Public Land discussion

[RidgeReaper]

So, I was wondering what kind of thoughts you guys have as far as how you approach public. It's talked about a good bit here obviously but not sure I've found what I'm looking for. So where I'm at...it's almost all hill country but the hills are just long, long ridge backs that seem to run forever. Looking on topos you just don't have much obvious bedding that jumps out. I've kinda found that it's best to just run the crest post season and scout it all. Now, I've recently found a spot that looks great about 45min from home. It's literally a 2mi hike to get to it. Heavy trail goes up to within .25mi so thats nice. It appears to be a cedar/pine swamp area on top of a ridge. I'd like to know...how would you guys best approach mature hardwoods ridge backs like these? I'm just not sure if going as deep as possible is better or what. Very hard to say where the most pressure is because the game commission tries hard to make access a breeze. I just don't know if foot scouting is my only option or if there are guys here facing this type of situation that have an easier time finding stuff on topos with this terrain.

[elk yinzer]

Sounds like the same kind of mountains I hunt. I too have a hard time finding consistent bedding on Central PA's Appalachian sandstone ridges. Even on the ones without easy access the bucks are extremely nomadic in their bedding habits, from my observations. My recipe for success has been to find areas where there is a lot of rut sign, guess where the does are bedding from that, and spend a lot of time sitting in trees from October 25 until end of season. As far as topos, I prefer Southerly slopes that aren't too rocky, that's about all I can ever tell without getting boots on the ground.

[HBright78]

So, I was wondering what kind of thoughts you guys have as far as how you approach public. It's talked about a good bit here obviously but not sure I've found what I'm looking for. So where I'm at...it's almost all hill country but the hills are just long, long ridge backs that seem to run forever. Looking on topos you just don't have much obvious bedding that jumps out. I've kinda found that it's best to just run the crest post season and scout it all. Now, I've recently found a spot that looks great about 45min from home. It's literally a 2mi hike to get to it. Heavy trail goes up to within .25mi so thats nice. It appears to be a cedar/pine swamp area on top of a ridge. I'd like to know...how would you guys best approach mature hardwoods ridge backs like these? I'm just not sure if going as deep as possible is better or what. Very hard to say where the most pressure is because the game commission tries hard to make access a breeze. I just don't know if foot scouting is my only option or if there are guys here facing this type of situation that have an easier time finding stuff on topos with this terrain.

It sounds like you have found a decent transition area which can be some of the most effective in big timber. ANy type of change offers safety for a buck to bed along that transition. It is unlikely through that you are seeing a swamp on top of a ridge.

[Cuzzinfish]

So, I was wondering what kind of thoughts you guys have as far as how you approach public. It's talked about a good bit here obviously but not sure I've found what I'm looking for. So where I'm at...it's almost all hill country but the hills are just long, long ridge backs that seem to run forever. Looking on topos you just don't have much obvious bedding that jumps out. I've kinda found that it's best to just run the crest post season and scout it all. Now, I've recently found a spot that looks great about 45min from home. It's literally a 2mi hike to get to it. Heavy trail goes up to within .25mi so thats nice. It appears to be a cedar/pine swamp area on top of a ridge. I'd like to know...how would you guys best approach mature hardwoods ridge backs like these? I'm just not sure if going as deep as possible is better or what. Very hard to say where the most pressure is because the game commission tries hard to make access a breeze. I just don't know if foot scouting is my only option or if there are guys here facing this type of situation that have an easier time finding stuff on topos with this terrain.

I grew up hunting in West Virginia and it’s hilly/mountainous terrain. I always had the best luck trying to find transitions both in cover and terrain. One example was a long secondary point off a main ridge that had an oak flat between the tip of the point and a saddle in the main ridge. It was a fantastic rut/chase spot. Another example was the head of a ditch that had evergreens on one side and oaks and hickories on the other. The head of the ditch funneled the deer a bit and it was a cover transition. It actually turned out to be a great early season mid-morning and mid-afternoon spot for does because they would get up and feed in the hardwoods for 20-30 minutes at a time. I didn’t fully appreciate all that I was seeing back then, but the beast and other resources like Midwest Whitetail have helped me evaluate it later.

If I’m reading your scenario correctly, you have cedars and pine swamps below the hardwood ridges in the bottoms? I would suspect the bucks could be bedding either just below the main ridge overlooking the swampy areas on the leeward side or bedding low in the swamps, depending on the cover, where the wind could swirl into them from nearly every direction. Also, lots of guys who hunt that area are probably walking the ridges like you have. My first thought is to scout the hardwood/cedar/swamp transitions rather than the ridge backs.

[headgear]

I think boots on the ground is critical in all situations, you need to confirm it before you hunt if you can. For every killer bed I find there are literally dozens of spots I check that are similar but just don't have what it takes to be buck beds. I don't have a lot of hill country experience but the bigwoods I hunt have some ridges and some knobs where I do find some hill bedding, a lot of times the elevations aren't that big so I guess think small, on a large ridge where everything is the same there could be a smaller hump that stands out just a little bit more from the surround terrain. I would also focus on thick area or blow downs, especially a mess of blow downs, the deer in general flock to them and if you can combine some good hill bedding with a mess of blow down I think you will find some mature buck sign. No doubt try some blind hunts or go in with the stand on your back but I can't stress enough that scouting and confirming bedding is #1.

[RidgeGhost]

I have a few ridges I hunt that are like this and I can't say that I've nailed down one single buck bed in those locations. Ive been able to find doe bedding and younger buck beds but nothing that I thought a mature buck would use. I have found decent sign along the ridges in pinch points like where a ditch or draw runs up the side of the ridge nearly to the top or near a blow down that forces deer movement. I'm reserving those spots for rut hunts and focusing on areas with better bedding points for early season hunts. I'm learning that sometimes an area just isn't conducive to killing a buck, no matter how badly you want to make it work. Sometimes better to keep moving and find the places you can actually get it done. May mean driving a ways though.

[wkpjs]

Without a doubt, the way to best accomplish this is with boots on the ground. I much like yourself am in the same position. I have seen guys reply about scouting to hunt the same night and I have had some luck with that. With the heat this year it has been a killer to pack in a couple of miles and then hang and hunt but I would say without a doubt you should go in prepared to hang and hunt if that is a realistic goal.

[Southern Man]

So, I was wondering what kind of thoughts you guys have as far as how you approach public. It's talked about a good bit here obviously but not sure I've found what I'm looking for. So where I'm at...it's almost all hill country but the hills are just long, long ridge backs that seem to run forever. Looking on topos you just don't have much obvious bedding that jumps out. I've kinda found that it's best to just run the crest post season and scout it all. Now, I've recently found a spot that looks great about 45min from home. It's literally a 2mi hike to get to it. Heavy trail goes up to within .25mi so thats nice. It appears to be a cedar/pine swamp area on top of a ridge. I'd like to know...how would you guys best approach mature hardwoods ridge backs like these? I'm just not sure if going as deep as possible is better or what. Very hard to say where the most pressure is because the game commission tries hard to make access a breeze. I just don't know if foot scouting is my only option or if there are guys here facing this type of situation that have an easier time finding stuff on topos with this terrain.

The cedar / Pine swamp on top of the ridge is throwing me But mature hardwoods ridge backs I can relate to. We have predominately oak / hickory woods and it's not patches, it's solid. Thousands of acres of it. Looking at a topo is frustrating most of the time because a lot of times nothing stands out. I try to look at access. How easy is it for a hunter to get there? Most of the time that weeds the majority of people out. Also, overlooked areas beside access. People have a tendency to walk right past things in order to get somewhere. Some of these are darn good spots. But it takes going in there most of the time to see if it's preferred by deer and there is decent enough activity to hunt.

As far as cyber scouting, I look at the topos and pick spots that might be worth the effort but again,it's going in there to see for sure. Also, on google earth there is a feature where you can look at a spot's areal history back to 1998 I believe. I have found spots that show where the woods changed for one reason or another, such as tornados, winds, logging, etc. and then looking at the topos, some real good spots show up. But again, that's not enough for me and it's boots on the ground in wintertime just to see. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. I haven't found an easier way.

Finding a bed somewhere most of the time isn't enough for me. I like to know where the deer are, why they are there, and when, not just the buck. It drives me nuts sometimes.

[RidgeReaper]

Yea I'm not sure its a swamp up there...I highly doubt it is. It seems more of a big wet area that a creek forms from. I'm in no way familiar with swamps and marshes because everything here is hill country that I hunt. The topo maps show a wetland type symbol on top of the ridge up there and satellite images show water up there.

[RidgeReaper]

Ive been successful at locating beds just by walking the military crest of the ridges. Usually every thick spot I find with rubs popping up around it as I go along is where I'm finding beds. Killed my buck last year from a good bed on a side like that. Just wondered if anyone had good techniques for topo scouting these because its just boring terrain. Satellite images are green blobs so they dont help either haha...thanks for the responses so far!

[Ragingun]

From your last post it seems you are more interested in acquiring tips for topo scouting in specific. In this case and directly related to your situation, if a ridge is running for miles and you're trying to pin point locations of interest prior to walking in order to specify a general area of interest, then look for transition lines along those ridges. It sounds like you may have found one with the landscape changing from hardwoods to what seems to be a possible watering hole on top of that ridge with a vegetation change. Other things to look at(more specifically on satellite imagery) are tree lines from open to dense forests, tree species change such as a line of pines adjoining hardwoods, knowing what trees/vegetation produces the desired food source in a given area is critical (that type of forage may be able to be seen from satellite imagery), water sources, etc.

In my experience just as important when hunting ridges is knowing the prevailing wind. The tendency is to bed on the down wind side of the ridge. This may rule out some ridges that run parallel to the prevailing wind. I hunt the second highest point in WI and the prevailing winds in the fall are NW. The deer are ALWAYS bedded on the SE side of that ridge.

Good luck!

[RidgeReaper]

From your last post it seems you are more interested in acquiring tips for topo scouting in specific. In this case and directly related to your situation, if a ridge is running for miles and you're trying to pin point locations of interest prior to walking in order to specify a general area of interest, then look for transition lines along those ridges. It sounds like you may have found one with the landscape changing from hardwoods to what seems to be a possible watering hole on top of that ridge with a vegetation change. Other things to look at(more specifically on satellite imagery) are tree lines from open to dense forests, tree species change such as a line of pines adjoining hardwoods, knowing what trees/vegetation produces the desired food source in a given area is critical (that type of forage may be able to be seen from satellite imagery), water sources, etc.

In my experience just as important when hunting ridges is knowing the prevailing wind. The tendency is to bed on the down wind side of the ridge. This may rule out some ridges that run parallel to the prevailing wind. I hunt the second highest point in WI and the prevailing winds in the fall are NW. The deer are ALWAYS bedded on the SE side of that ridge.

Good luck!

Hey, thanks man!! Yea that's mainly what I was after with the post. Just some further, more in depth tips on what exactly guys are paying attention to. I have a good understanding of picking deer off by confirming what I see on maps. The transition idea is something I understand too and believe in for sure!! Didn't really give it as much thought though for some stupid reason but those are excellent points!

[rfickes87]

Ive been successful at locating beds just by walking the military crest of the ridges. Usually every thick spot I find with rubs popping up around it as I go along is where I'm finding beds. Killed my buck last year from a good bed on a side like that. Just wondered if anyone had good techniques for topo scouting these because its just boring terrain. Satellite images are green blobs so they dont help either haha...thanks for the responses so far!

Its funny for me to read this... Just bc I deal with the same thing haha bc we're from kind of the same party of the state. I know exactly what you mean by boring terrain. Im always searching topos for those points. I agree that just following the crest can be key to the beds. One thing I've gotten addicted to is scouting the transitions of old clear cuts that are now thick and nasty. They're always holding beds on the lee side. Try looking for these areas. Our game lands have places like these. Calling the game commsion can be a huge help. Ask them if they've done any clear cutting in your area in the past that could be a great hunting area.

Personally I think those old clear cut thickets attract more bucks than food plots. The GC seems to plant one or two foodplotd on each game land. They're more of a hunter magnet than a deer magnet.

So if your stuck on boring terrain I just can't say enough good things about those old thickets.

[RidgeReaper]

Ive been successful at locating beds just by walking the military crest of the ridges. Usually every thick spot I find with rubs popping up around it as I go along is where I'm finding beds. Killed my buck last year from a good bed on a side like that. Just wondered if anyone had good techniques for topo scouting these because its just boring terrain. Satellite images are green blobs so they dont help either haha...thanks for the responses so far!

Its funny for me to read this... Just bc I deal with the same thing haha bc we're from kind of the same party of the state. I know exactly what you mean by boring terrain. Im always searching topos for those points. I agree that just following the crest can be key to the beds. One thing I've gotten addicted to is scouting the transitions of old clear cuts that are now thick and nasty. They're always holding beds on the lee side. Try looking for these areas. Our game lands have places like these. Calling the game commsion can be a huge help. Ask them if they've done any clear cutting in your area in the past that could be a great hunting area.

Personally I think those old clear cut thickets attract more bucks than food plots. The GC seems to plant one or two foodplotd on each game land. They're more of a hunter magnet than a deer magnet.

So if your stuck on boring terrain I just can't say enough good things about those old thickets.

Yep, I agree as far as the old cutovers. I have to spots along transition corners that are kill spots almost every time I go there in the right conditions. Im starting to notice too that along these long slopes...even the slightest little hump along the ridge will hold a bed. Walked a top 1/3 yesterday trying to find some spots for later in the bow season and found good bedding. Jumped a deer almost every 100yds it seemed going out across that ridge. Found a 4ft long bed with hair in it and very fresh pellets in it as well. I assume I kicked the deer up. I'll post a pic of the ridge and where the bed is.
The yellow box is where the bed is at. I suspect the deer like to use that really faint draw just to the west as an access to the bed.

[rfickes87]

nice spot!