Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

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<DK>
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:28 am

bwwma wrote:Dark knight what route did you take to access those stands? That's always something I'm curious about cause it's hard for me to not bump deer in hill country


Aw man... you couldnt ask about the weird holes and spots on my buck? :lol:

I can say they werent the best planned routes... access is a never ending learning curve for me. Bumping deer is just part of it. Sometimes I plan to bump does or young bucks and sometimes its a complete surprise. In fact, my sept I kicked up on my way in, pushed him back and he still came out, going where he wanted to go. :think:

All we can do is put in the ground work to figure out a specific spot the best we can. One thing I can say about access or setups is that im always concentrating on WHEN is the right time to hunt a spot - evening or morning. Most bedding situations id like to plan for a evening sit and use mornings for times thats not possible. The more I apply these tactics and more deer I bump - it seems doesnt matter as much as I originally thought. In can actually work in our favor.

Another thing I try to do w a tough spot is draw on screen shot over and over again until I find a route that will work in my favor. I try to utilize creeks/cuts/draws/ditches as much as possible.


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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby bwwma » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:03 pm

Yea, access is a booger. I try to map mine out also. It's hard for me to tell if they're going to drop down to feed in the evenings or browse up to the ridge top cause there are acorns on the tops and the bottoms. I had to ruin some of a ridge to get setup to the buck I killed last year.
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby RidgeGhost » Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:03 pm

Thanks for updating the pics dk. These are something I have a lot to learn about.

Not sure how you set up in the bottom without getting busted. Do you try to set up on one of the points up high enough that you get some consistent winds or are you setting up lower into the hub?
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Nov 22, 2017 2:38 pm

bwwma wrote:Yea, access is a booger. I try to map mine out also. It's hard for me to tell if they're going to drop down to feed in the evenings or browse up to the ridge top cause there are acorns on the tops and the bottoms. I had to ruin some of a ridge to get setup to the buck I killed last year.


W/o getting this thread too far off subject, you're talking about some of the tougher parts of it. Hill country acorn bucks are tough! You mentioned a kill and also considering different directions of travel for different reasons so id expect to see you continue and find that success. I mentioned earlier about when to attack (am/pm), that plays into seasonal timing and access as well. Which, im learning as I go. Access varies tho... A good rule for that (not everyone agrees) is use tops in the afternoons / bottoms in the mornings. I think my sept mistake is a good example of that. Basically the best thing a guy can do is the complete the opposite what others on the property are doing. Although there is a fine line between being crafty and killing yourself or muddying up a spot. How often a spot is intended to be hunted should be considered as well.

My first map shot used my only option for access and that was a old road that ran through the property. From the SW to the top X. That was a morning hunt (not a good access example). The deer was booking it so he didnt notice crossing my trail I suppose. The other X in the pic was a PM hunt.

Second map is my Sept adventure. Made the mistake of changing the plan, walking the bottom creek from E-W. He was utilizing a early season bed for cool temps, water and acorns close by. If I would have went w the original plan to walk the center ridge finger from E-W and hunted at the saddle - still would have had a chance no mayter which bed he was in. It just worked out bc he was stubborn. That top of the ridge in the middle was a destination acorn spot this season. There were acorns closer to access/pressure but none of the deer wanted anything to do w that. Idk if it produced this year...

The last map shot varies every outing. Mainly using the field or the creek bottom for access.

With all that said a guy has to take his chances! Jumping deer means im in the game and moving forward that knowledge is always there to be successful next time. The fun part about access routes is being creative. Creative doesnt always meam easy. Some guys dont like 90* angle routes, more of a diagonal. Everything is based off of scouting intel.

Most thermal hub situations, I try morning hunts to get a sense of deer movement and wind conditions. Its tough to "get in clean" for PM sits and scent control can be a nightmare. Just gotta play w it and figure out what works or what dont work. In a hub, it doesnt take long dor the wind to get funky! Learning the thermals and utilizing them on lower wind days is something iv learned to like. Also for high wind days, I try to consider a funneling or vaccum effect so it moves out of the valley. For example: The 3rd pic w no markings - high winds - id consider a Northerly wind so maybe it will blow towards the road.

As far as which direction they travel...thats the ultimate question! Generally, I just try to setup as close as possible - on his same elevation. Obviously that doesnt always work out its just a good rule. Early season I consider summer bedding, secluded water & acorns on the tops. Once the temps start dropping the acorns in the bottoms should start dropping.

One really cool observation iv personally seen in thermal hubs (specifically the first and last maps) is mature bucks checking the closest mature doe - early Oct and midday.
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby bwwma » Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:09 pm

Good info! I didn't mean to get off topic, those dern hubs can be tricky to access.
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby AHB2017 » Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:11 pm

Hey folks, this thread is great! Using this in combination with the topo terms and descriptions thread and the HC bedding DVDs, I've learned more in the last 24 hours than my entire 13 years out hunting, at least it feels like. Since I'm basically a rookie at this, take this post for what you will, but just my 2 cents.
So when I think of thermal hubs and converging ridges, I almost look at them as opposites. Thermal hubs is an area where you have 2 or more valleys/hollow/ravines (whatever your terminology) converging down into a small area at the valley floor, which would provide deer an excellent opportunity to use their noses to determine what is going on in all those areas above. This of course is once the thermal reverse has happened. I am also thinking that the thermal drop into this hub can occur at different times depending on the direction the slope faces (I would imagine eastern facing valleys would have thermals dropping much earlier than west and south facing valleys, just because the sun leaves them earlier). Knowing that these areas can be a nightmare to hunt due to these thermals and wind, this might provide an opportunity for an ambush - I think Dan spoke of this in the HC Bedding DVD. I'll do my best to be as clear as possible since I don't have a map or an example to show.

Say you have an East facing valley that leads down into a thermal hub. You have a west wind, so you would think a buck would be bedded on one the spurs that is making this hollow, peering down into the bottom, collecting thermals from everythign below him. Since its east facing, especially if it is rather steep, the sun will set behind this hilltop much earlier than the other areas, allowing for the cooling air to start the thermal switch. The buck is confident there is nothing below him because he's been smelling that all day. At this point, if you can hug the edge/transition on the valley floor, you may be able to make a frantic ambush in and catch the buck coming down out of his bed into the bottom and have no idea you are there. By hugging the east side, you may also be able to avoid letting any other deer know you have entered the area, even if they are bedded on the other spurs/valleys that are creating the hub. This is speculation here, but I think it's a fair assumption, because since the area you are closest is now experiencing falling thermals, I think you may be able to avoid the other areas where the thermals are still rising. The benefit here, if this is possible, is not only would you have a great chance at killing a buck bedded on that eastern slope, you may be able to catch any other bucks coming from the other valleys, if for some reason they would happen to be bedded elsewhere. Again, the 2nd part of this scenario is speculation only, and would be a secondary target, as you would be set up on the best and most likely buck bed. So that's that for thermal hubs, but switching over to converging ridge, which as I mentioned before, I feel you could treat as an exact opposite.

This time instead of valleys meeting in one area like we saw with the thermal hubs, you would have ridges or spurs all meeting close to one area. Spokes on a wheel seems to be one of the best analogies for this that I've heard. Now we talked about falling thermals for hubs, but I feel converging ridges would be a prime area for rising thermals, esp during the pre-rut for cruising bucks. It seems to me that a buck would be able to stay in that top 1/3 area of the elevation at a spot with converging ridges, and be able to smell any and everything going on in those hollows that are below him, simply by subtly moving around. This would be a morning setup I would imagine, and target the rising thermals that occur when the sun comes up. If there happened to be a hot doe anywhere on those spurs or hollows, rising thermals would bring that smell to him as he is cruising the wind tunnel. I feel like this would be a much better area to target compared to thermal hubs, simply because of access and more consistent with winds since it is up higher. But again, I would feel doing this would be primarily a pre-rut/cruising stand location, so it limits the time of year you would focus here.
I'm sure this information is in several other places here on the beast, and documented by hunters much more experienced and successful than I, and if I happen to be incorrect, someone please enlighten me, but knowing what I know about thermals and buck activity at given times of the year, it just makes sense. I am fairly new here, so I am still navigating around working my way through the best tactical threads now. Since most of my vacation will be during the first few weeks of November, I need to start focusing on rut-related information here on the beast, which would help me better understand a mature bucks movement during this time of year, esp in hill country.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to these threads, the information is exceptional!
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Re: Thermal Hubs/Converging Ridges

Unread postby brkissl82 » Tue Nov 14, 2023 1:45 pm

Im thinking about giving these thermal hubs a look. I know wind is tough down low in hill but the amount of hunters im seeing on the top third leeward side is gettinf insane


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