How many people here have found a spot that on all outward appearances looks perfect, but upon closer inspection, is impossible to hunt?
IE wind, Barriers, Private land....
I found a Bowl, last season that always had deer going in it, but swirling winds and thermals made it darn near impossible to hunt.
i have one right behind my house. Deer pass up and down the ridge to feed and almost all of it is not huntable due the swirling winds caused by the bluffs
you have to circle way around and get above it
It's not always the wind. I have a spot that's perfect except the setting sun is directly on me and lights me up like a christmas tree. I've never had luck in that spot. On the other side of the field I'm in the shadows but the wind is wrong, I've had very good luck in that spot.
Often a spot with no good tree but everything else looking good can be hunted from a pit blind.
sometimes its less obvious--i had a spot that had all the sign--terrain-up on a large knob-oaks/nuts--even a break in a stone wall--hunted 2 years--hardly saw a thing--i got fed up--moved over80 yds and watched deer walk right by the tree-and not once!several times!!-all i can attribute it to is my scent was giving me away-swirling off the knob and pooling somewhere the deer had to pass?!?
The bowl and swirling winds is a big one, and although I have a few others as you mentioned I also have some great ones you would never guess on first inspection.
One is an old deserted driveway crossing a slight saddle, and only sparse cover.
I always find shed antlers there and I don't think I have ever sat there that I didn't have a buck or two come in.
Yep, where I hunt we have some pretty good terrain features with hills and valleys and bowls that make the wind to different things all the time.
It's not an accident that those spots end up being areas that deer prefer to move through. They take advantage of spots like that and I think purposely use them. I'm sure the deer don't understand why they do it - they just know it helps them detect danger in the area.
Swamp. I know of an area where the big boys hide out all day in a thick swamp. No where to put a tree stand and no way to creep up on them. Only chance is when they leave swamp to enter woods. Only problem is they can enter and exit in so many places, it all comes down to luck.
Apparently most places I hunt...... :dunno:
The ridge lines around here always have 2 or 3 bench trails before you get to the top. These trails always look great but are so hard to hunt effectivly. Took me a long time not to be fooled by a trail that looks like a cow path in these areas.
Ron W your welcome to come to indiana if you need a change or scenery this year. ;)
Rob
I have a public land spot that is loaded with deer, but darn near imposibble to hunt. It's an old logging clearing that's grown over with oaks. There are no trees to put stands in because the edges are bordered by pines that are about 4" thick. The oak trees in the field are about arm-pit high so I can't see the deer until they are on top of you. I've hunted it a bunch and got close to a lot of deer, but they always spot me before I can draw the bow. I've even come within about 5 yds of a black bear in that field. It's a fun spot to hunt, but kind of frustrating.
Now you know why the deer go there :bigsmyl:
I've found a few of these spots also. Charlie is there anyway you can backtrack the trails leading to the bowl to find an ambush spot with more consistent wind. It's good to see guys using there brain to hunt, rather than just depending on luck.
I'm with Ron. Our topography and heavy forests always keep the wind swirling. I don't think I have ever sat and not had the wind do several 360s during the sit. The deeriest spots are always the thickest with limited trees. I am always looking and setting ground blinds or marking trees hoping for the day with te right wind or condition to go back to it.
Jason, yes., I have found places that are close where I can ambush. The deer funnel through my area from different directions so it is a little more by chance but I'm learning.
I was curious who else had such places and how they overcame the scenario to better build my arsenal of tricks. I am curious what their area looks like to help me find spots similar while doing recon scouting/shed hunting this winter/spring.
Because as Randy has stated, That's why the deer are there!
Many times with limited cover and swirling winds I pick spots where the deer can see a long way down the ridge. They always seem to like to look down the ridge. In a stand I setup above where they are looking down the ridge. On the ground I setup facing a large oak for cover. A leafy suit and knee pads can turn a very limited cover spot into a honey hole.
As far as wind goes I will take a cross wind with thermals running the same direction anytime. Not great for letting deer walk but I try not to make a habit of that anyway.
Rob
I have several places right next to the River I would love to hunt and manage to...stay awake. The sound of the River puts me to sleep.RC
(http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af44/bhallstead/novdeerpics009.jpg)
Yep. I saw this dude 8 times last season at around 50 yards in the daylight. There was simply no way to get at him, no trees, wrong wind etc. Calling never worked, he just knew I was in the only tree in the area. He bed on an island that I had no premission to go on & would swim the river & walk through some marsh grass to chase does around. It was very frustrating. He is actually bigger than he looks in that pic, I think they got him in the rifle season :banghead:
I have the perfect tree over a wallow with trails in every direction. I have seen deer and elk in the area but have never seen one while in the tree the wind drifts up and down the shallow canon. busted...
Come hunt in Appalachia everywhere has swirling winds with all these hills ,hollows and bowls .
I was traveling through the midwest with a friend going antelope hunting back in the 90's and he looked across a big flat pasture/woodlot and said :
I'll take 10 good bowhunters from the hills back home who consistently take bucks and we could wipe out the deer in a county out here in a week .
I replyed they are still whitetails :)
There is a big hollow I can only hunt with a slite south wind. A hard south wind is ok, but when the wind dies down it will swirl. The soft south wind does not swirl. If I am in the hollow and the wind picks up, I have to try to get out over the ridge (big climb).
I had a great stand in a low area with a small stream behind me at 10yrds. perfect wind type stand and the trail was just slightly left of me(right handed)Well we had a rash of rains the summer before last and the stream(was the low dam side of an old cranberry bog 60yrs ago) overflowed and washed some of the dam away and now the flooding caused the deer to travel at my back on the hill side.