Gone with the wind

No matter how carefully you plan, if the wind changes direction it can leave your strategy in tatters warns Jon Snowdon

- Jon Snowdon

I have been asked how the weather may affect our stalking efforts and it is a very good question. The weather does have a huge effect on what we do and where we decide to stalk.

Adverse weather changes the deer’s movement and choice of area. Like us, they are not keen on moving around in poor conditions, especially in winter. A deer’s metabolism slows down in the winter season and they know they have to conserve their energy through what is the worst time of year with regard to good nutrition.

This is why woodland deer always do better than those living on more open ground. Woodland, especially lowland woods, has a selection of autumn forage that is not so abundant on open hill high ground. Good woodland is always more sheltered and much warmer too. This is one of the reasons an experienced deer manager will, during poor conditions, go into the better sheltered areas that offer dense cover. This, of course, makes the odds for success much less because it is more likely the deer will hear you long before you get near them.

Wind

Of all of the elements, wind direction and strength are the most critical factors to consider. If the deer manager makes an error in judgement there, it’s quite simple — they will not see any deer.

I have mentioned the deer’s phenomenal ability to scent before. You have to consider the number of olfactory scent glands a deer has compared with ours. We are pretty useless at about six million glands, whereas deer have in the region of 300million. If we imagine a clock face held horizontally with 12 being straight ahead — which, by the way is the perfect direction of wind to stalk in — we can get a better idea of what to aim for.