Thermal hub access/exit question

[bwwma]

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I've posted a random example of some thermal hubs in hill country. Thermal hubs are tricky for me to enter/exit. Do ya'll have a preference as to accessing hubs, such as coming in below in the evenings and on the tops in the mornings? Our deer could be on the ridge tops eating acorns or browse in the early morning hours or they could also drop down to the bottoms and come up to bed. From my experience I usually have to "burn" a portion of the hub on entrance/exit because there isn't a way to come in 100% clean, so I try to find what area has the least amount of deer activity and enter that way. How would you access/exit these hubs, or if you have another map example post it because I would just like to hear from others experiences compared to what I'm seeing in the woods.

[Jonny]

I don't want to come off pushing a sale for Dan. But JoeRE has a fantastic part in the Hill Country Bedding DVD covering thermal hubs. Its really the exact answer you are looking for.

In short, my understanding of it is you don't hunt the actual hub. You find the bedding around it and hunt that because you can have a safer entry/exit. In the hub, its there for a reason. You really can't access and hunt it well when you should. The sign is all there, but you need to see past that and get the deer before they get there.

[<DK>]

I think the middle circle is the best example. Not that the others cant be hubs but in general like to see some type of bottom in between all the ridges...

Hunting the trails on the outskirts leading to/from the hub is a good starting point. This can allow a setup on higher elevations and/or better wind options. I try to choose the spots that will likely just bump does when accessing or as you stated - less deer activity. Any place deer bed in the woods they have expectations of how pressure may enter the area. Figuring that out and doing the opposite can be one of the best ways to determine access points. One thing that has helped me is adding plenty of time for walking slow. This allows for the woods to settle down, in case things get crazy. Moving a slower pace or certain route can allow for "Soft Bumps", hoping the planned bumped deer just move on w/o making a whole scene. Breaking it down, I guess my pace is slightly faster than the last 100yards of normal sets.

Not real sure the "best" way is, iv been pretty aggressive going about it but it turned out to be successful. Exiting a hub is another issue... that can vary. Honestly iv never thought about a true clean exit... If I had to choose id only want one scent trail. Depending on observations of the hunt or food source locations that can probably change at different points of the season.

Setups can be tough. For general hunting setups - we can setup above or below a deer trail so the wind is clearing it or we are down wind. In a hub, im always concerned about the scent stream AFTER the expected kill spot. With the wrong winds/thermal currents, everything in the area can get a whiff. Not necessarily pin point but enough to make them un-easy. The main concern for me is always the buck or buck beds.

[brancher147]

I prefer a high thermal hub where a bunch of ridges and draws intersect on top. It looks like you are asking about hunting a low thermal hub. I have never had any success hunting a low thermal hub because the winds just mostly swirl in the bottom, although I have found it to be a great place for a trail cam on a primary scrape. And if you can get a constant wind, I am sure it would be good to hunt. My entrance to that would vary based on wind and access conditions and deer bedding/feeding. I know that doesn't answer much but there is no easy answer. Some places you just have to take the best approach and hope for the best, and count on bumping deer sometimes...

[<DK>]

I prefer a high thermal hub where a bunch of ridges and draws intersect on top. It looks like you are asking about hunting a low thermal hub. I have never had any success hunting a low thermal hub because the winds just mostly swirl in the bottom, although I have found it to be a great place for a trail cam on a primary scrape. And if you can get a constant wind, I am sure it would be good to hunt. My entrance to that would vary based on wind and access conditions and deer bedding/feeding. I know that doesn't answer much but there is no easy answer. Some places you just have to take the best approach and hope for the best, and count on bumping deer sometimes...

Glad you said that bc iv been thinking what each should be called. I dig the high and low

[bwwma]

branch can you post an example of a high thermal hub?

[<DK>]

branch can you post an example of a high thermal hub?

Page 2, UofL posts a great example

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35459&start=15

[bwwma]

Awesome thanks, that was a really good example. The problem where I hunt is most of those high hubs have a road or high foot traffic on them.

[brancher147]

You are right, most of those high hubs do usually have a road or a trail and can be high traffic. But if it is a gated forest road or seldom used trail they can still be good, especially during the rut. I just found one over 3 miles in on public, no road, no trail, and it looks like it is going to pay off. Wish I had checked it out sooner.

There are smaller overlooked high hubs also like the one below, that can be as good or better than the big obvious hubs. You have 3 small ridges (green) and 3 draws (blue) intersecting in a saddle in this instance. Lots of different directions a deer can come from. This example is not as high of a hub as I would like, and you would probably still have some swirling winds, but you could get a more consistent wind depending on the wind direction, and something like this may not have a road or a trail. It's just an example.

[bwwma]

Thanks for the great example. I went to check out a few new places and if I found hot sign I was going to climb. The first place was a high hub like you had listed, there was a public gravel road running right through the hub and a gate for parking at the hub the Y'd off down a ridge. I got out and started to load my rifle and a nice 8 point took off running crossed the gravel road 20 yards in front of my truck and headed down the draw I was going to check.... There's a lesson on hubs...

[<DK>]

Thanks for the great example. I went to check out a few new places and if I found hot sign I was going to climb. The first place was a high hub like you had listed, there was a public gravel road running right through the hub and a gate for parking at the hub the Y'd off down a ridge. I got out and started to load my rifle and a nice 8 point took off running crossed the gravel road 20 yards in front of my truck and headed down the draw I was going to check.... There's a lesson on hubs...

[SaddleMaster]

Glad you said that bc iv been thinking what each should be called. I dig the high and low

In Mapping Trophy Bucks, Herdon refers to those as converging hubs. Most of the ridge tops in the forest I hunt have some type of trail on them. So most saddles and hubs will be near a trail. But like mentioned if it's low traffic and/or the rut, they will still be used.

[brancher147]

Thanks for the great example. I went to check out a few new places and if I found hot sign I was going to climb. The first place was a high hub like you had listed, there was a public gravel road running right through the hub and a gate for parking at the hub the Y'd off down a ridge. I got out and started to load my rifle and a nice 8 point took off running crossed the gravel road 20 yards in front of my truck and headed down the draw I was going to check.... There's a lesson on hubs...

I had the same thing happen this week. Except I had rode my mountain bike/hiked in a few miles to a great high hub I had been wanting to check out for a couple years. As soon as I got on top and walking down a ridge toward the hub intersection a real nice buck ran out of the laurel. Caught me off guard and I had a shot where he was standing I just didn't see him before he ran. Biggest buck I have seen all year I think. Will be back next week to try again....

Saddlemaster, I agree what I posted is not necessarily a thermal hub, and is more like a converging hub, but really it's a little bit of both. I will just call it a high hub, and it was just an example. Really it is a saddle that connects a bunch of ridges and draws-The best type of saddle to hunt in my opinion. And you have lots of options to setup for different winds.

[<DK>]

Glad you said that bc iv been thinking what each should be called. I dig the high and low

In Mapping Trophy Bucks, Herdon refers to those as converging hubs.

Good info, ill open that up again and check that out. If i can take a decent enough picture then ill try upload it.

I like the different names everyone has said. Sitting around thinking about different ones it was hard to come up w something that sounded good. In the big woods tracking thread an older member posted some related to rut. Its all the same I guess but it sure is fun to talk about. I was also thinking Thermal Bowl or Basin.

Sorry bwwma if you havent got all of your answers. Youre buck encounter story is awesome tho! If you havent already, check out KYBH89's map posts on this thread. I might actually screen shot these and merge the maps w the other thermal hub thread...
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