Hunting buck beds from below

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BigHills BuckHunter
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Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Wed Mar 20, 2013 4:02 pm

There are some beds on the property that are on points but above the point is the neighbors land. However I have wondered if the buck goes down from his bed instead of going up the point, maybe I could have a chance of killing him.

With the thermals in hill country I would think I would have to come in late once the thermals drop to set up below his bed? Any advice would be helpful. 8-)


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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby PK_ » Wed Mar 20, 2013 4:26 pm

How about a morning with the right moon position or the AM after an evening storm?

Unless there is good reason to think the buck will drop down for water or food??
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby kenn1320 » Wed Mar 20, 2013 7:55 pm

Dans son shoots his first buck in the hill country dvd using the slip in late method. Will be interesting to hear Dans comments on this. Can you post any maps of the area?
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby dan » Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:17 pm

Sliding into position after the thermal drop is one solution. Another is to be in a position that is far enough back to not be effected by that hills thermals, or back into the main wind stream... Hunting low is tough cause of swirling winds and thermals... Each situation is different.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby JoeRE » Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:45 am

Any sort of stronger wind can over-ride thermal activity unless you are hunting really big elevation changes and when the wind dies down at dusk, the thermals will be moving down anyway. The trick is to figure out what winds are relatively consistent when hunting down in low areas. Most are not, you generally need a wind blowing quartering or parallel to the valley/drainage you are hunting to get a consistent breeze down low and that's only the starting point. The only way to know for sure is to sit there for several hours in a given breeze and see what the air movement is.

There is one area down in a valley that I desperately want to hunt...I have trail cam pics of mature bucks staging in this area during daylight hours every year, but there simply isn't a consistent wind down in there, its a bowl and everything swirls.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:23 am

JoeRE wrote:Any sort of stronger wind can over-ride thermal activity unless you are hunting really big elevation changes and when the wind dies down at dusk, the thermals will be moving down anyway. The trick is to figure out what winds are relatively consistent when hunting down in low areas. Most are not, you generally need a wind blowing quartering or parallel to the valley/drainage you are hunting to get a consistent breeze down low and that's only the starting point. The only way to know for sure is to sit there for several hours in a given breeze and see what the air movement is.

There is one area down in a valley that I desperately want to hunt...I have trail cam pics of mature bucks staging in this area during daylight hours every year, but there simply isn't a consistent wind down in there, its a bowl and everything swirls.


I believe down low is the staging area. We have a permanent gun stand in between the two but its too close to the bed and access would kick him up. It has a good scrape line in the valley. The valley runs East/West. The pond is close by too.

I think this buck beds on the point with a Southerly wind since the point shoots north, then either goes up on the nieghobrs to the alfalfa or down low to the pond and scrapes. I know the trails in that area too so that helps a lot.

I would love to try the thermal switch method but like you guys said every situation is different. I post a topo later on today.

BTW those bowls in hill country are a nightmare to hunt.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:26 am

PalmettoKid wrote:How about a morning with the right moon position or the AM after an evening storm?

Unless there is good reason to think the buck will drop down for water or food??


I have thought about this too and its a good suggestion. Cross my fingers I get a good storm and or moon morning. My hunts in the mornings outside the rut is not that great at all.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHunt » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:11 am

BigHills BuckHunter wrote:
JoeRE wrote:Any sort of stronger wind can over-ride thermal activity unless you are hunting really big elevation changes and when the wind dies down at dusk, the thermals will be moving down anyway. The trick is to figure out what winds are relatively consistent when hunting down in low areas. Most are not, you generally need a wind blowing quartering or parallel to the valley/drainage you are hunting to get a consistent breeze down low and that's only the starting point. The only way to know for sure is to sit there for several hours in a given breeze and see what the air movement is.

There is one area down in a valley that I desperately want to hunt...I have trail cam pics of mature bucks staging in this area during daylight hours every year, but there simply isn't a consistent wind down in there, its a bowl and everything swirls.


I believe down low is the staging area. We have a permanent gun stand in between the two but its too close to the bed and access would kick him up. It has a good scrape line in the valley. The valley runs East/West. The pond is close by too.

I think this buck beds on the point with a Southerly wind since the point shoots north, then either goes up on the nieghobrs to the alfalfa or down low to the pond and scrapes. I know the trails in that area too so that helps a lot.

I would love to try the thermal switch method but like you guys said every situation is different. I post a topo later on today.

[glow=red]BTW those bowls in hill country are a nightmare to hunt.[/glow]


yep very tricky!!
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:06 pm

Here is a topo of the spot. How would you hunt if from below?

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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby Buckfever » Sat Mar 23, 2013 11:06 am

I'd probably come in south of the pond and stay just west of the point that's just west of where he's bedding. As close to the staging as I can get but still hidden by the contour of the point. I know this is crazy but on a NW wind.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby JoeRE » Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:04 pm

BigHills BuckHunter wrote:Here is a topo of the spot. How would you hunt if from below?

Image


I would try to get even closer...How close do you think you could get if you tried to sneak into that ditch to the west of him - how thick is the cover between there and the bedding? Ditches channel thermals really well, I think they act sort of like chimneys if you stay in them/right next to them. With a light enough breeze you might be able to pull that off I think. He probably only has one or two preferred trails down off that point?
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Sat Mar 23, 2013 3:33 pm

That ravine you would want me to setup in is very thick brush and good cover but has good tall oak trees to set up in. Thanks for the input.

What winds would you recomend? Hunt it to his favor with a southerly wind so he will most likely be in that bed?
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby Buckfever » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:38 pm

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.
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby JoeRE » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:05 am

Buckfever wrote: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...
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Re: Hunting buck beds from below

Unread postby Arrowbender » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:57 am

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!


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