Transitions

[Brokenarrow1980]

There is alot to learn about transitions on this site. I hear about soft transitions and hard transitions but there is little talk about if deer are attracted to certain types of transitions more then others? When im looking at a map is there certain transitions i should prioritize my scouting on? Are there certain terrain features in conjunction with the transition that make it more preferable. On the public land where I hunt deer density is generally low and I only find one or so deer trails without alot of sign on the transitions. If there is not Alot of sign in these areas should I abandon them and travel further to look for better land or am I missing something?

[justdirtyfun]

What I remember from some of the other good posts is you look for multiple transitions to be better than a single one.
A hillside that was clearcut drops down to a small creek, then a corn field. Elevation, browse, security,water all combining as transition.

[Trump45]

IMO - Transition areas from thick nasty stuff to good cover but easily traveled. I think the bucks will be bedding in the nasty stuff that you can't really get into without them detecting you - if you find those areas, that is a great start. When they leave or return to the nasty areas, they will usually have a path or paths that get them in/out of that nasty stuff. Good Cover but easily traveled to me means good canopy to block light, underbrush, and terrain they naturally gravitate to such as below the ridges. Of course so many factors come into play for every situation and transitions to look for in one area can be so much different than another area. Another thing I think is good is an oak tree dropping akerns (yes that is how you spell and pronounce acorn ) next to one of these thick nasty areas. Big boy may get up and come to get a snack right before the sun goes down... Anyway these are a few of the things I like to find where I live and hunt.

I generalize because I don't think there is a magic formula such as pines next to oaks, or clearcut next to creek, etc - I like to think in terms of cover, security, food, travel, terrain features. Security being #1 meaning would a buck feel secure in that area, would he walk there? My buddy and I were just out last weekend and we went into some real nasty bedding, located paths out and a few rubs. We put a camera up on one of the paths out of the nasty stuff.

[Cchez]

I think its sort of relative to where you're at in the country, and what type of terrain you are hunting. But a common denominator always seems to be water. I hunt big woods in northeast MN, i dont have mast trees like oaks, or farms. But what we do have a lot of is different types of swamps and wet areas. Once i really started to focus my efforts around any type of wet area, my scouting and hunting has gotten better. Whether its any type of swamp, bog, creek, river, etc, you're starting to get in the game. Some areas are better than others, but it never hurts to have a wet area as your starting point.