Ridge question

[BirdDog123]

Hey guys,

So I am a rookie when it comes to scouting terrain. I know deer sign... but was wanting some guidance to ridges. Where I hunt I have seen scrapes on the tops of the ridge and on the bottom where the creek is. There is an abundance of food on both.. ESPECIALLY on the slope of the ridge.. you can't take a step without crushing 10 acorns..

So my question is.. how do whitetails travel these ridges? Do they start at the top and come down? Walking up that ridge this weekend really kicked my tail so I don't see deer traveling up this ridge much. But maybe they travel the top and then cheat through the creek once they hit hte bottoms? This terrain is very steep and there are large hills all around and a creek bottom that runs between the hills.

What do you guys think?

 

[BigD_625]

We used to find scrape lines following log roads on top of ridges. We assumed that the deer were following the roads. After we started looking around more, it seemed that the scrape/rub lines were acutally crossing the road in different places with trails going off the ridge top. I believe now most of the bucks were crossing the road, and more does were following it. If it was a hot doe, the buck followed the her wherever. Our best spots were usually bottlenecks where several ridge points came together.

Just my opinion.

 

[strutandrut]

My property is nothing but a ridge. The deer move all over it when we have so many acorns like this year. On leaner acorn years, they either move right on top or slightly off the side. The back side of my property is almost straight down and deer walk up it with ease. They have a little more strength and stamina for climbing ridges than we do. The only thing I do slightly different on my property is that I do not shoot small deer on the back side due to a helluva drag. :grin:

So, my answer is: They move where they want to move, be it on a ridge or flatland. They tend to cross over in saddles also.

 

[nate17]

Ur question is not that simple. Theres many more factors that could play a role in deer movement such as... cover, food, pressure, reproduction, etc...

If your going to bowhunt ur best bet is to find terrain features that will funnel deer within range for a shot such as saddles, thickets, vegetation changes, roads, houses, fences, it literally could be anything. U got to remember there is a big difference between setting up and seeing deer walk around and getting deer in bow range. Sometimes if im a little stumped on an area i will hunt where I have a really good vantage point and can observe deer movement and patterns before i try to dial in on a spot a bit more. Chances are small i kill a deer from this spot, but may give me the edge i need down the road on a deer.

Alot of times deer will also take the path of least resistance which is the path you will most likely find yourself walking through the woods at times. Every property is different, just gotta play with it and see what works for your place.

 

[bowriter]

Big D is pretty much dead on. Old logging roads are prime places for scrapes. However scrape hunting, these scrapes especially is not very effective. It is, however, very informational.

A ridge to a deer is either a travel option or an obstacle to be crossed. Ideal stand sites are intersections of two or more ridges or easy up and down, sloping finger ridges. Saddles, low spots in ridges are good stand sites. When an old logging road intersects one of these places, hang a stand.

Basic thinking on whether to hunt on top or in the bottom is, hunt low in the afternoon, high in the mornings.

Best advice is, hunt either where the deer are or where they are going to be. Forget the scrapes except, know these two things. Most scraping activity-85%-is nocturnal and the more scrapes you have in an area, the better the chances there is a mature buck in the area. Does not mean you will see him.

 

[BirdDog123]

Thank you for the advice.. BigD pretty much descriped where I am hunting to the T. I sitll think my best bets will be at the bottom of this ridge near the creek. I really want this buck but the drag up the ridge may kill me too lol

 

[BigD_625]

Hope you get him!!!

 

[Crosshairy]

If you study a ridge closely, you may find some subtle trails along the side of it.

There's a huge ridge on one property that I hunt, and I would periodically see deer coming from an area that I thought was un-passable. I started investigating, and found a 10-inch wide trail carved into the side of the trail, connecting a shoulder of the ridge with a finger that stuck out. It was their short-cut to get down from the ridge without going all the way around.

Moral of the story is that deer, especially big bucks, may travel in slightly less common areas. Watch for rub lines to appear as the season progresses that might key you in to where the deer is hanging out.

Without any additional sign to be your guide, I would look for an area where the ridge slopes more gradually towards a food/water source, and see if you don't spot an increase in deer activity there.

A trail camera can also help out if you are hunting an area far from home that you can't spend a lot of time monitoring. I bought a camera a couple years ago to help with that type of stuff.

 

[bowriter]

If you study a ridge closely, you may find some subtle trails along the side of it.
Exactly what I posted on another thread about ridges. Quit telling people. It is supposed to be a secret.

 

[baller_9]

Ideal stand sites are intersections of two or more ridges or easy up and down, sloping finger ridges. Saddles, low spots in ridges are good stand sites. When an old logging road intersects one of these places, hang a stand.

Exactly

 

[BSK]

BirdDog123,

Eventually, deer get around to using all areas, including steep hillsides (which they primarily use by walking parallel to the topography), but just as you mentioned that walking up and down the hillsides kicks your butt, so it does for the deer. For survival purposes, deer will find the "path of least resistance" when crossing terrain--the path that burns the least body resources to use. For climbing up steep hillsides, the path of least resistance involves finding and using small points that descend down from the ridge-tops. These small points produce something like an entrance ramp onto a freeway.

For ten years I conducted a rub density and distribution study, where I recorded and measured where bucks make their rubs based on habitat and terrain, and I found that bucks concentrate their rubs, based on terrain, along ridge-tops, secondary points, and valleys where there is thick cover in the valleys (they ignored wide open valleys). To give you some idea about what I term "secondary" points, below is a map I used in one of the articles describing the research. I broke topographic points into "primary" points--those at the terminal end of ridge-lines--and "secondary" points--those that descend down from the sides of ridge-lines. For some unknown reason, bucks prefer to use secondary points far more than primary points.

 

[Andy S.]

....below is a map I used in one of the articles describing the research.

Good stuff Bryan, thanks for sharing. Where can a hunter, like myself and others here, get a copy of this article/these articles?

 

[DntBrnDPig]

That is awesome BSK. I've looked at various blogs and websites describing topo scouting but throwing color on it makes it "Topo Scouting For Dummies".

I too am interested in where these articles are published.

 

[BirdDog123]

Wow what an awesome resource!!! Congrats on conducting such a thorough study. I really appreciate your input.

 

[BSK]

Andy,

I don't know if any of those articles are available online. One was published in Deer and Deer Hunting quite a few years ago, another in Field and Stream, and several articles that touch on the research were in Quality Whitetails. I also discussed that research project (as well as others) in my talk at the QDMA's National Convention this year.

 

[Andy S.]

Thanks Bryan.

 

[Old Smokey]

This is such good information but I do have a question:
On the map you provide as an example I see the ridge that is partly covered by the "Topo Classification" legend. The primary point is indicated as the far left point and then there are two secondary points to the right of the primary.
Is there something that would indicate to someone looking at a topo of a ridge such as this of what the primary would be versus the secondarys? Other that seeing there is a little more 'steepness' on the point designated as the primary, they look deceptivly similar to each other.
Can this be determined from the topo or would boots on ground be required to confirm?
Thanks

 

[BSK]

Old Smokey,

Since this was a research project, I needed clearly stated "criteria" for what constituted a primary versus secondary point. For the project, I defined primary points as the terminal end of a ridgeline (the final endpoint of a ridge), or a sudden change in elevation of a ridgeline (a section where the ridgeline suddenly lowered in elevation). Seconday points were everything else.

Of course, sometimes that required a judgement call. "Is the piont on the left the end of the ridge or the point on the right the end of the ridge?" In those situations, I tried to choose the point that visually lined up with the direction the ridge was aligned as it ended.

 

[Old Smokey]

That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying, now I know what to start looking for.
This is a valuable tool for the hunter's pouch