Ask 100 veteran whitetail hunters for the most important piece of advice they’d give to a newcomer, and I suspect at least 90 of them would say “keep the wind in your favor.”
Sure, it makes sense to practice odor-control measures for your body, clothing and gear, but a whitetail’s sense of smell is so extraordinary that they will still bust you if they are downwind.
Dead Down Wind and several other companies sell wind detectors of various designs; the simplest and most cost-effective are the small powder-filled squeeze bottles. That said, hunters can also harvest their own natural wind detectors that work tremendously.
Check out the 35-second YouTube video clip below that shows you the effectiveness of milkweed seed pods. I like to carry the pods in a snack-size zipper bag in a pocket that’s easily accessible. During early fall, I stock up on enough of them to make it through the entire deer season. When checking the wind, I simply grab a pod or two and let them drift in the wind and/or thermals.
