Hill bedding with flat Ag bottom area

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
Deerhunter323
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:57 am
Location: West Michigan
Status: Offline

Hill bedding with flat Ag bottom area

Unread postby Deerhunter323 » Fri Aug 02, 2019 11:44 pm

How would you guys set up on this kind of area? Doe trails are marked in blue and the trails that I want to setup on that are crossing trails (faint) that I would expect a buck to cruse checking the doe trails are in red. Bedding area is circled in black for the doe's. I am planning on hunting the rut here and don't have much experience with thermals and I have not been in here to hunt before to know what the wind will do. When could I hunt the lower trail, I would like to in the morning but I am not sure with the thermals going up to the bedding area. The stand site up top has a big scrape at the edge of the bedding. The woods goes east and south to make a 1000+ acre area.

Image


Ranger Matthews
Status: Offline

Re: Hill bedding with flat Ag bottom area

Unread postby Ranger Matthews » Sat Aug 03, 2019 12:17 am

These can be tricky because its set up for an east wind but the deer will see you coming across the field in the afternoon and if you come in through the field in the dark you will spoke all the deer. What I normally do is access through the field right at gray light. If there are deer in the field they will look like black blobs and you just wait for them to move on. I have actually on several occasions have had bucks walk toward me cause they cant figure out what you are. With this approach though you need to commit to sit allday because the deer will see you if you leave. Dan obviously talks a-lot about hill country bedding. Deer bedded on leeward side watching down the hill towards the field.
User avatar
may21581
500 Club
Posts: 1186
Joined: Mon May 28, 2018 12:48 pm
Location: north east ohio
Status: Offline

Re: Hill bedding with flat Ag bottom area

Unread postby may21581 » Sat Aug 03, 2019 12:42 am

I hunted a spot similiar to this several years ago and this is what I discovered. The fields and inside corners are low odds for an evening hunt, you will see lots of does but the big boys are too smart for this. Every now and then you will catch one on the edge of darkness and it can be done though, however I feel the odds are much much lower. They will cruise on the field edge like you had expected but this may also happen after dark. Something to add is they are also big on cruising right through the Doe bedding area itself. Have you walked through it during early spring scouting? Have you thought of getting into their bed for an am hunt?
I will also tell you what I found to be killer spots in this type of setup. Looking at your map I see one or two spots that create awesome natural funnels for a buck to shoot through on his way to and from bed in the mornings. One being the very top left of the map close to the dotted line. The field is surrounded by trees and brush and there is one opening in that far corner. They may use this after visiting the does at night and high tailing it back to their bed in the morning. Look for spots like this, they make awesome morning sits during the rut and I can tell you first hand they use them. Look for old over grown fence rows that have an opening or natural funnels they will use.i guarantee you when they start cruising they will use them. I would say most of the sign in the ag area is night sign and he will be long gone from there come first light.
"Failure is the price for entry for achieving something great"
User avatar
Deerhunter323
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:57 am
Location: West Michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Hill bedding with flat Ag bottom area

Unread postby Deerhunter323 » Sat Aug 03, 2019 3:49 am

The hillside is very thick mixed pines and hardwoods and the red trail is in thick undergrowth that you wouldn't hardly get a shot through so I don't think that they can watch the field unless they are within 40 yards of the edge. Definitely have to pick the right tree to have an open hole to the trail. As for the bedding area it is thick until it starts to drop back off on the east side so i think it may setup well for a west wind too but they would be more on the top of the ridge or just barely over one the east side and still have cover but looking over the open stuff towards the east. I did spring scout and didn't key in on just one bed for a setup because there where so many in there and i was short on time. How soon do you think the thermals would rise in the AM if I was setup just uphill of the bottom trail even with the south side of the bedding?


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Wlog and 69 guests