Big Woods Public Input

[KYBowhunter89]

I just want to start off by saying hello to everyone on this forum. My name is Mark, I'm 21 years old and live in western Kentucky, been bowhunting on my own since I was 12. I decided to join after ordering the Marsh and Hill Country DVD's. Thanks to Zap for the suggestion. They have opened my eyes to a new way of hunting my neck of the woods.

The Hill Country dvd really applies to the land I plan on hunting this year. My hill country is a public property, big woods (15,000 acres). No agriculture on the property with very little surrounding farm land. Main sources of forage would be various Oak trees and browse from cut-over. It is mainly forested, with a logging project that has been under way for about 5 years. Selective cut on pines only. This is a big piece of property, with many ridges and each ridge has multiple creeks and plenty of oaks so food and water is not concentrated. There are just so many points at the 1/3 elevation it is kind of mind boggling to decide where to start looking for bedding areas and with it being almost Summer, it's not the best time to go looking. Taking inventory is also not an option due to no shining laws in KY as well as the lack of open areas. We also under went an Ice Storm of 2009 which devastated most of the forest. All of the access roads have been cleared but some parts of the woods have obstacles that are not negotiable under the demands of hunting conditions.

I hunted this property last season using mainly rut tactics all season (ditch crossings, cut-over edges, ridgetops and saddles)but saw no bucks of any size and very few does. There have been some monsters killed here though. It is bowhunting only with a 15'' spread limit with a 2 day quota gun hunt. There is not a lot of pressure on this property though.

Does anyone have a suggestion of a website I could use to post a topo/aerial for some pointers in the right direction?

[dan]

Welcome to the BEAST Mark, any friend of Zap's is a friend of mine!
I am not real good at the computer questions, but would be glad to help you with the hunting ones. I too have been having issues sending images from aerial and topo sites to my computer or sites like Photo-bucket. But there are plenty of people on this site who are doing it so maybe someone can post a "step by step"
Having to many points to choose from is a good problem to have... I would hunt a new spot almost every day. You would certainly have much better results if you had winter/spring scouted the property, specifically those bedding points.
However, you can slip in close to the points during season and set up on the trail that will follow the elevation right where the ridge starts to drop(at the thermal tunnel elevation). It will be the same elevation the buck is bedding at.
Set up should be 100 to 200 yards from the point. You will have to guess which way he will head based on where you think he will feed or go to water ( if its hot and dry )
Bucks tend to go one of three directions, follow the same elevation to the left, follow it to the right, or drop strait down. They don't always follow that rule, but do it enough to have some success keeping that in mind while setting up. Even the ones that drop, often 1st stage by wandering around at the thermal tunnel elevation till the thermal wind changes from up hill to down hill ( about 30 or 40 minutes before last light ) So I would opt for the side hills.
I look forward to seeing your maps... Remember to block out longitude/latitude and other print that tells others where your hunting

[KYBowhunter89]

Thanks for the help Dan, the thermal tunnel makes so much sense to me now after watching the DVD. Would you or anyone else have any tips on access to these stands which would be 100-200 yards from a point? I found one bed during turkey season in an area I had scouted a couple times prior to. It's on a small point of a small ridge, there is another be on the other side of the saddle on a different ridge. The two beds are withing 40 yards of each other and I am guessing they are beds for different winds. The only access to this area is either through the woods on the same ridge or up a creek. The creek makes more sense but I would be caugh by the deer if I tried to come up the creek because both beds are overlooking the creek. It's pretty deep off any access roads so I would assume a mature buck is using the bed. There is a trail up above the creek with rubs along it headed to the bedding area with a ditch crossing on a secondary feeder-creek as well. That trail is about 300 yards from the bed. Would this be a good spot or would the chance of a sighting of the buck in daylight be too low to risk tainting the area?

Dan if you have time I could PM you a link of the area Topo/Aerial/Terrain maps if you don't mind.

[dan]

Would you or anyone else have any tips on access to these stands which would be 100-200 yards from a point?

Accessing from below (up the creek) is pretty risky. More than likely your thermal wind will be drifting up those hills right to the beds. Set ups or access from below are very hard to pull off. ,Most of the ones I have pulled off successfully have been by slipping in close and waiting till the last hour and as soon as the thermal wind changes to down hill slipping in... But even then, they generally have a great view below them and are very alert as sunset approaches. My approach is generally from above or on the side hill taking into account the wind direction, thermal wind, and how that thermal wind will change the last hour.

[DEERSLAYER]

Welcome to the Beast! At 21 years old I think you have just made the best move of your hunting future. You have the right videos and the right forum. Trust me when I say your hunting future is looking very bright!

I know where you are talking about. I hunt down there too. Don't expect to see many deer over there because there are only about 9 deer per square mile. As you stated, there are some very nice bucks taken out of there. It is not the best place to kill a book buck in KY on public land, but it definitely has some monsters that call it home.

[Autumn Ninja]

I know where you are hunting....tell me where your hunting at on this 15,000 acres and I will send you a map.

P.S. Time to straighten up DEERSLAYER....The Autumn Ninja is in the house, I have to keep a close eye on you..LOL!!!

[Autumn Ninja]

This is a general idea of bedding (orange) and where to set up (blue)...the time of year, time of day, food, does, pressure and most importantly, the wind will determine your exact spot for the day.

[DEERSLAYER]

It's about time you posted on here Autumn Ninja. I see you went from using dots for pointing out beds and stand "spots" to using lines. I wonder who's fault that is? My bad. I think you should go back to the dots for illustration purposes. I know, I know...

[dan]

Welcome to the BEAST Ninja... Your bedding looks pretty accurate but I personally would not set up in the valleys below the bedding as the thermals would likely tip the bucks off and the beds are generally placed so they can see the valley floor.

[Autumn Ninja]

Thanks Dan, looks like a nice sight.

[publiclandhunter]

Some folks love the Hill Country for hunting....I have never had much success and have always stuck to the thickets/swamps. Looks very challenging. Good luck on that one!

PLH