FOREST AND STREAM 
Sll 
THE WIND AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE 
DEER-HUNTER. 
In this article, I speak of certain facts or theo¬ 
ries in regard to the wind, because I believe that 
it is pre-eminently an important factor in deer 
hunting. The hunter may be cat-like in his 
movements, a Weston on the hike, far sighted 
as a telescope, yet he may fail utterly if he neg¬ 
lects the wind. I once hunted with a very suc¬ 
cessful bunch of deer hunters. Driving was their 
favorite method, and there were enough hunters 
in the party to drive most any kind of woods. 
Usually the bulk of the party spread out, while 
two of the best shots went ahead to intercept 
any deer that might be started. There was one 
old and very experienced deer hunter with this 
outfit and when starting a drive, invariably, this 
old timer would wet his finger and hold it high 
overhead to see which side cooled off first. 
From this direction came the wind. Knowing 
the direction of the wind and also the habits of 
the “red skins” as he called them, he would issue 
orders like a general, just where the standers 
were to locate. That party got deer, and since 
that time I have analyzed some of the old hunt¬ 
er’s methods, plus personal experience, and taken 
all in all I have an idea that the wind is one of 
the most important factors to get first attention 
of the average deer hunter. 
Supposing that the hunters have located the 
direction of the wind and are about to start a 
drive, or we will suppose that there are but two 
hunters; one goes through a certain patch of 
timber while the other goes around'. In case a 
deer is started it is of the utmost importance to 
be able to figure out beforehand just what direc¬ 
tion he is most liable to run. Some hunters per¬ 
sist in figuring that a deer will run with the 
wind, to keep tab on his pursuer. That this is a 
false theory I am assured. When the old hunter, 
previously mentioned, sent the boys ahead, he 
selected their stands, figuring that the deer, if 
started, would run “nose to the wind.” 
The art of placing one’s self in the face of the 
wind, in such a manner as to intercept the logical 
direction that a deer is most liable to run, might 
be said to be one of the difficult propositions that 
the deer hunter is most apt to encounter. There¬ 
fore, in driving it immediately seems very hard 
for the “stander” to get a suitable location where 
his scent will not warn the deer. This difficulty 
is probably why so few drives are successful. 
Instead of figuring out where the deer will run, 
they work along the line of the least resistance, 
and place the standers at the windward side of 
the drive, where they most naturally (yet most 
unnaturally for the deer), figure out that the 
deer when started will not smell the standers 
and, therefore, run that way. That this is an 
and, therefore, run that way. 
If, this theory so briefly outlined, happens to 
be a reality, and in fact constitutes a part of the 
general habits of the white-tail deer, then the 
question naturally arises—how can the stander 
be placed so that any deer coming “against the 
wind” will not smell them. Not all hunters will 
agree on this proposition, but to me it seems 
very simple. Let the stander place himself 
slightly to one side of where the deer is most 
likely to pass, in such a way that his scent will 
not blow into the drive, but rather down along 
one side. Then let him get up a tree, or at least 
as high as possible. The higher up the better 
one can see and the least liable to be smelled by 
the deer. C. H. Lockwood. 
THE BOY’S FIRST HUNTING TRIP. 
Sterling, Colo. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
To-day I had the great pleasure of accom¬ 
panying my twelve year old boy on his first 
hunting trip with his new 20 gauge shot gun. 
He has been ti ailing me all the autumn with his 
little 22 rifle until I felt so guilty that I purchased 
him a shot gun, and what a difference it makes 
in the hunt (for the boy) and such exhilaration! 
He could haidly wait until we arrived at the 
hunting grounds. The wind was blowing strong 
and cold from the north land and I felt quite 
certain of a brace of mallards. My first in¬ 
structions were safety—breaking the barrels upon 
getting through a wire fence-—never under any 
circumstances must the gun be pointed at a hu¬ 
man being or cow or horse, etc. Did I have him 
carry the gun with the safety on? No! for the 
only safe gun is the one taken down and placed 
in its case. I next threw up tin cans and tried 
as best I could to teach him to lead, but the 
cans are still air tight. I did not allow him to 
get discouraged, however, but told him he must 
shoot at the ducks with the same lead as I had 
instructed for the cans. We then hunted the 
slough or seep, as we call them here, and creep¬ 
ing up behind a hummock we peered over when 
with great quacking, up arose a nice bunch of 
mallards out of range, however. I whispered to 
him to be quiet as there might be more, and sure 
enough, upon getting in range of the pool a half 
dozen godwits flew up and I did a couple of 
quick shots and the little 20 spoke also. “Dad, I 
shot,” says the boy. “Yes, and I’ll bet you got 
one,” for about 20 feet from the pool one lay 
dead and 50 feet further away a fine male lay 
kicking. “How do you like your gun, son?” said 
I. “Fine, Dad, it’s a fine gun and don’t kick a 
bit.” We then walked about two miles further 
and raised another bunch of ducks and as before 
each did his best and across the stream my dog 
retrieved as fine a pair of green heads as anyone 
could wish. “Didn’t I get one, Dad?” “Sure 
you did, son,” said I. Then we walked back to 
the car and on the way back I said to the boy: 
“When you are hunting with another fellow and 
you each shoot at a single bird, don’t ever claim 
that it was your shot that killed it. If he asks 
you if you killed it say, ‘I don’t know,’ for there 
are many misses in this shooting game and per¬ 
haps you didn’t hit the bird and perhaps each of 
you hit it. This is what we call field etiquette.” 
Then over our heads flew a flock of black 
birds. “Do you suppose I could hit one, Dad?” 
“Sure you could son, but we must be getting 
home now.” “My, Dad, it’s fun to go hunting 
when you have a gun,” and thus ended a day to 
be remembered at least by one small boy. 
J. H. Kellogg. 
MICHIGAN WILD LIFE CONSERVATION 
MEETING. 
Saginaw, Mich., Dec. 23, 1915. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Beginning the 23rd of February, 1916, and con¬ 
tinuing for three days thereafter, there will be 
held at the Auditorium at Saginaw, Michigan, a 
Sportsman’s Show under the auspices of the Sag¬ 
inaw County Sportsman’s Association of which 
H. A. Penney is secretary and the Honorable W. 
S. Linton, chairman of the committee on the 
Sportsman’s Show. 
During this time also the Michigan Wild Life 
Conservation Association will hold its annual 
meeting. The Auditorium has a seating capacity 
of 4,500. Each of the three evenings addresses, 
and moving pictures will be given and shown by 
noted exponents of outdoor life. The afternoon 
sessions of the state organization will be devoted 
to the discussion of the “More Game” idea, and 
I especially invite to participate in this either by 
being present or sending papers that can be read, 
those who are competent to tell what to do so 
that we can have more game in Michigan. We 
do not want to pass a lot of resolutions and say 
that such and such ought to be done, but we 
want to get right down to the fact of how shall 
we do it? 
We have an excellent game refuge law as far 
