Thermal tunnel

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kenn1320
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Thermal tunnel

Unread postby kenn1320 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:18 am

I got to thinking about this while on stand the other day. The "thought" as I understand it is the deer can smell scent from above and below, since prevailing wind is blowing scent from the top and thermals bring scent up from the bottom. This "tunnel" is a mixing zone apparently. If this is the case, how does the cruising buck determine if the scent he just caught is from above or below if he is in this tornado? Hunting the leeward side makes sense from a cruising bucks point of view, but not due to the thermal tunnel in my opinion. He may travel it for security reasons, but I think he travels that side for a different reason. Dans hill country video shows how deer approach their bed from down wind so they minimize their scent stream and they can watch their back trail. Makes total sense to me. Knowing this, a bucks best option at cutting a hot does trail is to walk the leeward side and cross her path she took up the ridge to her bed. Maybe this is all obvious to most of you, but it just hit me while thinking about it. I try to understand the "why's" of technique rather then just doing something cause it works. Maybe a downfall of mine as I tend to overthink sometimes. Lol

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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby wmihunter » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:44 am

Deer seem to be able to nail down where the scent is coming from. You're probably overthinking how buck track down does. The will cruise the tunnel but they will also take detours. Not many other rules apply during the rut

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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby dan » Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:24 am

They cruise that tunnel to get the above and below scent for sure, watch them adjust to right where the two winds collide and you too will be a believer... They shift as the wind tunnel shifts, and as the thermals change direction... As far as how they know directionally where the scent comes from? I have no idea, but I can't smell 250 million times greater than a human, so its beyond my realm.
I do notice that when they do catch your scent in the wind tunnel it is not usually turn and run, they tend to stop, lick there nose and look around for the danger, Watch my currant Extreme whitetail tactics show at how the buck reacts when he hits my scent ;)
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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:03 am

In addition to what has already been mentioned, I often see them cruising high on the "cold" side of the ridge on calm mornings. One side of the ridge always warms faster than the other in the morning...east runs warmer than west....south runs warmer than north. This often creates a condition of a rising thermal on "warm" side followed by the falling/less rising thermal on the "cold" side. Convection currents on the cold side always create a small thermal tunnel that can dictate travel.
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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:52 pm

kenn1320 wrote:I got to thinking about this while on stand the other day. The "thought" as I understand it is the deer can smell scent from above and below, since prevailing wind is blowing scent from the top and thermals bring scent up from the bottom. This "tunnel" is a mixing zone apparently. If this is the case, how does the cruising buck determine if the scent he just caught is from above or below if he is in this tornado? Hunting the leeward side makes sense from a cruising bucks point of view, but not due to the thermal tunnel in my opinion. He may travel it for security reasons, but I think he travels that side for a different reason. Dans hill country video shows how deer approach their bed from down wind so they minimize their scent stream and they can watch their back trail. Makes total sense to me. Knowing this, a bucks best option at cutting a hot does trail is to walk the leeward side and cross her path she took up the ridge to her bed. Maybe this is all obvious to most of you, but it just hit me while thinking about it. I try to understand the "why's" of technique rather then just doing something cause it works. Maybe a downfall of mine as I tend to overthink sometimes. Lol

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I think this is a good thing. I think that type of thinking can elevate a person to a higher level. Since you think this way I will give something else to chew on (maybe you already know this?). Thermals by themselves only rise strait up (or fall strait down). They do not angle up hill in the absence of wind. The wind causes eddie currents ("tunnel") when it comes over the hill top and these eddie currents suck up air from the ground below them which in turn sucks up the air next to that to fill the void created and so on and so forth. So it is the wind that actually brings the scent up from the bottom in conjuction with the thermals. The stronger the wind is the bigger and stronger the eddies are, the further they extend down the hill and the deeper they can pull thermals up from which results in a bigger thermal tunnel. Just something to think about when trying to visualize how thermal tunnels work and move higher or lower on a hillside and at what point there is effectively no wind tunnel.

If I'm a buck cruising along in the thermal tunnel and I suddenly smell potential danger I can choose to stay to see if there is an immediate threat or leave, but if I decide to leave without verifying where the danger is then I'm most likely just going back the way I came since I just passed through there safely. But if I smell a hot doe then it's not to hard to figure out where she is because if I can't see her below me I can just make an adjustment higher up the hill until I hit the wind just before it mixes with the thermals that were pulled up from below in order to tell if she is up above or below me somewhere I couldn't see.
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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby matt1336 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:28 pm

DEERSLAYER wrote:
kenn1320 wrote:I got to thinking about this while on stand the other day. The "thought" as I understand it is the deer can smell scent from above and below, since prevailing wind is blowing scent from the top and thermals bring scent up from the bottom. This "tunnel" is a mixing zone apparently. If this is the case, how does the cruising buck determine if the scent he just caught is from above or below if he is in this tornado? Hunting the leeward side makes sense from a cruising bucks point of view, but not due to the thermal tunnel in my opinion. He may travel it for security reasons, but I think he travels that side for a different reason. Dans hill country video shows how deer approach their bed from down wind so they minimize their scent stream and they can watch their back trail. Makes total sense to me. Knowing this, a bucks best option at cutting a hot does trail is to walk the leeward side and cross her path she took up the ridge to her bed. Maybe this is all obvious to most of you, but it just hit me while thinking about it. I try to understand the "why's" of technique rather then just doing something cause it works. Maybe a downfall of mine as I tend to overthink sometimes. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

I think this is a good thing. I think that type of thinking can elevate a person to a higher level. Since you think this way I will give something else to chew on (maybe you already know this?). Thermals by themselves only rise strait up (or fall strait down). They do not angle up hill in the absence of wind. The wind causes eddie currents ("tunnel") when it comes over the hill top and these eddie currents suck up air from the ground below them which in turn sucks up the air next to that to fill the void created and so on and so forth. So it is the wind that actually brings the scent up from the bottom in conjuction with the thermals. The stronger the wind is the bigger and stronger the eddies are, the further they extend down the hill and the deeper they can pull thermals up from which results in a bigger thermal tunnel. Just something to think about when trying to visualize how thermal tunnels work and move higher or lower on a hillside and at what point there is effectively no wind tunnel.

If I'm a buck cruising along in the thermal tunnel and I suddenly smell potential danger I can choose to stay to see if there is an immediate threat or leave, but if I decide to leave without verifying where the danger is then I'm most likely just going back the way I came since I just passed through there safely. But if I smell a hot doe then it's not to hard to figure out where she is because if I can't see her below me I can just make an adjustment higher up the hill until I hit the wind just before it mixes with the thermals that were pulled up from below in order to tell if she is up above or below me somewhere I couldn't see.





Awesome explanation Slayer. I gota get outa the marsh and into some hills.

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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby BigHunt » Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:58 pm

matt1336 wrote:
DEERSLAYER wrote:
kenn1320 wrote:I got to thinking about this while on stand the other day. The "thought" as I understand it is the deer can smell scent from above and below, since prevailing wind is blowing scent from the top and thermals bring scent up from the bottom. This "tunnel" is a mixing zone apparently. If this is the case, how does the cruising buck determine if the scent he just caught is from above or below if he is in this tornado? Hunting the leeward side makes sense from a cruising bucks point of view, but not due to the thermal tunnel in my opinion. He may travel it for security reasons, but I think he travels that side for a different reason. Dans hill country video shows how deer approach their bed from down wind so they minimize their scent stream and they can watch their back trail. Makes total sense to me. Knowing this, a bucks best option at cutting a hot does trail is to walk the leeward side and cross her path she took up the ridge to her bed. Maybe this is all obvious to most of you, but it just hit me while thinking about it. I try to understand the "why's" of technique rather then just doing something cause it works. Maybe a downfall of mine as I tend to overthink sometimes. Lol

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

I think this is a good thing. I think that type of thinking can elevate a person to a higher level. Since you think this way I will give something else to chew on (maybe you already know this?). Thermals by themselves only rise strait up (or fall strait down). They do not angle up hill in the absence of wind. The wind causes eddie currents ("tunnel") when it comes over the hill top and these eddie currents suck up air from the ground below them which in turn sucks up the air next to that to fill the void created and so on and so forth. So it is the wind that actually brings the scent up from the bottom in conjuction with the thermals. The stronger the wind is the bigger and stronger the eddies are, the further they extend down the hill and the deeper they can pull thermals up from which results in a bigger thermal tunnel. Just something to think about when trying to visualize how thermal tunnels work and move higher or lower on a hillside and at what point there is effectively no wind tunnel.

If I'm a buck cruising along in the thermal tunnel and I suddenly smell potential danger I can choose to stay to see if there is an immediate threat or leave, but if I decide to leave without verifying where the danger is then I'm most likely just going back the way I came since I just passed through there safely. But if I smell a hot doe then it's not to hard to figure out where she is because if I can't see her below me I can just make an adjustment higher up the hill until I hit the wind just before it mixes with the thermals that were pulled up from below in order to tell if she is up above or below me somewhere I couldn't see.





Awesome explanation Slayer. I gota get outa the marsh and into some hills.[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

;) that's what I told my self after you pm me! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: the hills is were its at!m for me at least I have a lot to learn about marsh
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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby matt1336 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:33 pm

^^^^^^HA!!! Okay. I'm waiting on an invite to grandpa's little piece of hill country then!


Seriously I think I'm going to start looking into public land hills in western WI for next year. If anyone would want to partner up and tackle some scouting trips lmk. Or if you have any tips on good public, I'd appreciate that too!

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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby BigHunt » Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:53 am

matt1336 wrote:^^^^^^HA!!! Okay. I'm waiting on an invite to grandpa's little piece of hill country then!


Seriously I think I'm going to start looking into public land hills in western WI for next year. If anyone would want to partner up and tackle some scouting trips lmk. Or if you have any tips on good public, I'd appreciate that too!

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We can hook up next fall and hunt some public hill country

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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby matt1336 » Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:50 am

BigHunt wrote:
matt1336 wrote:^^^^^^HA!!! Okay. I'm waiting on an invite to grandpa's little piece of hill country then!


Seriously I think I'm going to start looking into public land hills in western WI for next year. If anyone would want to partner up and tackle some scouting trips lmk. Or if you have any tips on good public, I'd appreciate that too!

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

We can hook up next fall and hunt some public hill country

[ Post made via Android ] Image



Ok. We can get together in spring for some marsh madness too if you want.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image
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Re: Thermal tunnel

Unread postby BigHunt » Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:00 am

matt1336 wrote:
BigHunt wrote:
matt1336 wrote:^^^^^^HA!!! Okay. I'm waiting on an invite to grandpa's little piece of hill country then!


Seriously I think I'm going to start looking into public land hills in western WI for next year. If anyone would want to partner up and tackle some scouting trips lmk. Or if you have any tips on good public, I'd appreciate that too!

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image

We can hook up next fall and hunt some public hill country

[ Post made via Android ] Image

Sounds good

Ok. We can get together in spring for some marsh madness too if you want.

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


[ Post made via Android ] Image
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