the Power of a Bench

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bwwma
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby bwwma » Tue Nov 29, 2016 4:32 am

bumping, here's more evidence of the power of a bench.
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Singing Bridge
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:50 am

Nicely done and congrats on the buck. I have a couple of friends that took some nice bucks on benches this fall. One of these days I may have to crawl out of my swamp.

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mauser06
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby mauser06 » Sat Dec 03, 2016 5:37 am

Scouting/hunting new land this week...


Thought some may find these pics beneficial to see what a bench can look like.

Hard to depict it all. There's actually 3 benches in the pics. I'm standing on one. Can't really tell but between the benches is STEEP..

2 are old logging roads...1 is a true bench and bigger than the logging roads...I still consider the logging roads benches as they act like it.. basically a flat easy access route on an otherwise very steep hillside..


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I did find 2 suspected bucks bedding on the hillside..I was still hunting, not looking specifically for buck beds..I was hunting. 1 was bedded high right where the hill dropped off the ridge..I got him in the scope when he stood up and I didn't see a rack..sun was directly behind him. As he took off I am fairly certain I saw a decent rack.

Worked along the hillside and jumped another deer bedded on the bigger natural bench. Tail, chest...no head...got the scope to the next opening and ready to hammer him as soon as I got an ID but he never came through..again, lone deer and body sure looked like a buck. Both tracks were different and looked like buck tracks for sure.....




I've found bucks bed ON them...and I've also found bucks bed ABOVE them. I think they like to bed ABOVE them because they can monitor everything. Hot doe comes along...coyote..hunter..most everything is going to travel the bench just because it's the easiest travel route...

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checkerfred
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby checkerfred » Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:54 am

I have an area that has a low small bench about 10-15 yards wide, on the lower 1/3 of the ridge or even lower. Had a good sized bed with a single rub. It's steep going down to the bench but not a sheer drop off. The top 3rd also had bedding. What would dictate if a buck is bedding high or low? Back a half mile from the ridge points someone had a ladder stand setup. This is on public.

On this super steep land you guys hunt how do you access it? Is it steep but still able to walk up? We have some on public that I haven't checked out yet and it looks like sheer bluffs on the map....not sure how you could go up and down that.

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bwwma
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby bwwma » Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:48 am

can you post a map?
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checkerfred
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby checkerfred » Sun Dec 04, 2016 9:00 am

Image

The bench doesn't really show.
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby bwwma » Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:38 pm

He could bed lower early in the mornings until the thermals kick in and then bounce up to the higher bed.
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Dec 05, 2016 9:49 am

bwwma wrote:He could bed lower early in the mornings until the thermals kick in and then bounce up to the higher bed.


I thought about that...I figured the middle bed might be for stronger winds, the top bed for light winds and bottom bed for when the thermals haven't kicked in yet. I didn't know if there was something else that might cause them to bed lower....I thought about pressure but not sure he'd have an advantage during the day if he's lower...seems like the thermal tunnel would be higher then
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby mauser06 » Mon Dec 05, 2016 10:47 am

Is there some sort of habitat change?? Lots of my hills are hardwoods and the bottom 1/3rd or so is hemlock. I've found that transition edge can be good and the deer do bed in the hemlocks. Even mature hemlock forests you can see forever in.


I haven't figured out when they bed down there opposed to the thermal tunnel or if the mature bucks will generally always bed up high... truthfully don't see enough big bucks to know.


I see them run the hemlocks often when the lead is flying and pressure is on. Makes no sense to me because of how open it is. Again..big buck experience there is about none...but I've seen plenty of deer do it.




I'm having this dilemma with myself now...I wanna head to the big woods and still hunt this week atleast a day or 2. I know I wanna stay above the deer. But if they are bedded on the lower benches or the hemlocks I likely won't spot them.

Last week I had 2 suspected bucks...1 was high in the thermal tunnel and the other was low just inside the hemlocks. Maybe the same buck and he went down there for security after I moved him the first time..I don't know.

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checkerfred
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Dec 05, 2016 1:19 pm

mauser06 wrote:Is there some sort of habitat change?? Lots of my hills are hardwoods and the bottom 1/3rd or so is hemlock. I've found that transition edge can be good and the deer do bed in the hemlocks. Even mature hemlock forests you can see forever in.


I haven't figured out when they bed down there opposed to the thermal tunnel or if the mature bucks will generally always bed up high... truthfully don't see enough big bucks to know.


I see them run the hemlocks often when the lead is flying and pressure is on. Makes no sense to me because of how open it is. Again..big buck experience there is about none...but I've seen plenty of deer do it.




I'm having this dilemma with myself now...I wanna head to the big woods and still hunt this week atleast a day or 2. I know I wanna stay above the deer. But if they are bedded on the lower benches or the hemlocks I likely won't spot them.

Last week I had 2 suspected bucks...1 was high in the thermal tunnel and the other was low just inside the hemlocks. Maybe the same buck and he went down there for security after I moved him the first time..I don't know.

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That particular bench not so much a terrain change. It's a small bench too with a lone cedar that he rubbed on. It would be easy to overlook and he does have a sight advantage with the valley around being pretty open. Mostly hardwoods though the NW wind bedding down low on the other benches are more gnarly with some blow downs and a little bit thicker brush.

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bwwma
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby bwwma » Mon Dec 05, 2016 2:28 pm

Are you still hunting BH area? I'm sure you know by now most of the foot traffic is either on top of the ridge or along the creek bottom.

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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby cullen bohanon » Sat Jan 14, 2017 3:53 pm

seazofcheeze wrote:I killed my 2015 OH buck on a bench that ran just above a steep drainage around the 1/3 elevation. 2 hill country terrain features + 1/3 elevation = dead buck. I saw 2 shooters and 5 different bucks total working down this bench in two days (first week of November). I'm sold on benches and will be looking for similar setups again in the future.

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How did you set up on this without getting winded? I've got a bench that runs under the crest of the ridge and then another bench below that is above the valley floor and a drain/draw that is under
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby cullen bohanon » Sat Jan 14, 2017 4:21 pm

JSnake wrote:Reading about these benches makes me obsess over a property I looked at in southeast Kentucky Hill country. The logging road/strip mining benches were unreal and the way the property was laid out, offered positions for almost every wind. Saw plenty of sign and multiple beds. The access was horrible so I decided not to lease but still makes me dream about what could have been.




I hunt east ky. It's hard Acceding without spooking Ll the deer in the area
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Oct 06, 2017 11:41 am

Any bench hunts going down this year?
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elk yinzer
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Re: the Power of a Bench

Unread postby elk yinzer » Sat Oct 07, 2017 4:07 am

Singing Bridge wrote:Any bench hunts going down this year?


The vast majority of my rut spots involve benches. Around here we tend to call them ledges more often. I especially like where you can find two ledges that converge or where a ledge runs up into a saddle.
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