Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

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BigHills BuckHunter
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Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Wed Sep 25, 2013 3:25 pm

I love hunting hill country as most of you know. However I'm trying to figure out how to hunt low in hill country especially in the evenings.

I get a lot of headaches with those swirling winds down low.

In one of the properties I hunt there is a big side hill about 200 feet high. The whole side hill is an old Apple orchard from years ago. At the bottom of the hill is alfalfa. I noticed on a previous hunt the deer including g a shooter buck came out of this orchard into the alfalfa. I'm stumped on how to hunt it. My only idea is to go in as soon as thermals start dropping around sunset.

I looked for shedding here 2 years ago and found a lot of scrapes and rubs too. Didn't look for bedding in their a lot because I never thought I would be allowed to hunt it.

I know this is a specific situation but to all the hill hunters how do you hunt low in evenings if that seems to be the only choice?

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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Stanley » Wed Sep 25, 2013 3:45 pm

I have hunted low in hill country. The area you are hunting needs to have some size so your scent will travel horizontally in one direction. If your butted up against a hill, bluff, ridge, it isn't going to work very well. I hear a lot of guys say it's no good down in the valley. If your glassing and seeing deer down in the valley it's good to me.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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James
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby James » Wed Sep 25, 2013 3:55 pm

That's a tough one. One thing you can try is to be ready with a preset stand. Literally have your bow in hand and everything ready and sprint in there once the thermals change and start pulling things down.

I think you'll find a lot more headaches trying to hunt low on those big hills when the thermals are pulling your scent right up to the buck beds.

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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Mike » Wed Sep 25, 2013 5:13 pm

It can be doable in some situations, depends on the area (wideness of valley), wind direction and speed and in my experience scent control because there will probably be a little swirl no matter what so you might have to fool a few noses.
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby matt1336 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 5:18 pm

Couldn't you hunt at the base of the hill in the morning, hoping the kill the buck as he accesses his bed, on the hill from the bottom? I know that's not your question, but that's how I would hunt it......provided I think that the buck is accessing his bed from the bottom of the hill.

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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby JoeRE » Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:17 am

Mike wrote:It can be doable in some situations, depends on the area (wideness of valley), wind direction and speed and in my experience scent control because there will probably be a little swirl no matter what so you might have to fool a few noses.


I agree with Mike...often it takes some experimenting, physically being in the spot, checking the wind for a few minutes, and noting what wind direction it is supposed to be compared to what you observe. In general, and there are lots of exceptions if the valley is curvy etc, I think you will have the best luck with a wind blowing parallel to the valley (i.e. up or down it). The trick is to see if the deer use bedding you want to target with those wind directions, or if they change where they bed.

I end up hunting down low a lot because often I find pressure is from the top down in a lot of areas I hunt, so low benches and such are where the big bucks end up as the season goes along.
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby TyShe17 » Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:36 am

Mike wrote:It can be doable in some situations, depends on the area (wideness of valley), wind direction and speed and in my experience scent control because there will probably be a little swirl no matter what so you might have to fool a few noses.


I agree...a good consistent wind in a wide enough valley and you can hunt low AM or PM in my experience. Less than 5 mph wind your asking for trouble. If you have the wind, the thermal flip ought to just help you out more if the stand site is located correctly.
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Arrowbender » Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:43 am

Experiment!
You didn't say which direction the slope faces.
I would try it on a cool overcast day with a wind direction parallel to the slope. Preferably the same direction as the evening thermal will be in if the temp actually cools down at sunset. Overcast or light rain days in the fall don't always give you the drastic change in temp to cause a thermal worth worrying about. Especially if it is a little stormy and the wind isn't laying down anyhow.

Cool overcast days are your friend if you want hunt low !!

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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby wmihunter » Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:50 am

I have a buck bedding in a slight draw about 100' up a hill near the top. I may employ this tactic of waiting til just before dark and/or hunting with a parallel wind on a overcast day

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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Thu Sep 26, 2013 12:54 am

It can be done; however, as the saying goes, "If you play with fire, you're gonna get burned"

Several universal assumptions can be made. Wide valleys are easier to hunt than skinny valleys. Shallow valleys are easier to hunt than deep valleys. Valleys without local thermal sinks (water, frost pockets, etc.) are easier to hunt than those with them.

Generally, if I'm going to hunt a deep skinny valley, it will be in the morning with a very light/no wind.

For example, I occasionally hunt a large, deep skinny valley on public land in SW WI. The valley runs N-S and opens up to ag on the S end. The only way to hunt it is on a day with a very light southish/no wind and you have to get in really, really early. The deer stage in the valley until approximately 9 - 10AM which coincided with the sun hitting the valley and the thermal activity starting. At that time, they would work their way up the valley and bed on the edge of the ridge. If you stayed in the valley too long, you were going to get burned. I would try to hunt the morning pattern and then attempt to sneak back on the high side for the afternoon hunt.
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:12 am

Arrowbender wrote:Experiment!
You didn't say which direction the slope faces.
I would try it on a cool overcast day with a wind direction parallel to the slope. Preferably the same direction as the evening thermal will be in if the temp actually cools down at sunset. Overcast or [glow=red]light rain days[/glow]in the fall don't always give you the drastic change in temp to cause a thermal worth worrying about. Especially if it is a little stormy and the wind isn't laying down anyhow.

Cool overcast days are your friend if you want hunt low !!

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Great points Arrowbender. Light rain days are excellent days to sneak into a valley. Quiet and usually an extra hour or two before the thermal switch.

Careful on the decent into the valley though. I've had a number of heart racing adventures sliding on wet leaves into steep valleys. :lol:
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Black Squirrel » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:32 am

Good points there Arrowbender!
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby carmmond » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:51 am

I have hunted for years down in a valley were three ridges come together. For a mental picture the ridge they like to travel is to the North and the ridges that hold the buck beds come from the south and south west. It’s a narrow valley but a very long one and I hunt right where they like to cross to the North ridge as long as I have a NW wind or SE wind I’m good to go anything but that I stay out of that area. I’ve shot about half my bucks out of that valley.
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Bigb » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:30 pm

I like the ideas guys, about a 1/3 the land I hunt contains a long (1/2 mile long) valley that is about 100 yards wide can has four separate ag fields along the whole length and a creek on one side. Deer love to feed in these fields because they are hidden from the road and in the middle of the property. The sides of the valley are about 75 to 100 yards wide and consist of hardwoods and the side of the valley are about 80 feet high from top to bottom. The majority of the valley runs North/South with the end 150 yards more East/West. We consistently get more big buck picks i this valley more than anywhere else but haven't found a way to hunt it yet. I think some of these tips will help. Before reading this I was thinking the same thing as stated before, wait until the wind is running parallel to the valley and is a little gusty.

Keep the thread going, I'd love to hear more tips!
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Re: Hunting low in hill country (evenings)

Unread postby Bucky » Thu Sep 26, 2013 1:41 pm

Stay out until gun season... then hunt it with a rifle! Evens the playing field some

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