Topographical terms and descriptions

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BassBoysLLP
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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:17 am

woody-san wrote:Before I say anything else, this is a gem of a thread! This sent me on a topo/aerial photo bender, all week!

Question:

Do you guys think that bucks will do, for lack of a better term, "hub hopping"? What I mean is, say you have a series of these high crow's feet between where a buck beds and a bean field 1 mile away. Looking at some topos showing this sort of set up, I'm thinking a buck could hang out in a thermal hub then take the shortest/easiest route up and out of that hub and into the next one. From a buck's perspective, it seems like they could hop, hub to hub, until they reach food, using the falling evening thermals in each hub to get scent info. Seems it could work for the buck, regardless of prevailing wind direction.


Yes! I've personally documented it with trail cameras! Prevailing wind direction is still important, but this definitely happens in the whitetail woods.

You typically won't observe the behavior in the evening. Legal shooting light will come to an end before the buck enters the next hub. However, cool, wet, calm mornings are a golden opportunity to take advantage of this movement. The more wetness, the more prolonged the movement. Also the cool side of the ridge tends to have longer thermal activity too.

Place your stand high just off one of the points that divides the hub taking advantage of any funnel, bench, etc. (even if subtle).

Keep in mind you will want to move once the sun heats everything up or the wind picks up. Typically, on these types of mornings I'll set up as I've stated above for the first couple of hours. Then (if necessary) move to the leeward size to take advantage of the mid-day cruisers. If you are hunting relatively skinny ridges, the last hour is golden in a falling thermal set on the cool side of the ridge as you will have a rising thermal on the warm side of the ridge and falling thermal on the cool side (i.e. buck can smell entire other side of ridge from the cool side).


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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby woody-san » Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:54 am

BassBoysLLP wrote:Yes! I've personally documented it with trail cameras! Prevailing wind direction is still important, but this definitely happens in the whitetail woods.

You typically won't observe the behavior in the evening. Legal shooting light will come to an end before the buck enters the next hub. However, cool, wet, calm mornings are a golden opportunity to take advantage of this movement. The more wetness, the more prolonged the movement. Also the cool side of the ridge tends to have longer thermal activity too.

Place your stand high just off one of the points that divides the hub taking advantage of any funnel, bench, etc. (even if subtle).

Keep in mind you will want to move once the sun heats everything up or the wind picks up. Typically, on these types of mornings I'll set up as I've stated above for the first couple of hours. Then (if necessary) move to the leeward size to take advantage of the mid-day cruisers. If you are hunting relatively skinny ridges, the last hour is golden in a falling thermal set on the cool side of the ridge as you will have a rising thermal on the warm side of the ridge and falling thermal on the cool side (i.e. buck can smell entire other side of ridge from the cool side).


Glad you've seen this happen and thank you for the tips!

Interesting thoughts on the AM hunts. A big thank you for pointing out the advantages for AM setups as I was focusing more on the evening. It sounds like, if I can find the trail(s) that connects the hub closest to his bed to the next hub over, and pick out funnels, as you mentioned, that could make for some pretty high odds set ups. Why do you suppose the calm, cool, wet mornings are best for movement? Increased thermal activity due to a cooler, wet ground?
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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:38 am

It is difficult to hunt in the evening without getting busted. The buck will drop low and wait.

Wet ground has siginificantly more thermal energy than dry ground. Even a heavy dew helps, but saturated ground is great. The thermal activity will be stronger, longer, and more consistent than dry, warm mornings with a wind.

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Wed Mar 18, 2015 12:57 pm

I know this is a old thread but wow I had not read this one before it's fantastic great info guys.

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Ryan » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:47 am

Ninja, what do you think about the area I marked in Orange on your map, is that somewhere u would be interested in scouting Image

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby DaHunter » Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:55 am

Bumping this great thread...

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby checkerfred » Sat Jan 02, 2016 3:02 pm

I'm totally missing why the yellow areas would be the best mature buck bedding. I know autumn ninja marked the green area as falling thermals but why not any of the other draws?

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Thu Feb 25, 2016 11:52 pm

BUMP

how could I correlate this information to a lesser steep terrain? Would I look at it the same way?

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Feb 26, 2016 2:57 pm

This thread gives me ideas for a bunch of spots to check this weekend. Great thread. Thanks. 8-)

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Southern Man » Sat Feb 27, 2016 12:58 am

Outdoor814 wrote:how could I correlate this information to a lesser steep terrain? Would I look at it the same way?



Yes, I think so.

Earlier in this thread I posted that I didn't use to think I hunted hill country because the hills here are not tall, steep, hill country. The elevation changes are only 200 - 300 feet. But from what I've seen over the years at LBL, the basics hold true. Thermals are still present, the wind tunnel may be vary but it is still there. Bedding corelates with thermals, points, etc, and the pinch points, funnels still exist. Deer use the terrain to their advantage. Remember, these are the basics, boots on the ground to learn how deer use your area or the hills you have is the way to understanding. Learning will lead to basic patterns preached here. Thickness of cover is one of the major keys here. Couple that with hilly terrain and you're right in the middle of it.
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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Dewey » Sun Oct 16, 2016 3:51 pm

Bump

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Oct 27, 2016 5:41 am

The hub picture for those that are interested.

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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby creepingdeth » Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:36 pm

military crest anyone???
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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Hooks1 » Tue Dec 06, 2016 5:10 pm

creepingdeth wrote:military crest anyone???



If you are asking for for a clarification of the term, this is how I would describe it. The military crest would be an area below the crest of a hill or ridge from where you can see the bottom of the slope of the hill or ridge.
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Re: Topographical terms and descriptions

Unread postby Blue Ridge » Sat Feb 04, 2017 6:27 am

Following up on Hooks1 definition and trying to keep this thread going, here's a pic (from wiki) to go along with the military crest definition. Along with some wiki insight.

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Defilade - protect (a position, vehicle, or troops) against enemy observation or gunfire.

Going off of the topo that has been used as an illustration I marked two spots (yellow circles) (red line = slope) that I would consider pretty much military crests

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It's cool to think about a deer's instinct for survival when reading the Wiki definition. You see the two clear advantages of a buck choosing the military crest: 1) Increased visibility / maximum observation and 2) Can't be skylined.

Wiki: "An area on the forward or reverse slope of a hill or ridge just below the topographical crest from which maximum observation and direct fire covering the slope down to the base of the hill or ridge can be obtained."[1]

The military crest is used in maneuvering along the side of a hill or ridge to provide the maneuvering force maximum visibility of the terrain below and minimize their own visibility by not being silhouetted against the sky, as it would be at the actual or topographical crest of the hill.


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