Swirling thermals in farm ditch

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Strugglestick
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Swirling thermals in farm ditch

Unread postby Strugglestick » Tue Oct 18, 2022 2:34 pm

I attached a screenshot of the farm I've located what would be my new PB buck. The red lines are where he's shredded everything he could get his rack around. The green x is where he has been seen in daylight, the white x is where we bumped him just after dark. There is standing corn on the west side of the drainage and standing corn to the east of the two track. I believe he is living in the open part of the drainage behind the barn and equipment. The issue I'm having is figuring out how to hunt him in or along that drainage because the thermals seem to make an almost toilet bowl effect within the large opening. Hoping that someone on here has seen or delt with a similar situation and could maybe read it better than I can.
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nsmith253
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Re: Swirling thermals in farm ditch

Unread postby nsmith253 » Wed Oct 19, 2022 8:57 am

I've hunted a spot that's pretty similar with standing corn on two sides of a brushy drainage this year and it's a tricky setup. If you don't have his bed nailed down I would try and see if there's anyway you can you can safely observe the area and his travel route, but that might be tough or impossible with the corn still up. Is the barn you're talking about the building south of the white X? Or is it one of the buildings to the north? Either way he's probably set up in a spot where he can monitor anyone coming towards him along the road from the north. I would think you are going to need to wait for the right wind and use that standing corn to your advantage to loop way around to the west or east through the corn and setup on the drainage downwind of where you expect him to travel.

As for the thermals that's pretty hard to predict without getting in there with milkweed to try it. One thing that might help, if you use the desktop version of OnX on your PC (can't do it on mobile), you can use the 3D imagery and a newer feature called 3D elevation exaggeration, it's on the lower right-hand side of the screen where you switch from 2D to 3D, or Topo to Aerial. This will exaggerate the elevation changes on your map and it makes it a lot easier to read the topo and find where you might be able to set up on a bend where the thermals will pull to one side or another just enough to make it work.
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mauser06
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Re: Swirling thermals in farm ditch

Unread postby mauser06 » Wed Oct 19, 2022 2:26 pm

I'd look at high wind days and/or days thermals won't be so strong...days the temp is somewhat stable and there is heavy cloud cover...rainy days...etc.


Before I knew much I found a series of SMOKING hot scrapes. It was evident there were several angry bucks in that area and they weren't acting like 1.5yos. 3 different days I hunted there. Each day they were still in that small area crushing scrapes and making new rubs.

I kept trying to set up differently based on the wind of the day. Mornings and afternoons.

What happened? I kept getting busted. Literally like clockwork. He'd be coming. I'd see legs and bits and pieces through the hemlock. (It was a piece of intermixed hemlock and hardwoods)

He'd get 10-20yds from the scrape and he'd blow, stomp, blow, eventually he'd get gone. Don't know if it was the same buck or different I never did get to see clear views of racks.

It was that season I learned about thermals and what they were and how to use them etc.

The buck(s) was IMO purposely waiting for the thermal shift to scent check the scrapes. If my light bulb would have gone off after the first hunt, I'd been able to setup backwards abd probably defeat his trick if I could time my hunt JUST right.


My point is....that buck is probably living there because of that thermal advantage he has.

You have to figure out how to defeat that. But you also have to keep in mind that he wants that advantage. He might not be there on days it's not there. He might travel differently when he doesn't have that advantage. You have to figure that out and defeat his strength. I know...easier said than done. That's what makes chasing these critters what it is.

Thermals aren't consistent all day every day. You get a steady decent wind and/or a day thermals aren't really at play, you can defeat him..but he might not even be there or he's likely to travel differently. There isn't much elevation change there....it doesn't take much wind to override thermals in those situations. There doesn't appear to be enough of a enclosure to create much of a swirly wind you might see in an opening in the middle of the woods.

You also have to consider the fact he's probably able to see and hear a good bit...he might have you pegged before you get to the tree. I've seen that a bunch in farm country. I had a particular farm I'd drive back abd park at a house and get out and hunt. 3 houses on that lane. Not much traffic but at least a few times a day. I found out if I parked there, I didn't see the bucks that I knew lived there. If I parked at the next farm and walked across the open fields, I'd see them. I have no idea how they picked me out as a hunter...but it happened for 2 seasons I tested it. It still sounds far fetched but it's the best I could come up with. Somehow my noise of parking and getting my stand on my back was different enough to tip them off.


If you have other land to hunt in that area another option would be get super aggressive. Push the envelope. It'll either work out or he'll find somewhere else to bed and maybe it won't be as good for him and will be better for you. With the ole rut right around the corner, I'd be getting my hunts in on him hard anyways. He's likely going to start roaming and might have a rut area a mile or 2 away where he goes for several days and who knows what happens.


Good luck! Hope my rambling makes some sense and helps!
Rich M
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Re: Swirling thermals in farm ditch

Unread postby Rich M » Thu Oct 20, 2022 11:46 pm

I hunted an ag area in SC. There was a ditch and it was a thermal break. Sit on one side and the animals couldn't smell you on the other side kind of thing.

Figure the air flow out and you're golden. You can sit on the fringes and see where he comes and goes - then hunt those areas?


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