Scouting this spot this weekend.....

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virginiashadow
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Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby virginiashadow » Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:23 am

I have looked at this spot since last fall via topo maps. I just have not had a chance to scout it until this weekend. I have a variety of reasons why I would like to potentially hunt this spot. It looks like a great spot for a buck or two to hole up. It looks like a buck could quickly adjust his bedding based on the wind. The aerials also show some pine thickets on some of the higher grounds to the east of the creek.

What clues would you seek out to give you the confidence to hunt this spot? If any of you have a chance to mark up a map I would appreciate it. If you just want to talk about generalities without a map as a reference, that would be just as good. Thanks guys.

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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:11 am

Wow, great looking property. Lots of potential bedding... I marked sdpots in red.
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I would look at the draws for saddles near the tops that funnel deer along the ridge... The ridge running North & South to the West of the creek looks like a great place to set up for cruising bucks.
For set ups outside the rut I would get as close as possible on the same elevation with wind direction in my favor and thinking about what the dropping late evening thermals will do when picking your trees...
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby virginiashadow » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:32 am

Thanks as usual Dan, you have been a big help to me several times. This area just stands out to me as a potential to get a good buck within range. I will check out those areas and report back what I find. This is all public land but I have seen the patterns of hunters around this area I cannot recall too much pressure on this area as it is far from where we check in and the terrain can twist people up in a hurry, plus most of the spots are the magical 600-800 meters from the road which takes out an additional percentage of lazy people. There is a 500-600 acre spot to the east of the road in the middle of the map that is bow only. There is also a spot to the northeast of the road that is a gun area but was barely hunted because of the ice storms last year. The roads were completely washed out and I want to take advantage of the survival rates of the bucks in these areas before others may potentially catch on.

I am going to bring my gps and mark up anything I find. I plan on scouting that entire rim where you marked. It is going to be a long day but the payoff may be huge come fall. THANK YOU.

Brett
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby dan » Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:40 am

No problem Brett... Your odds certainly go up when you hunt areas that have tons of bedding spots like that property. A property can only hold as many big bucks as it has big buck bedding areas. And that property seems to be stacked.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby virginiashadow » Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:38 am

I am trying not to overextend my hunting grounds. I am trying to concentrate on 4-5 spots throughout the military base that maximize my time afield (200-300 acre spots). The more I think about my time hunting on the base over the years the more I have realized I have always looked for the latest greatest spots, and have not tried to really figure areas out for what they are worth. Well I am trying to pick great spots and want to learn those spots thoroughly. I am really looking forward to this year as I have lost a lot of sweat scouting and shooting my new recurve.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:42 am

Hey BRETT!!!

I'm no mapping expert so you can take my advice with a grain of salt ;) ...

P.S. I'm not trying to step on any toes, just giving advice. This type of hunting has been common knowledge in certain circles for 30+ years where I hunt, but no one ever tried to coin it as "there way"...Just common since "mature buck" hunting.

This map shows the most likely bedding spots (red) based on staging areas (black), multiple staging areas, elevation to staging areas, point of view, wind and thermals.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:53 am

This map shows a bed (red) and what would making him bed there, leeward Wind and rising thermal (blue)...this is in the morning as the temp. starts to rise or stays steady through out the day.Image
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:27 am

This map shows how the thermals will start to drop into the staging areas as it starts to cool off. With a little practice you will know exactly where your buck will bed, travel and stage in relation to the point and staging area.

TIP= a buck will be on his feet 30-45 min. earlier on a east facing slop, It cools of sooner and the thermals start to drop well be for dark...the shadows are you best friend.

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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby dan » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:47 am

Im not really there with the bucks dropping with the thermals... I do see some bucks do this, but most of the hilly areas I hunt the bucks are up on there feet most of the time an hour or more before dark and they move and stage along the thermal tunnel elevation then just before dark either keep traveling along the elevation, drop, or rise...
Hunting a buck from below is a last resort to me... Cause until the last 30 to 45 minutes the thermals are traveling up hill right to his bed....
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby Autumn Ninja » Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:39 pm

Yes, LOL!! I never said to hunt the bottom....I sometimes take it for granted that we all already know how thermals work. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding, don't hunt up wind of a bedded buck, don't hunt below a buck with a rising thermal and don't hunt above a buck with a dropping thermal...lol.

Back to what I was saying, these staging areas are easy to find on a topo and will tell you exactly where a buck is bedding, traveling and at what elevation....now you set up accordingly.

In this illustration you would set up near the staging area to the east, or between this spot and his bed, along the elevation he is bedded at which is why he is bedded at that elevation to start with. ;) From that point (staging to the east) he can wind everything to the north, northeast, east, southeast and south from one spot with the falling thermals.

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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby dan » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:00 am

It will be interesting to see what Virginia finds while scouting in relation to our maps.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby virginiashadow » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:41 am

I plan on going in early Sunday morning to scout for many hours. I am looking forward to the process, just not the nats, mosquitoes, ticks, mud and muck, sweating 10 pounds......BUT you have to love it! I will mark up a detailed map showing what I discover. Mind you, what I discover might only be a fraction of what you vets could glean given the same time. I will bring in my camera and print outs of the maps you all provided.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby dan » Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:54 pm

Don't forget plenty of fluids... This heat can be brutal.
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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:14 pm

Autumn Ninja,
The way I look at this spot is the thermal currents would be flowing (evening) where the white arrows are pointing and they would be converging at a little flat which would make a perfect spot for a buck to stage. I call this a “thermal hub”. I assume that is why you chose it as a staging area? On an East wind this would make him want to bed on the point where you put the red dot. You marked the bed a little higher than I normally would, but I came up with the same spot because of the steep hill side on the north face of the point. So the most likely rout for him to take to the staging area would be the purple line. I would set up my stand at a location along that rout as close to his bed as possible with out being detected. He might throw a wrench into my plan by dropping down right away and walking up the hollow in order to scent check his staging area on the way however.

This is why I came up with the same bed (East wind) and staging area as you did for that spot.

Did you come up with the same spots for the same reasons?

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Re: Scouting this spot this weekend.....

Unread postby virginiashadow » Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:03 am

dan wrote:Don't forget plenty of fluids... This heat can be brutal.


Thanks Dan, will do. I plan on bringing a towel and jumping into the dang creek and cooling off if need be, that always seems to give me another couple of hours of energy. I will stay hydrated and will try to stay under the canopy of trees to avoid the sun.

Thanks guys for an intelligent thread with lots of great ideas and advice. I just re-read this thread this morning as I am getting my mind ready for tomorrow. I have high hopes for this spot for several reasons.


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