Hill Country Question

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cornfedkiller
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Hill Country Question

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Fri Nov 12, 2010 6:36 am

I understand how bucks use the thermals and winds with the thermals and stuff in hill country (well I understand the basic concept of it at least), but I have a question. Its probably a stupid question that I already know the answer to, but I'll ask anyways..

So do hill country bucks, like marsh bucks, remain in their beds for the majority of the day, or do they feel safer moving around in daylight hours because of how they are able to use the wind and thermals while they are moving?

Is the strategy in hill county still to set up as close to the bed as possible in hopes of catching the buck going to/coming from his bed the first part or last part of the day, or can you have success setting up near the thermal tunnel and catch him cruising the hillside during the day?

Also, something I dont think was covered in the DVD, how wide are these "thermal tunnels" generally? Are we talking an area 20 yards wide or is it more like a 75-100 yard area along the hillside?


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Re: Hill Country Question

Unread postby Indianahunter » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:15 am

With the exception of the rut your best bet is to get as close to the bedding are as possible. They will move more during daylight hours but within the vicinity of their beds most like within 100yards. Thermal tunnels are a good option this time of year when bucks are cruising downwind of doe bedding. Just my two cents that I have observed since hunting beast style.
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Re: Hill Country Question

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:28 am

The hill country I hunt has pretty high visibility, and man are there the leaves. Getting up close to a bed in the afternoon/evening on a ridge face is too risky with the noise and visibility - assuming their bedded down at the moment, so I've always targeted these beds in the mornings when I assume the deer to be on their way back.
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Re: Hill Country Question

Unread postby dan » Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:00 am

cornfedkiller wrote:So do hill country bucks, like marsh bucks, remain in their beds for the majority of the day, or do they feel safer moving around in daylight hours because of how they are able to use the wind and thermals while they are moving?

Terrain does not appear to be a factor in daytime deer movement. Some areas will be different, but I believe that has little to do with terrain and more to do with factors such as hunting pressure & deer population.
[/quote]
cornfedkiller wrote:Is the strategy in hill county still to set up as close to the bed as possible in hopes of catching the buck going to/coming from his bed the first part or last part of the day, or can you have success setting up near the thermal tunnel and catch him cruising the hillside during the day?

Outside of the rut ( as Indiana indicated ) setting up as close as possible to the buck bedding area in the evening is the most effective way to get daylight shooting in the evenings. As Sam indicated, this can be difficult in hill country cause of vision, multiple wind currents that change with sun rise & set, and the noisy leaf factor. To combat these I use the terrain to block my approach. this blocks vision and noise ( having hill side of point between you and the buck ) I also move very slow and deliberately place each step as I get close intentionally sounding more like a squirrel than a person. I use quiet equipment. I head to my stand position very early giving the buck time to forget about the noise he heard. If I make a loud noise ( Im only human ) I freeze and don't move for a couple minutes.
You could also choose to hunt mornings and catch the deer coming back to his bed. I hunt directly above the bed when I hunt like that. Just like Andrae did when he shot his 217 inch buck in Illinois on my Hill country DVD. The downfall is that you get scent in the bedroom and that most mature bucks bed before daylight most of the time outside of the rut.

cornfedkiller wrote:Also, something I dont think was covered in the DVD, how wide are these "thermal tunnels" generally? Are we talking an area 20 yards wide or is it more like a 75-100 yard area along the hillside?

Usually 20 to 30 yards...


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