Mountain bucks

[spmuddin323]

For all you guys that are hunting the mountains, how high up the mountain. Are you guys hunting? I have read alot about the upper 1/3 but where I'm at I have found more buck beds and sign right about the halfway mark by a topo. I'm wondering if the terrain where I'm hunting at is causing a thermal tunnel around halfway up instead of the upper 1/3.

 

[Stu]

When hunting the mountains i concentrate on 2 intersecting points like where a funnel leads to s saddle near thick cover.

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[String Music]

The 1/3 mark is a good general rule, but the terrain features will dictate exactly where they will bed. I start high and look for benches, shelves, knolls and old logging roads. This is where deer will bed.

The thermal tunnel is only part of the equation. Mountain deer also rely heavily on their eyesight when bedding. The features above give deer the best vantage point and also gives them the path of least resistance.

You need to be hunting where the sign is, but it gets tricky in a hurry the farther down the mountain you go due to the wind/thermal. You need to find a spot where the leeward wind makes the deer comfortable, but also blows your scent off the mountain. This means you need to hunt above the thermal tunnel or on the side of the mountain.



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[cbhunter]

The 1/3 mark is a good general rule, but the terrain features will dictate exactly where they will bed. I start high and look for benches, shelves, knolls and old logging roads. This is where deer will bed.

The thermal tunnel is only part of the equation. Mountain deer also rely heavily on their eyesight when bedding. The features above give deer the best vantage point and also gives them the path of least resistance.

You need to be hunting where the sign is, but it gets tricky in a hurry the farther down the mountain you go due to the wind/thermal. You need to find a spot where the leeward wind makes the deer comfortable, but also blows your scent off the mountain. This means you need to hunt above the thermal tunnel or on the side of the mountain.



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Wow that sounds complicated. Kudos to you guys that can kill deer in the mountains. I respect, but sure don't envy, you guys out east. Good luck this year!

 

[PickettSFHunter]

If the mountain has a long Razorback Ridge, I mean a ridge running a mile or more, then I will hunt the top for ridge runners. Usually look for where a saddle is or where a spur or a couple of spurs join the ridge.
My best spot has 4 spurs coming into the main ridge at one area. The ridge drops off 1000 ft on each side.

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[Winchester]

The 1/3 mark is a good general rule, but the terrain features will dictate exactly where they will bed. I start high and look for benches, shelves, knolls and old logging roads. This is where deer will bed.

The thermal tunnel is only part of the equation. Mountain deer also rely heavily on their eyesight when bedding. The features above give deer the best vantage point and also gives them the path of least resistance.

You need to be hunting where the sign is, but it gets tricky in a hurry the farther down the mountain you go due to the wind/thermal. You need to find a spot where the leeward wind makes the deer comfortable, but also blows your scent off the mountain. This means you need to hunt above the thermal tunnel or on the side of the mountain.



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Good advice! When hunting the mountains I hunt almost exclusively terrain features during November. Bucks traveling will use them without fail when between does.

 

[spmuddin323]

Across the cove from me is the only saddle around and it's on a mtn that elevation is about 800' on top compared to 1400-1600' every where else. I'm thinking the hardest part for me to get figured out is the wind. I know a good late season food source and it's possible that there is some being in there but I'm not sure I can hunt it. It's a spot where the mountain starts to wrap back into a deep and steep hollow. There is a good cedar thicket that I have had late season pictures of good bucks before and the hollow is just steep thick and nasty but I don't know if I could ever get the right wind to hunt it

 

[String Music]

Across the cove from me is the only saddle around and it's on a mtn that elevation is about 800' on top compared to 1400-1600' every where else. I'm thinking the hardest part for me to get figured out is the wind. I know a good late season food source and it's possible that there is some being in there but I'm not sure I can hunt it. It's a spot where the mountain starts to wrap back into a deep and steep hollow. There is a good cedar thicket that I have had late season pictures of good bucks before and the hollow is just steep thick and nasty but I don't know if I could ever get the right wind to hunt it

Saddles are excellent features to hunt. Pick you out a couple spots and just go for it. Start on the perimeter of the area and work your way in. It's ok if you get busted. You are trying to get lucky this year but next season you should have it figured out.

Find spots you can access and get a favorable wind this year, then go in there with a chainsaw in the off season and enhance those spots.


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[DMD]

I hunt the lay of the land, more than buck sign. I consider ridges, hollows, saddles, etc. as deer roads. The more roads a spot has intersecting, the greater chance to intercept a buck looking for, chasing, or trailing a doe.

 

[jb3]

Grew up hunting in Grundy County. Most success came on the ridges. I mean within 50 feet of the ridge. Next option is to try and find where they travel from the side of the mountain to the top.