Thermal Discussion

[ajack]

If I could pose another question for you guys.... For the most part a buck will be back at his bed prior to sunrise.

Lets assume the given example map above under the given wind direction is present the day you want to hunt here....
Since there will not be an uprising thermal prior to sunrise, how is the buck actually secure in his bed, say at point #3, until the thermals rise?

Assuming he will be bedded with the wind at his back, facing down the point towards ESE... does he generally stay awake using his eyes and ears as security from below?

With the wind as it is in that picture, he'll still have the benefit of the wind sucking up the scent from below him in that curling vortex. And typically these beds have very good site lines in the direction opposite the wind. Also, the acoustics coming out of a valley typically are amplified by the surrounding landscape. Finally, check out the article someone just posted on here about how a deer's senses work while they rest/sleep. They're pretty efficient survival machines.

I think just recently human's have started to be able to put science behind what our ancestor's had known for hundreds of thousands of years. We're all fortunate to have found a community that has an interest in putting that picture together.

[dan]

I think your airborn scent should have floated away before the bucks are on the points... With that said, I can't say I am 100% positive of that, because I have seen deer smell a human scent path from 10 to 20 yards down wind of it and react. But, I do think 100 yards away on a point is far fetched even with rising thermals.

[Stanley]

Good stuff very interesting. I think ground scent lingers more on a hill side than on top of the ridge/hills. The wind just can't wash it out as fast.

[backstraps]

I have always been interested in thermals and thermal actions how they differ from one area of topography to the next, and honestly I struggle a lot when it comes to thermals in hill country. I understand the concept how they work, but how quick they change directions amaze me

I have history in this particular spot and honestly have lost more than not due to the thermals and how fast they change here.

Early spring, I was here scouting. I was dropping milkweed seed every 10-15 seconds around 10:15 am. The thermals would pull the milkweed seeds up on side, and literally just a few seeds later the milkweed seed would float up another ridge.

I was also surprised at how quickly the seeds would float up the sides on my way back out from scouting. It was around 2:30-3:00 and the thermals were pulling the seeds up the hill as fast as wind in an open field would blow them!

[dan]

I have always been interested in thermals and thermal actions how they differ from one area of topography to the next, and honestly I struggle a lot when it comes to thermals in hill country. I understand the concept how they work, but how quick they change directions amaze me

I have history in this particular spot and honestly have lost more than not due to the thermals and how fast they change here.

Early spring, I was here scouting. I was dropping milkweed seed every 10-15 seconds around 10:15 am. The thermals would pull the milkweed seeds up on side, and literally just a few seeds later the milkweed seed would float up another ridge.

I was also surprised at how quickly the seeds would float up the sides on my way back out from scouting. It was around 2:30-3:00 and the thermals were pulling the seeds up the hill as fast as wind in an open field would blow them!

I know I told you this in a pm... But, I think its a good thing for all to read...

I shot that big old 8 point hunting with Andrae this last fall, and he pointed out a pre-set stand he had for me to use and when I saw it I was like "that stand has got to be 30 feet up???" Andrae said he always got busted there, then one day he noticed that if he stood up and held a milk weed seed high enough over his head it would blow over the valley, if he let it go from his normal position it would sometimes swirl to the deer trail... He put his stand up 10 feet higher and never got busted there again.... You have to hunt the buck where the buck moves in day light. Its up to us to find the kink in his plan. Might be the right tree, might be the right spot in the right tree, and it might take you a season or two to get it down perfect. It ain't easy, and it aint supposed to be.

[backstraps]

I have always been interested in thermals and thermal actions how they differ from one area of topography to the next, and honestly I struggle a lot when it comes to thermals in hill country. I understand the concept how they work, but how quick they change directions amaze me

I have history in this particular spot and honestly have lost more than not due to the thermals and how fast they change here.

Early spring, I was here scouting. I was dropping milkweed seed every 10-15 seconds around 10:15 am. The thermals would pull the milkweed seeds up on side, and literally just a few seeds later the milkweed seed would float up another ridge.

I was also surprised at how quickly the seeds would float up the sides on my way back out from scouting. It was around 2:30-3:00 and the thermals were pulling the seeds up the hill as fast as wind in an open field would blow them!

I know I told you this in a pm... But, I think its a good thing for all to read...

I shot that big old 8 point hunting with Andrae this last fall, and he pointed out a pre-set stand he had for me to use and when I saw it I was like "that stand has got to be 30 feet up???" Andrae said he always got busted there, then one day he noticed that if he stood up and held a milk weed seed high enough over his head it would blow over the valley, if he let it go from his normal position it would sometimes swirl to the deer trail... He put his stand up 10 feet higher and never got busted there again.... You have to hunt the buck where the buck moves in day light. Its up to us to find the kink in his plan. Might be the right tree, might be the right spot in the right tree, and it might take you a season or two to get it down perfect. [glow=red]It ain't easy, and it aint supposed to be.[/[/glow]quote]


This is why its so addictive for me! If it were, I don't think it would be fun enough to continue. Heck I am having a ton of fun learning to hunt, after hunting for 29.5 years!

[Autumn Ninja]

3, 5, 6, 7 would scent the red dot for sure. 4, 8 maybe maybe not. 1, 2 would be safe.....all based on that wind.

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[JoeRE]

I think you are over thinking this....if you have been gone two hours before rising thermals kick in one of two things is going to happen. First, if the Northwest wind you show is very light, your scent is going to be drawn down the valley (to the west) with the falling thermals that happen essentially all night long. Otherwise, if the northwest wind you show is a bit harder (maybe more that 5mph, or more than 10 mph, its hard to say every spot is different) that will override thermal activity and you will have a lot of swirling down in the valley but the overall air movement will be up both the valleys (to the east, probably more the one to the SE but hard to say) pushed by the wind, not thermals.

Two hours after you pass you will have left ground scent there for deer to detect RIGHT THERE but its not like there will be a cloud of scent waiting to be sucked up by rising thermals, your airborne scent will have long since swept up or down the valley and dissipated.

[justdirtyfun]

Maybe this should be separate thread but the cloud cover on each day is a big factor . Maybe a cloudy day would minimize valley upflow and give better odds.

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