What is hill country?

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nor' easter
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What is hill country?

Unread postby nor' easter » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:05 pm

What does everyone consider true hill country? An area I hunt has very gradual rolling hills. Cedar swamp at the lowest points and beech on higher ground. The elevation change is maybe 50-60 feet over a quarter mile. Has anyone seen mature deer using this gradual of a slope in the same way that they would in steeper terrain with higher elevation changes? Should I be scouting 1/3 elevation and worrying about thermals? The reason I ask is because in December last year with a few inches of snow on the ground I snuck up on a young buck and a doe bedded 30 yards off of a 2 track. They were bedded in early afternoon at approximately 1/3 elevation. They were laying in a pretty open area so I'm not sure if they were trying to soak in as much sun as possible or if they were playing wind and thermals.


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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:16 pm

nor' easter wrote:What does everyone consider true hill country? An area I hunt has very gradual rolling hills. Cedar swamp at the lowest points and beech on higher ground. The elevation change is maybe 50-60 feet over a quarter mile. Has anyone seen mature deer using this gradual of a slope in the same way that they would in steeper terrain with higher elevation changes? Should I be scouting 1/3 elevation and worrying about thermals? The reason I ask is because in December last year with a few inches of snow on the ground I snuck up on a young buck and a doe bedded 30 yards off of a 2 track. They were bedded in early afternoon at approximately 1/3 elevation. They were laying in a pretty open area so I'm not sure if they were trying to soak in as much sun as possible or if they were playing wind and thermals.

Good question... Its more "2 questions" than one though... Hill country by my definition is an area of terrain that changes in elevation almost continually. Often there are sections of flat or semi-flat ground near by.

Do deer or bucks use the elevation where you hunt to there advantage to bed? Yes...
Sometimes its not at the 1/3 elevation if the hills are more rounded, but even in flat land you will see buc ks bed leeward sides and iuse elevation to there bedding advantage.
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby nor' easter » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:28 pm

This entire area has slow rolling hills. There's a small stream in one of the valleys. I have found other rut beds on the leeward side of one of the hills at about half elevation. Bed was in the wide open, watching hunter access, down wind of where does cross the hill from one pothole bedding spot to the next. Perfect setup for the buck. I have also found rut beds in the lowest areas right on the edge of the cover of the cedar swamp. I'm planning on scouting the swamps next weekend, but I think I may spend some extra time cruising the hills to look for last year's rut sign. I normally only make it to this area for one hunt sometime in november, but I may throw an early october hunt at it this year if I find good bedding.
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby sureshotscott » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:29 pm

Dan I've been trying to wrap my head around your tactics for a while, and attended one of your workshops earlier this year. I've sort of concluded that you would prefer to ignore/not hunt the gentle rolling hills terrain because #1 any bozo can hunt it easily and #2 it doesn't concentrate deer like swamp/marsh or steep hills do. Is that correct?
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby Jonny » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:43 pm

sureshotscott wrote:Dan I've been trying to wrap my head around your tactics for a while, and attended one of your workshops earlier this year. I've sort of concluded that you would prefer to ignore/not hunt the gentle rolling hills terrain because #1 any bozo can hunt it easily and #2 it doesn't concentrate deer like swamp/marsh or steep hills do. Is that correct?


I think that might be more related to other hunters. The vast majority of hunters won't go into the swamps or the marsh. And with steep hills, that is where understanding deer behavior gets you success. In one of his videos, Dan mentioned that the majority of buck sign is on the top or bottom of the hills, but its almost all at night. You don't see the sign on the 1/3 elevation, and the average joe hunter doesn't hunt an area unless there is lots of sign laid down.
You have a monkey Mr. Munson?
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby nor' easter » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:48 pm

This area gets pounded by alot of guys walking the hills and paths in november. I'm sure that it has a huge impact on deer movement. I'm thinking that the deer may use the hills in October before rifle season starts.
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:00 pm

nor' easter wrote:This entire area has slow rolling hills. There's a small stream in one of the valleys. I have found other rut beds on the leeward side of one of the hills at about half elevation. Bed was in the wide open, watching hunter access, down wind of where does cross the hill from one pothole bedding spot to the next. Perfect setup for the buck. I have also found rut beds in the lowest areas right on the edge of the cover of the cedar swamp. I'm planning on scouting the swamps next weekend, but I think I may spend some extra time cruising the hills to look for last year's rut sign. I normally only make it to this area for one hunt sometime in november, but I may throw an early october hunt at it this year if I find good bedding.

If the beds are in the wide open without cover, I suspect they may be night beds... I would expect day bedding on rolling hills to fluctuate greatly in elevation and exact placement do to the point where the wind and thermal air current collision occurs also varying greatly... They will prefer the swamps or thick cover over the hills in high pressure or in hills that are open and have little cover.
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby nor' easter » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:04 pm

Thanks dan, I'll stick to the swamps in this area then. The only deer I have seen in the open hardwoods here have been doe groups and young bucks anyway.
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:07 pm

sureshotscott wrote:Dan I've been trying to wrap my head around your tactics for a while, and attended one of your workshops earlier this year. I've sort of concluded that you would prefer to ignore/not hunt the gentle rolling hills terrain because #1 any bozo can hunt it easily and #2 it doesn't concentrate deer like swamp/marsh or steep hills do. Is that correct?

I don't ignore hills... I hunt rolling hills in many areas I hunt. The workshop you attended is in a high pressure area and the deer have a choice of bedding in the hills or heavy cover in the swamps. Guys hunt all over those hills in this area, and not many hunt the swamps. You can find classic hill bedding in those hills, but very very rarely is it a mature buck... When I hunt lower pressure in central wisconsins rolling hills, or western wisconsins steep hills, I am hunting bedding that is elevated and in the hills. I have one area that I hunt that has both swamp and hills, and I prefer the hills to the swamps in that particular area... Pressure (or Bozo's as you called it :lol: ) and available terrain will dictate where and how they bed, with pressure being #1
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Re: What is hill country?

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:07 pm

nor' easter wrote:Thanks dan, I'll stick to the swamps in this area then. The only deer I have seen in the open hardwoods here have been doe groups and young bucks anyway.

By what you have said about the area, I agree, solid plan.


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