Scouting steep hill terrain

[DaveT1963]

Might be my favorite beast video yet. Can not stress enough how important it is to pay attention to human sign. Most videos overlook this and you did a great job showing it, and then making a final adjustments and a final determination. I think too many of us stay with a piece of ground far too often, ignoring the obvious, and thinking somehow we can locate something that is not there. Great video.

[tgreeno]

Nice Work Dan/Rick!

I really should checkout more hill country areas!

[Tim H]

Great video Dan and Rick!

[greenhorndave]

I need to check out hill country and that will help me make more efficient use of my time.

[greenhorndave]

Double clicked

[Tim H]

Dan did you pick this area out on the map based on how the ridge was facing? If I read the map correctly in the video, the ridge ran north to south and west was the leeward side?

[wjung]

Great video! I like how you used the topo to mark the routes and "evidence".

[dan]

Dan did you pick this area out on the map based on how the ridge was facing? If I read the map correctly in the video, the ridge ran north to south and west was the leeward side?

correct

[UncleBuck3268]

I was going to say the same as Putt. Great video once again. I really like how you are able to analyze all other human sign you encounter in the woods.

[rfickes87]

Dan did you pick this area out on the map based on how the ridge was facing? If I read the map correctly in the video, the ridge ran north to south and west was the leeward side?

correct

Good video Dan. That area looked exactly like the hills in PA and I have had the exact same struggles with adjacent private land hunters. Especially when they have no major obstacles (like a big elevation change). When they have that easy access like that it makes any public tough. If I'm cyber scouting a piece like that and see the private is so close by, I like to look for a major elevation change in between the private and what looks like good bedding... Those private guys probably won't walk down to the bottom of a steep valley and straight up the other side. One major elevation change can make all the difference in a piece of public like that. I had to laugh watching this because so many of my public setups look identical to this (leeward points, scouting just the top 3rd). You've taught me over the last few years to seek out spots just like that. If that area didn't have the private guys nearby and the top was logged out then that would have been a slam dunk area. But I really liked how the topography played out on your map, and I would have wanted to check it on foot too. This video and your last one about rubs and scouting were both excellent, thanks. Felt like I was right there with you guys.

[Lockdown]

Excellent video Dan and Rick i agree that spot would take a good bit of time and effort to figure out with all that pressure. If that trail cam and tower blind weren’t there, those points would be money in the bank for sure.

At 18:46 you point out that particular point is the only spot with cedars on it. I’ve mentioned this many times on the forum, but often the best spot is the “something different” on the property. To me that means structure and transition and we all know how deer relate to both of those.

A good example from my own scouting is the berm I shot the 162” off of in 2016. That property was 20 or so acres of nothing but a mixture of cattails, shatter cane, canary grass and brome grass. There is ample bedding and transitions ALL OVER. But the berm was the ONE thing on that property that was different. The buck was bedded on the berm/cattail transition and I shot him when he got out of his bed and walked on top of it.

Again, excellent video. The last two vids have been top notch!

[Jackson Marsh]

That was a good one

[Coalcracker]

Very informative video!

Dan,
You showed potential stand locations late in the video. Why the set up off wind to either side of the point and not just out of view below the bedding? I'm curious because of watching another scouting video you did in which your chosen set up was below the point, just out of view from bedding. Was this more of a cruising elevation, food related or buck sign related choice?

[dan]

Very informative video!

Dan,
You showed potential stand locations late in the video. Why the set up off wind to either side of the point and not just out of view below the bedding? I'm curious because of watching another scouting video you did in which your chosen set up was below the point, just out of view from bedding. Was this more of a cruising elevation, food related or buck sign related choice?

It was both sign related, and the fact that down hill there was nothing attractive and it just dropped to houses and a highway... But generally Im looking for sign coming out of the beds.

[Elite]

Very informative video!

Dan,
You showed potential stand locations late in the video. Why the set up off wind to either side of the point and not just out of view below the bedding? I'm curious because of watching another scouting video you did in which your chosen set up was below the point, just out of view from bedding. Was this more of a cruising elevation, food related or buck sign related choice?

It was both sign related, and the fact that down hill there was nothing attractive and it just dropped to houses and a highway... But generally Im looking for sign coming out of the beds.

Dan,

So I understand, that top 1/3 elevation is where they will bed or travel? The rub line would be the wind tunnel?