I was wondering I'd any one knows of a good article, video, DVD, or book on reading a topo map to figure out where the deer will be coming through. I know how to read a topo map and all that(thanks to the army). I guess in short terms what am I looking for as far as terrain features that can tell me where deer are going?
Good questions cav. You have any topo maps of the area you plan on hunting? Many guys on here could mark up a map for you to get you pointed in the right direction. Thank you for service.
Ok y'all. I got some screen shots of just one of my hunting areas. Everything within the shot is public/private land(Fort Riley soldiers and vets only) So i can go anywhere in that area. I am sure going to put up some other screen shots of my other areas i hunt. I took multiple screen shots of the different topo maps. If anyone has questions then i will let you know. i also included some possible hunting stands and major deer traffic and sign areas. just a small junk though. any of the deer heads on the last pic are tree stand, deer sign, deer traffic junctures, a trail camera, and the one on top just marks a spot where they always cross the road.
I know Bill Winke on Midwest Whitetails has talked about reading topo maps before on some of their shows. Maybe check on-line to see?
I can't tell you an answer directly. My input would be get into the deep green areas on either side of the road south of Vinton. The side on the left is where I would start. It all looks good. I would work the fingers and look for the most sign. If the sign is good park it in a spot where your shooting lanes are unobstructed and wait, wait awhile. Glass and move if needed. The best advice is to just get out there, be quiet and odor free, enjoy the day, be prepared and alert, ready to shoot. Good Luck
Buy and watch this video. Amazon.com: Hunting Marsh Bucks: Movies & TV Amazon.com: Hill Country Bucks: Blood Brothers: Movies & TV You will thank me later.
This book is another good resource... Mapping Trophy Bucks: Brad Herndon: 0046081005039: Amazon.com: Books
i just purchased all those products listed and then some. i am going to be reading and watching like a maniac. haha. i also got bill winkes creeks and ditches dvd/book combo. i was hopping i could get someone to mark some possible spots to check out? so i can go walk them and put the in time in the woods. here are a few more different spots. either that or we could just talk about the spots and stuff like that. these two other areas are full on public land.
Cav, not sure if you are scouting this weekend while you wait for all that good info to arrive. If so, you might want to check out these spots on your first map. Just my opinion. Best of luck.
Thanks virginiashadow! i may or may not scout this weekend. It depends on how deep the snow is cause over the past few days we got hit with a collective 15" of snow. so i will attempt to but i might have to wait for the snow to melt a little. but it will be real nice to follow the blatant trails and sign in the snow! haha. thanks again. chris
Your welcome Chris. Let me know what you find. If you don't find anything where I marked the map, let me know as well. I am learning through you as well. Brett
Thanks again Brett. I will definitely let you know. i plan on taking notes and pictures and maybe i will put some trail cams in too. i plan on shed hunting in the spring around here also. so i will keep you updated since you helped out.
Hey Virginia shadow, I went scouting today and checked out one of the areas that you told me to check out. I ended up going all over this place but I ended up going by the spot you marked and low and behold a trail and a scrape near it! Haha . All the orange is scrapes or bedding or a rub. Lots of doe beds but some lone buck beds I think. Next week I will check out the other finger.
Great suggestions. I watched all the DVDs and took notes the whole time. I think I am going to have a successful season
Hill Country Bucks and Marsh Bucks are two of the best resources I've seen on hunting mature bucks, a ton of great information packed into them, changing the way I view and hunt mature bucks. Once you wrap your mind around the fact that the key for getting on big bucks is bedding, it changes completely how you approach hunting whitetails. Farmland terrain I'm finding is the hardest terrain to find buck beds for me, a lot of the points that you'd think would hold big bucks are fields, so you're stuck identifying areas with minimal or no human intrusion. Walking any transition areas seems to help the most in these situations. To add to Virginiashadows good suggestions, I'd also check out the blue spots on the map for bedding I marked. [/URL] Another thing to think about in farm country is depth of cover, mature bucks usually want to bed behind doe groups. Basically secluded stops without human activity and past where does want to bed. This is why they're usually the last ones to fields at night, and on their way back to bed before or at daylight in the morning. Keeping this in mind can help with land with a lot of farming. Looks like you're on the right track, I wish I started looking at hunting through this view 15 years ago, I'd have a lot more bucks on my wall. Best of luck!
Thanks a lot. And the DVDs are awesome. Still trying to wrap my head around it and put it all into practice.
