharing. Safe hunting

        Comment


          #5
          Pretty perceptive observations....thanks for sharing.

          Comment


            #6
            So what's the trend? A wind shift after days of a consistent wind?? And a high Barometric pressure?

            I believe you are on to something with the wind shifting. Everyone knows it's good hunting with a high pressure but if you start thinking like a buck the wind makes a big deal. That mature buck is out there living in the wild. He is doing everything he can to avoid danger and lives with his nose. If he consistently falls into somewhat of a pattern with a certain wind for a say 5 days then there is a pronounced wind shift. He must move and alter his route/plans whatever you want to call it to put the wind back in his face and favor. Just a hypothesis but it makes sense to me when I start trying to understand why there is good movement after a shift.


            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

            Comment


              #7
              Hunting Journal

              I don't do a good enough observing the pressure before I hunt. I definitely will be spending more time on it this year


              Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Tshelly View Post
                So what's the trend? A wind shift after days of a consistent wind??
                Exactly that. I think it is exactly the reason you stated about bucks kind of falling into a pattern and suddenly having to change with a switch in wind direction.



                Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

                Comment


                  #9
                  cool post

                  Comment


                    #10
                    very interesting post! I have always kept mental notes but I think this year I will start a Journal!

                    Thanks for sharing!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Nice info, good pattern.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Good info

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                          #13
                          By looking at those pics i would say you have been blessed in the Hunting Dept.
                          Beautiful deer.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            A hunting journal is a pretty cool idea. Something you can pass on to your kids and they can re live your hunts.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              That is a great observation thanks for the post I will have to watch for this next season!

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