I hunt a property that is about 50 acres of overgrown bushes and thickets (pines ect), some cleared out areas (tall grass) and some small hardwoods. This year will be my second year on the property and last year I had success hunting in the woods over some trails I found. Off one the old cleared out paths there is a creek and opposite the creek is a hill that consists of grass and bushes. I didnt hunt that area at all this past season, and was wondering if it would be a good area to hunt this fall? Ill probably hang a few cams ups in the coming weeks.
At my place my back fence line is the top of a ridge, as the deer move north there are two bowls they will drop down in the bowl to travel thru the pasture. They like to be able to see from the ridge and use the wind in the direction they travel to feed.
My home farm the best area I hunt is a ridge. The bucks bed on the hillside and I won’t go into that area till end of October, Hunt with the wind blowing off the hill and you’ll be good to go. If you have a good entry into that area def worth exploring and potentially hunting it. If you blow deer out, I would continue to hunt the outskirts.
do thermals playa big enough role to adjust my hunts on the hill? I have no idea how to describe its steepness other than not very steep but definitely a hill, (I could ride up on a mtn bike if shifted gears correctly if that helps at all. ) or is wind direction enough to go off of?
What I mean by saying that is this, outside of the rut there is a reason bucks bed and travel when and where they do. It’s where they feel like they have the best scent advantage. The one thing they can count on being consistent is the thermal flow. The best shot at killing them comes with hunting a “just off” wind. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
well I guess the party is over then... anyway Lets assume (since I havent put boots on the ground yet) that the bucks are bedding up the ridge, whats the most effective way to hunt em? I would like to hunt close to the bedroom since the food source is mostly browse.
I always pay close attention to the wind in relation to the terrain, bed, bedding, edge, food source, entrance, exit, ect....More often than not, you have to burn a bridge or two to hunt the perfect location....look at the big picture and burn those bridges wisely. Nothing sucks more than being out of the hunt before it ever gets started. When I hunt this part of the ridge (marked in yellow), I will wait for a NW to NE wind. Then come from the south, through the bottom and up the ridge to the kill tree. Same ridge system, now (marked in yellow) I will wait for a NE to SE wind, slip down and up from the west to the kill tree.
Access is key to mountain hunting. Slipping quietly into your spot from above a saddle takes advantage of morning thermals.
I put a camera up off a main trail I found that runs alongside the base of the hill and the creek, I saw a few trails that went up the hill while walking around hanging the camera and bumped a doe up on the hill in some tall grass, hopefully the camera has a story to tell in a few weeks
Pulled the card today, I was happy my suspicion was right there was a buck utilizing the trail up and down the hill, unfortunately it was just a lil buck. still cool to get a few pictures of him before the camera crapped out on me (Moultrie 990i worked great for two years now its turning itself off). Need to get a new one up there, or maybe a little further in to see if there are any bigger ones hanging around. (I also had the cam in a terrible position)
