The New Dynamic !!

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DEERSLAYER
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Re: Big Woods input

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:16 pm

DEERSLAYER wrote:I figured that spot was in Canada because of the lack of map quality.

The spot you mentioned down by the lake sounds good and I like where Dan put his orange dot, but I also think that gap just north of G3's red line on top might be good for the rut. I drew some lines to show where I would expect some travel to occur and circled what should be a hub of activity. Just ENE of the oaks might be worth considering too...

I only have a couple minutes and I have to jump right back off here, but I had to correct a mistake I made. I don't know why I put down ENE, but I meant WNW. :? I will try to get back to this thread later, but off the top of my head I don't see a reason to change any of the picks mentioned above because the "roadway" will also be a predator magnet. I do think it adds more potential spots (crossings) to set up on though. Especially for bow hunting.


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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby dan » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:13 am

Your "roadway" enhances my choice.... I would expect the crossing at the thermal tunnel to be quite the spot during the rut..
Unless I missed something, I don't think you told us access direction? Are you coming from the south? North? multiple directions? My access rought would be determined by how I can access this area.
I would not walk up the river, or river bed, nor would I walk along the thermal tunnel. I would try to come in from an area that would cross as few of the bucks possible trails as possible.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:46 am

dan wrote:Your "roadway" enhances my choice.... I would expect the crossing at the thermal tunnel to be quite the spot during the rut..
Unless I missed something, I don't think you told us access direction? Are you coming from the south? North? multiple directions? My access rought would be determined by how I can access this area.
I would not walk up the river, or river bed, nor would I walk along the thermal tunnel. I would try to come in from an area that would cross as few of the bucks possible trails as possible.


Access is from the southeast. The south face of the bluff is vertical rock and I do not have climbing gear.

Thanks for the input, Dan.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby dan » Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:22 am

Access is from the southeast. The south face of the bluff is vertical rock and I do not have climbing gear.

Thanks for the input, Dan.


Sounds like you have no choice but to access up the creek/road?
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:13 am

dan wrote:
Access is from the southeast. The south face of the bluff is vertical rock and I do not have climbing gear.

Thanks for the input, Dan.


Sounds like you have no choice but to access up the creek/road?


Unfortunately it appears that way. There is one spot on the southeast corner of the bluff that I can scale to the top with just an average risk of death... a few does bed there about 50 feet above the basin- I really didn't want to go that route.
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Re: Big Woods input

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:18 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:
DEERSLAYER wrote:I figured that spot was in Canada because of the lack of map quality.

The spot you mentioned down by the lake sounds good and I like where Dan put his orange dot, but I also think that gap just north of G3's red line on top might be good for the rut. I drew some lines to show where I would expect some travel to occur and circled what should be a hub of activity. Just ENE of the oaks might be worth considering too...

I only have a couple minutes and I have to jump right back off here, but I had to correct a mistake I made. I don't know why I put down ENE, but I meant WNW. :? I will try to get back to this thread later, but off the top of my head I don't see a reason to change any of the picks mentioned above because the "roadway" will also be a predator magnet. I do think it adds more potential spots (crossings) to set up on though. Especially for bow hunting.


right on, Lance- positioning for bow hunting is critical, especially in big country like this. Watching a giant walk away from you that you cannot launch an arrow at is both mystical and heart wrenching... thankful to have had the experience, but disappointed that your positioning didn't allow closure of the end-game.

Regarding predators, they don't appear to slow these bucks down from using ma-nature's roadway at all. I believe the deer population is too low- it may be a week during the rut before a big fella crosses over the bluff. The wolves and other preadators can't afford to wait that long for an attempt that will likely fail in the first place when it comes to a healthy, mature buck... thus they continue running their cruise trails looking for vulnerable or wounded prey. It does appear that this crossing is used as "part" of their cruise trail on occasion.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby magicman54494 » Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:52 am

your new information really doesn't change things in my eyes. if anything it's helping the hunter.

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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby KLEMZ » Sat Mar 23, 2013 9:23 am

In a wilderness setting, during the rut, I think you have a better chance to get within bow range of a big buck if you hunt the edge of an ACTIVE doe bedding area, rather than a terrain cruizing funnel. There are a ton of edges that buck can choose to use but the doe bedding area is more of a destination point. I would say this is especially true in a low population situation. This has been my experience.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Mar 23, 2013 12:51 pm

magicman54494 wrote:your new information really doesn't change things in my eyes. if anything it's helping the hunter.

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It definitely is helping the hunter. I've located doe family bedding areas on the bluff and have familiarized myself with parts of their bed to feed patterns in this area. Thanks Magic.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Mar 23, 2013 1:03 pm

KLEMZ wrote:In a wilderness setting, during the rut, I think you have a better chance to get within bow range of a big buck if you hunt the edge of an ACTIVE doe bedding area, rather than a terrain cruizing funnel. There are a ton of edges that buck can choose to use but the doe bedding area is more of a destination point. I would say this is especially true in a low population situation. This has been my experience.


This is an excellent point- I have located doe family bedding areas during the rut on both the East and West side of the bluff. Here is yet another unusual dynamic of this topography. The doe's are bedding only 70 - 100 feet above the basin floor on the side of the bluff. The bedding areas are located where the deer can move upward if they have to, whereas the bluff is so steep in many areas a Rocky Mountain bighorn is about the only thing that could get up it. The does approach these beds from below, and move up to the bedding area. The most efficient way for the bucks to monitor the doe beds is to cruise along the base of the bluff, scent checking the doe runs leading up to the doe bedding areas. This run that travels along the base of the bluff has buck rubs every time it crosses one of the doe trails that lead up to the doe bedding area. This particular trail lends itself well to bowhunting. The doe areas are quite a ways apart.

here is a picture of a "King of the North" buck track on the run that travels along the base of the bluff, checking the doe runs leading up to the doe bedding areas- I messed up as my hand is well over a foot above the forest floor when I took the picture- the track is a five-finger wide, walking track...

Image


As bucks cross from one side of the bluff to the other to monitor doe bedding areas, they take the easiest route- the road created by nature.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:02 pm

For some reason I was under the impression there was a lot of predator sign in the roadway. Not sure why I thought that, but I still think the roadway doesn't change the starting points when scouting. I do think that it will better define the spots to set up on. Hence my bow hunting comment. I think a hard elevated edge like that will really help narrow down their travels, add some good options and create more dead zones that are easier to recognize so you can eliminate wasting boot leather time. It should be a real blessing in a low deer density area. I could see a mature buck cruising the top of that hard edge checking trails and looking down into the roadway. If so you could be set up on him in a tree growing from the base of the roadway so you wouldn't have to cross his trail.

If that is a deer track and not a moose then that is a real Hoss. :shock: I'm looking forward to your reports this fall. Hopefully with kill pics. :D
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:29 am

Thanks for the input Lance! That area sure has a lot of variables and challenges- that's what I like about it.

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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:45 pm

I wanted to put these pics up because it demonstrates that even in hill or bluff country, aerial photo's can make a difference in your evaluation of potential hunting locations. The colors vividly demonstrate the changes in habitat.

The red lines are the edges of the highway that mother nature created. It starts at the base of the bluff, rises up over 350 feet to the top, and proceeds down the back side all the way to the bottom. Dan's spot he marked is the orange circle whereas the blue circle is the natural spring at the very top of the bluff.

Image

Here is a clean view of the highway without any of my additions- it kind of looks like a rainbow crossing this bluff and it really stands out. The topo of this area fails miserably in showing this amazing land feature, perhaps better topo's of the area will exist that give a hint as to this structure someday.

Image

Here's what this wilderness bluff country looks like with feet on the ground;

Image
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:31 pm

If I seen that photo without a topo I would be drawn to, but when I got there I would have been surprised by what I found for sure. It looks like some big country out there. Very nice and I would imagine exciting to hunt knowing that at any moment a true monarch could walk by.
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Re: The New Dynamic !!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Apr 14, 2013 1:49 am

DEERSLAYER wrote:If I seen that photo without a topo I would be drawn to, but when I got there I would have been surprised by what I found for sure. It looks like some big country out there. Very nice and I would imagine exciting to hunt knowing that at any moment a true monarch could walk by.


After speaking with Canadian biologists, this is the northern edge of the whitetail's range. Just north of these photo's the whitetail completely disappears, as the habitat is too harsh for their survival. The deer in my area here are the tallest, longest and heaviest- on average, of any deer in North America. In this particular area the racks have tremendous mass but shorter tines. I don't get hung up on antlers, these deer are the biggest and strongest on the planet. One look at a 400 pound, pure muscle giant had my tongue dragging and my brain nearing a seizure. A 300 pound fat-boy, midwest booner would run like a scared rabbit as one of these bucks approached on the horizon... until you've seen one of these wilderness giants, you probably won't be able to relate.

They are the true, "King of the North."


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