Hunting ridges/stand location questions

[Austin95]

I got a new hunting lease that's 2 hours away, so I would like some advice to make my time more worthwhile when I go out. The land has a ton of ridges on it with no field or crop land for miles. I've picked 3 spots so far. I've read that 3/4 up a ridge is a good spot for bucks. However 2/3 spots I've picked are at the bottom. 1 spot is on a dryed creak bed at the bottom of very steep ridges, its where 2/3 ridges seem to funnel down to flat area (where as the rest of the creak bed has very steep ridges around it). The other spot is the same where the ridges seem to funnel down to a natural big flat area at the bottom (no creak). My 3rd spot is on a gentle ridge about midway up that I found a worn in pathway. I guess my question is, is it a bad idea to hunt the bottoms as I mentioned above? Should I look for spots on the ridges more? Just haven't hunted real hilly land and any advice would be appreciated.

 

[landman]

The wind swirling at the bottoms has been the failure of many hunts.

Look for saddles on a topo map of the tract on top of the ridges would be my first starting point

 

[Mike Belt]

I've found a lot of sign in bottoms off of steep ridges but haven't had any luck hunting down in them. As mentioned, the wind seems to swirl there and even without the wind morning thermals generally carry your scent up the ridges where the deer are dropping off of them. You'd be better off hunting the ridges (mornings anyway). Saddles in steep ridges are a good bet or fingers off those ridges, particularly where they access one from another. If the sides of the ridges are thick they make great spots for bucks to lie in wait scent checking passing does. I believe the deer reserve traveling through or up and down the bottoms of these ridges nocturnally.

 

[huntforme7909]

my experience is just what the others have mentioned and ive hunted nothing but mountains my whole life. with that being said during the peak rut if you can be lucky enough to catch it the bottoms of these ridges where you have picked out already could be great. otherwise in the early part of the season I suggest staying towards the top half way to 3/4 of the way up where there might be a saddle or small bench or even a old logging road etc...

 

[Scioto]

^^^^^^ This is how I plan to hunt a stand maybe a quarter of the way up from the bottom of where 3 secondary ridges drop down. It's a deer highway during the rut that I've observed from above the last two years, but decided to step into the mouth of the dragon come middle or late November.

 

[Austin95]

This is the dry Creek spot

 

[Poleaxe]

My dad and I are lucky enough to have a 800acre lease that looks alot like yours. 2 main ridges run parallel with leads dropping off them and a creek running through the middle and all being big timber. When you have that big of land and all being timber it can be hard to pattern during heavy acorn mast. In early season stick to your south facing sloped ridges first because that's where the acorns will drop first. Getting up to them without alerting every deer around is the tricky part. If possible approach the ridge you plan on hunting from the opposite side. Try and have your stand already set to keep the noise down. On our place deer don't usually tend to travel down in the hollars between leads they like to stay up higher and if they come straight down to the bottom they travel the leads down. Maybe this might help. Such a spot can be a curse as much as it is a blessing.

 

[Winchester]

Boots on the ground is the only real way to determine where you need to hang stands, maps can definitely narrow it down but laying eyes is the only way to fly for me. As for the low areas you mentioned, I would try to hunt them in the afternoons or when you have a good steady wind to at least help with the swirling currents you will encounter down low between ridges. A definite hard place to succesfully hunt for older deer because of this problem, especially until you understand how the currents flow in a given area, which takes time!!

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I see what may be a killer spot NW of your red mark.


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[FLTENNHUNTER1]

The problem on my property is getting down into the bottoms quietly. It sounds like you are walking on corn flakes. I hunt the saddles, ridge lines, and the edges of openings.

 

[TNCharlie]

What is that trail/road that runs along the ridge above your stand? Is it on your property? It appears to run right through a saddle. I would definitely scout out that spot.

 

[larry ipock]

The wind swirling at the bottoms has been the failure of many hunts.

Look for saddles on a topo map of the tract on top of the ridges would be my first starting point

 

[larry ipock]

I've found a lot of sign in bottoms off of steep ridges but haven't had any luck hunting down in them. As mentioned, the wind seems to swirl there and even without the wind morning thermals generally carry your scent up the ridges where the deer are dropping off of them. You'd be better off hunting the ridges (mornings anyway). Saddles in steep ridges are a good bet or fingers off those ridges, particularly where they access one from another. If the sides of the ridges are thick they make great spots for bucks to lie in wait scent checking passing does. I believe the deer reserve traveling through or up and down the bottoms of these ridges nocturnally.

 

[Austin95]

Thanks for l the advice so far guys! And to a couple questions above - the "road" to the right is not a road, actually on the left side ridge has a road going all the way on top of it. I drop off of the ridge to the left of the stand and walk the dry Creek bed up about 75 yards to the stand (fairly easy quite walk). Looking at the map I do see what looks to be 2 saddles on my right ridge.. just haven't got time to go up there, its a lot of land to cover. I feel like it's so many hardwoods and tall ridges Around that the wind will barely be able to reach the bottom land? Am I completely wrong?

 

[AllOutdoors]

I see what may be a killer spot NW of your red mark.


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I see it as well.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Get up out of the bottoms and move toward points for bedding

 

[TNCharlie]

I feel like it's so many hardwoods and tall ridges Around that the wind will barely be able to reach the bottom land? Am I completely wrong?

No, you are not completely wrong. Wind, the blowing kind that holds kites up in the air, is not the biggest concern. It's drifting thermals and shifting air that is the real issue.

Air close to the ground is constantly moving and changing direction. Example: watch a campfire. Over a few minutes time everyone sitting in a circle around the fire will get smoke in their eyes. Those shifting, swirling air currents are what animals use. That's why a predator will circle something that it is unsure about. It's trying to catch a whiff that will help it identify it's objective. When you and a deer are in a staring contest and the deer is unsure about what you are it will periodically drop it's nose to the ground. It does that in an effort to catch a scent riding on swirling air.

You are correct about prevailing winds being lessened in the hollow between ridges. But air like that is also generally cooler, especially in the mornings. As the air warms it begins to shift and rise only to be replaced by cooler air in a continuous cycle. This action gives that effect of changing wind directions, but is actually just swirling caused by warm air rising and being replaced by cooler air.

That may not be the best way to explain it, but the point is that prevailing wind direction is secondary to close-to-ground swirling air currents. Hope this helps.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

This is in reference to my PM Austin


viewtopic.php?f=18&t=314979

 

[redhunterZ71]

I have always liked the tops the bucks seem to follow the ridge lines especially when looking for doe. I would look at these yellow spots where two or three ridges run together.

 

[Mike Belt]

I'll say this again and it's just my personal experience...for 10 years I exclusively hunted a property (not to mention other properties I hunted) that ran ridge to ridge to ridge in timber. Wherever you have ridges you have bottoms and there was one I hunted up and down and all around for those 10 years. It always held deer sign and a bunch of rubs but I never killed a deer hunting it...at least not traveling up and down those bottoms. I seldom even saw a deer doing so. I did kill deer dropping off narrow points from ridge to ridge crossing them however as well as seeing chases happening there. Point being, the deer did travel the bottoms but at night. I can say that most I hunted were narrow bottoms. Having a wide expanse of bottomland between ridges may bring different results.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

I did kill deer dropping off narrow points from ridge to ridge crossing them.

time and time again...

 

[Realtree]

Ive had best success hunting ridges and try to find the thick stuff!

 

[Austin95]

Thanks to all of you again, the example of how the wind swirls around at the bottom helped. I know what you guys are talking about now and more on how thermals work. Anyways I'm headed out there this Sunday to pull cards for the first time and see what's going on. I plan to check out the 4 spots I circled. Hate that I got a late start this season, but hopefully I'll learn and have the Lease next season too.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Be advised the spots circled are for rut hunting, not necessarily your best bet for early season hunting....summer feeding patterns must be known to get a jump on early season buck....however if you already know that you will only be rut hunting then continue with what you got circled.....

 

[PcDeer]

I've had a lot of luck in early season hunting white oaks on fingers off of a main ridge line, especially close to cover. Later on in the season I see buck checking these same areas for hot does. For me fingers off of a ridge is one of my more consistent set ups for seeing deer.

 

[gator-n-buck]

Leads, saddles, and benches.