Hill Country Scouting

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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WIBowhunter22
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Hill Country Scouting

Unread postby WIBowhunter22 » Tue Apr 03, 2018 11:44 am

I recently found a piece of public land that is over 2000 acres and decided to check it out. What I found was hardwoods with constant rolling hills. There were no real ridges just interconnecting rolling hills. I found one bed in the snow on the top a small hill. There are no real thickets or anything for the deer to bed in just mostly hardwoods. There are some small pine plantations and a few clear cuts on the outskirts. Any tips on how to better scout this type of terrain would be very helpful. I'm thinking of taking another scouting trip there now that the snow is gone here in Wisconsin, but I want to be better prepared this time.


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<DK>
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Re: Hill Country Scouting

Unread postby <DK> » Wed Apr 04, 2018 4:53 am

The key is access points. Where are people able to walk into the property and how far can they get easy walking. 2000 acres is not a lot once areas are marked off bc people can get there easily. Check the map for areas private land guys could easily venture over the lines as well. It can be a great spot if they dont hunt bc smart bucks will bed close to housing if no one goes there.

You described clear cuts on the property lines > this is exactly where I would start! Most of the best buck bedding areas I find are on property lines, even on private grounds but especially public lands. Bucks can bed in open hardwoods but generally the best bedding areas will feel like a bedroom. In open hardwoods situations they can either be younger buck beds or as long as humans/predators dont bother the area it can be used by mature bucks. If there is no back cover then they can use a tree in front of them looking down a steeper ridge.

If you want ill take a look at your map, just PM me.
backstrap19
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Re: Hill Country Scouting

Unread postby backstrap19 » Tue Apr 17, 2018 11:20 am

I agree completely with the clearcut suggestion. Walk that clearcut edge. a cut goes through changes as it ages, and goes from being a destination food source to a destination bedding source during the life of the cut. I hunt a 92,000 acre national forest that is grossly under timbered. the vast majority of this land is wide open hard woods with no understory. Some of the best topo features on the maps just don't pan out in this woods, mainly because the woods is too open and lacks any real food. no food, no cover is a bad recipe for deer hunting. i just gave this same advice in another thread, but sometimes you have to move on. you can't force deer to be where you want them. i've been guilty of it. however, the clearcut may be the key there. i'd spend most of my scouting efforts on that. If the hills aren't steep, and just gentle rollers, they may use the low spots to sneak between the clearcut and another area. check those for travel. Good luck, I hope you figure it out and score a nice one.
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Divergent
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Re: Hill Country Scouting

Unread postby Divergent » Sat May 05, 2018 6:21 pm

Darkknight54 wrote:The key is access points. Where are people able to walk into the property and how far can they get easy walking. 2000 acres is not a lot once areas are marked off bc people can get there easily. Check the map for areas private land guys could easily venture over the lines as well. It can be a great spot if they dont hunt bc smart bucks will bed close to housing if no one goes there.

You described clear cuts on the property lines > this is exactly where I would start! Most of the best buck bedding areas I find are on property lines, even on private grounds but especially public lands. Bucks can bed in open hardwoods but generally the best bedding areas will feel like a bedroom. In open hardwoods situations they can either be younger buck beds or as long as humans/predators dont bother the area it can be used by mature bucks. If there is no back cover then they can use a tree in front of them looking down a steeper ridge.

If you want ill take a look at your map, just PM me.


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