How to hunt a thermal tunnel/buck cruising route

[mheichelbech]

Awesome visual. Quick question, could you post another with access route? I think that burns more people than we could even know. Thanks.

Are your bucks bedding in the windward side and then crossing and cruising the leeward side?

[RidgeGhost]

Awesome jeff. One of the most valuable posts that's gone up on this forum in a while. Good stuff

[Jeff G]

Jeff.
Curious about the west wind being bad for cruising, seems like it would be just as leeward as the S wind given the angle of the ridge, if not more so. Is this just observation that the specific topography doesn't allow for a good thermal tunnel to establish, is it that the west wind impacts where the does bed and the cruising routes change?

The hillside I sit is very steep. As the hillside goes northwest it becomes shallower. The west wind flows more into the woods and does not really develop a cruising elevation. There is still cruising but all the big stuff cuts and crosses down below me.

You are correct with the topography not setting up a tunnel.

In that area where the hill becomes shallower, at last light I have observed bucks entering our little ag field strip. That is the lowest spot in the field and they enter the field there because they can scent check the whole field.

[Jeff G]

Great post Jeff. I’m wondering how much elevation rise you have on these hills? Your example is almost identical to what I have here in my area of WV. We normally have 3-500 ft of elevation rise in the hills around where I live and hunt.

I have a topo in this thread, ours is similar to yours, maybe a little less

[Jeff G]

Thanks for posting Jeff.
I understand your first statement about not needing a direct 90 deg. over the top ,so even 45 deg off is ok , so why then is the straight west wind bad for your kill stand? You say bad for thermal tunnel , why is that?

I assume you have stand sites on the north side of your property as well. Do you have better luck with the high cruising trail or the lower one?
Also, I notice a few cuts on that north face, do you have any set ups right by those cross -over spots or do you stay more out towards the points of the down slope ridges?
I think That's were I screwed up my hill country hunt this year...
I hunted those cut cross-over trails and the winds where really swirling in there.I think I should of got out of there??

By the way,
Nice bucks!!

I just answered a post in the west wind and thermal tunnel. Basically the west does not allow a tunnel to form due to the hill transitioning to shallow. The stand site is very steep and they have a easy cross point at the bottom. If the cruise the entire leeward side they are missing the prime bedding areas. That's why they are cruising where my stand is and crossing to get right up in the bedding area fast. They are very efficient.

We have spots we hunt on the north trails. Access is very difficult there so we do not hunt them a lot. Killed more in the lower trail, they sometimes drop low enough to snipe them off the hillside.

When we are up there hunting the points it's usually early season. You can't get that close to the bucks bedding on points. Back far from the point, never in the point. Cover is your friend.

[Jeff G]

Awesome visual. Quick question, could you post another with access route? I think that burns more people than we could even know. Thanks.

Are your bucks bedding in the windward side and then crossing and cruising the leeward side?

No, when I hunt there on a sw or s wind bucks are not bedded there. Does are. It's during the rut and this is a rut tactic I am talking about.

[muskieman]

Very informative! Thanks for posting and good visuals....

[mheichelbech]

[vovamir]

So here is a follow up question.

I understand the thermal tunnel in the AM with the wind blowing over and down the leeward side of the ridge and meeting the rising thermal in the morning.

But what happens in the evening when the thermal is pulling down towards the valley floor?

EDIT: Nevermind. Dan answered my question in this post viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24557. Thanks!

[Jeff G]

So here is a follow up question.

I understand the thermal tunnel in the AM with the wind blowing over and down the leeward side of the ridge and meeting the rising thermal in the morning.

But what happens in the evening when the thermal is pulling down towards the valley floor?

Cruising elevation moves down the hill. scent goes down the hill and the bucks intercept it lower on the hillside. The buck that was shot there last year was in the afternoon (4pm) and was cruising the bottom third. the 10 pt i killed there this year was on the top third at 10am in the morning.

[ttrip06]

Thanks vary informative.

Tim

[creepingdeth]

Thanks Jeff, really like when we get pics or diagrams along w/ explanation. Hunt publics just west of your farm...hoping to get the outing that was cancelled last year going for this year

[jpsmith270]

Very good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to put all this together.

[UofLbowhunter]

very helpful stuff!!

[Hatchetman]

Thanks for posting Jeff.
I understand your first statement about not needing a direct 90 deg. over the top ,so even 45 deg off is ok , so why then is the straight west wind bad for your kill stand? You say bad for thermal tunnel , why is that?

I assume you have stand sites on the north side of your property as well. Do you have better luck with the high cruising trail or the lower one?
Also, I notice a few cuts on that north face, do you have any set ups right by those cross -over spots or do you stay more out towards the points of the down slope ridges?
I think That's were I screwed up my hill country hunt this year...
I hunted those cut cross-over trails and the winds where really swirling in there.I think I should of got out of there??

By the way,
Nice bucks!!

I just answered a post in the west wind and thermal tunnel. Basically the west does not allow a tunnel to form due to the hill transitioning to shallow. The stand site is very steep and they have a easy cross point at the bottom. If the cruise the entire leeward side they are missing the prime bedding areas. That's why they are cruising where my stand is and crossing to get right up in the bedding area fast. They are very efficient.

We have spots we hunt on the north trails. Access is very difficult there so we do not hunt them a lot. Killed more in the lower trail, they sometimes drop low enough to snipe them off the hillside.

When we are up there hunting the points it's usually early season. You can't get that close to the bucks bedding on points. Back far from the point, never in the point. Cover is your friend.

Sorry for the double up question, Kraft beat me to it!

So would it be safe to make a blanket statement that the more gradual the leeward side slope is, the lower a cruising buck will tend to travel?
If that would be the case, with a west wind, would you suspect buck cruising near the bottom of that gradual slope where you noted the 3 doe bedding areas NW of your kill tree?

Referring to the noted cross over trail from one side of the main valley to the other...
I guess I've always been told and have kind of programmed myself to ignore trails, rubs, and scrapes in the bottoms because it's all nightime travel. No mature buck would ever travel thru that low area during daylight hours. The idea probably still holds true except when a buck is connecting the dots so to speak, he picks the best spot to cross the bottom of the valley during light and goes for it. So , Yes, 99 % of that low valley is poor travel area but 1 % is.
Am I thinking of this Right?

I'm know a lot of this same stuff is covered in Dan's hill country Vid which most of us have seen, myself included, but this is really hitting home for me!
I make a vote we Archive this thread in " best tactical threads" what do you guys think?