Would love to see this map marked up by some fellow beasts. I have some ideas but would like to wait on feedback. This is 3 images of the same terrain. The flat area in the middle-left of each pic is a hardwood creek bottom that runs north/south through the area that's full of acorns. It dissipates on the southern end of map and branches out into the hills. There's a few east/west branches off of it that you can see. The ridges are mixed hardwoods and conifers. Some of the ridge tip-tops have barren rock outcroppings with open overstory. The rest is closed canopy forest. Agricultural fields are just off the map where the hills drop down into flat, riverbottom land that's at the same elevation of the hardwood creek bottom.
• Scale: Maps are about 2 miles wide and 1 mile tall.
• Movement pattern is creek bottom/ag to ridge tops in the morning (food to bed) and reverse in evening. Ag is long harvested by hunting season but is usually re-planted in wheat or ryegrass.
• Prevailing winds in the Fall are out of the NW or SE 50/50.
How would bucks cruise these ridges in the pre-rut and rut searching does?
What edges would they work in morning back to bed?
Conversely, how would animals descend off the tops down to bottoms to feed in afternoons?
Can you identify some primary bedding points and rut funnels?
Would love to hear your reasonings for each area in detail.
Thanks!
