Hunting buck beds from below

[JoeRE]

Using wind direction to determine which ravine to enter, I would try to get to near the same contour he is bedding. I would keep one ravine between him and my set.
This keeps you concealed for the entrance and set-up; and the ravine in between ideally has a natural crossing, and when the thermal changes from up to down; all of your scent gets sucked down below you and the crossing. This is really a great set up. Ravine hunting in hill country is by far one of my fave's. Even on the quietest evenings, a ravine thermal has some unbelievable pulling power. You just need to trust it, and the thermals always seem to start there 1st. The hard part is finding reliable bedding areas that harbor mature bucks.

I would maybe supplement a few non-assertive burps from a trusty old call to entice him from his normal route down. Earlier in the season the better.
Good Luck with him!

Right on. I was trying to say that but Arrowbender put it much more clearly.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

Using wind direction to determine which ravine to enter, I would try to get to near the same contour he is bedding. I would keep one ravine between him and my set.
This keeps you concealed for the entrance and set-up; and the ravine in between ideally has a natural crossing, and when the thermal changes from up to down; all of your scent gets sucked down below you and the crossing. This is really a great set up. Ravine hunting in hill country is by far one of my fave's. Even on the quietest evenings, a ravine thermal has some unbelievable pulling power. You just need to trust it, and the thermals always seem to start there 1st. The hard part is finding reliable bedding areas that harbor mature bucks.

I would maybe supplement a few non-assertive burps from a trusty old call to entice him from his normal route down. Earlier in the season the better.
Good Luck with him!

I really like this idea. There is a great ravine pinch point that is at the same contour as him to the West. This is my uncles land so I could set up on him at the same contour like you said and maybe get him at that pinch point just above the ravine. He would be eihter be heading towards the pond or alfalfa field. I would be 100 yards from the bed. Thanks.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

If those contour lines are 10 feet and you go into that ravine and set up 20 up in that bottom, he'll see you for sure. IMO. And I doubt he's dropping down off that point during legal on a south wind.

You are probably right about that, particularly after leaf drop. There is a good chance I would try to set up on the ground in that situation....find the crossing(s) the buck is using across that ditch and set up on the ground covering them. May or may not be possible given how thick the cover is supposed to be. These are just ideas tho...everything could change based on things seen with boots on the ground.

As for what wind to try that who knows...down in that valley you probably will get all kinds of swirl on anything other than a straight east or west wind. If you are SURE he is bedding up there only with a southerly breeze I would say your only chance is to try and hunt it when the wind has died down to basically nothing and hope those thermals carry your scent up the ditch.

If you know specifically where he is bedding in this case I might lean more toward a morning hunt like was brought up earlier...get in there super early when the conditions are perfect and set up right next to his bed. I know you have said you have poor results hunting the morning outside of the rut, but if you know where he is going to be...

I was thinking with a steady West wind I could come in from the West in the bottom of the ravine and sneak in to have a ground hunt like you said. I will have to find out the specific trail HE is using to get down there and set up on the downwind side. There is good brush in the bottom of the ravine that will cover me especially in the early season. It would be a sneak attack on him.

BTW the contour lines are more than 10 feet apart. I would think 15 or 20.

[Buckfever]

Great thread IMO. Bringing different experiences and perspective to how we'd approach it.

I have 2 situation like this. One has pressure down low so they never drop down during legal, I hunt that one up high although similar to this I can't cover all the exits.

And I have one that has no pressure down low, it's all thick down there with big old Oaks that no one sets up on a few sycamores and the rest scrub trees. One that one I set up around just around the bend of the point. There's enough cover that I can get up above the understory, around 25 feet up and have cut lanes to cover everything coming through by the pinch point of the point. I've only hunted it a few times as it's 110 miles away and haven't taken anything as I've probably been a little too selective, but it's been a gold mine of a sit for opportunities.

A lot of times how they run is entirely dictated by pressure.