Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

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The Silence
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Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby The Silence » Wed Apr 07, 2021 3:44 pm

I've heard Dan mention several times that there are times when the best tactic is to wait until after the thermals switch to make your move into the kill zone. I'm setting up for an evening hunt. I need to get down below earlier in the afternoon,
wait somewhere, and then make my move after the thermals start to descend. Any suggestions on how to pull this type of move off? Any lessons you guys have learned? Thanks.


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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby dan » Wed Apr 07, 2021 11:03 pm

not all spots are created equal... number one watch for tjere Vision. They will be staring down hill and alert at that time frame. #2 wait till the thermals change completly... often tjete is a short period where it fights itself and sometimes drops, sometimes risks before getting consistant. This is one of those situations where a preset stand is a good idea... in some areas you may have 45 minutes or an hour, in some it may be 20 or 30 minutes... having a stand zo slip onto, and maybe even a staging stand you wait at close by is a good option as long as you dont over hunt them
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby The Silence » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:39 am

Dan, what factors affect the thermals the most do you think? This specific spot is a gradually rising farmer road but there are hills one side of it and a slight rise on the other side. It almost acts like a drainage but a wider bottom.
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby dan » Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:47 am

The Silence wrote:Dan, what factors affect the thermals the most do you think? This specific spot is a gradually rising farmer road but there are hills one side of it and a slight rise on the other side. It almost acts like a drainage but a wider bottom.

the switch occurs when the shadow casts on the hillside... so position of the sun to the hill and landscape blocking the sun is tje biggest factors
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby The Silence » Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:43 am

This spot also has periodic contact with the farmer amongst a few others. Would it be worth going in during the off season, armed with milkweed, and see how several different winds affect things in the afternoon. Especially when it comes to setting up a staging spot. I could do it during the times that the farmers are in there naturally, such as planting.
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby G-Patt » Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:35 am

I haven't killed a mature buck yet moving in after the thermal switch, but I have a doe spot where the access is quick and dirty. Once the thermals shift they will cross a low spot by a ravine into staging area where they will browse before going into a agg field across the road. Great early-season, freezer-filling spot. Nothing better than working a full day, eat dinner with the family and do a quick hour hunt 15 minutes down the road after the thermal switch.
On my deathbed, I will receive total consciousness. So I have that going for me, which is nice!
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby dan » Sat Apr 10, 2021 3:48 am

The Silence wrote:This spot also has periodic contact with the farmer amongst a few others. Would it be worth going in during the off season, armed with milkweed, and see how several different winds affect things in the afternoon. Especially when it comes to setting up a staging spot. I could do it during the times that the farmers are in there naturally, such as planting.

yea, sounds like a good plan. but keep on mind position of sun changes, Tempo change, winds change, and all can have some effect
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby Coalcracker » Sat Apr 10, 2021 10:55 pm

Time will tell but based on observations and (1) mature buck kill, a better understanding of how to hunt thermals will be the number one most important aspect of deer hunting I have learned.

I thought I knew how to use them, how they worked in the areas I hunted but truth be told, I was a confused hunter when it came to hunting certain terrain/habitat types in Pa. I always did "ok" on higher ridges and side hills because I had a pretty good grasp on rising thermals and leeward side hills. The wind is also more consistent, its easier to hunt. However, in more than one area I hunt the very best thick habitat is lower on the mountain. These ridge points and draws have thick rhododendron, pine and hemlock stands. It also contains the highest concentration of larger buck sign year after year. My hunting approach down in there was futile, often resulting in switching wind currents as the air warmed. It's only in the past couple years I started educating myself more on dropping thermals. Waiting for the thermal drop and slipping in just below the tips of the thick points has worked very well, almost surprisingly well.
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby The Silence » Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:22 am

Coalcracker, so glad you're getting yourself in the game on those types of spots. It's so exciting to see reality take place before your very eyes, when it was formally just head knowledge. Give me some practical details of how you move in after the thermals switch. Where do you position yourself before it's go time? How do you avoid other deer in the area if does, for example, are already moving around? Or any other details that seem to really help you. Thanks.
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby Coalcracker » Mon Apr 12, 2021 6:34 am

The Silence,
Understand every situation is different from one ridge point to the next. This map could be helpful. Its an example of ridge points similar to those I hunt. The road to the north is the access. As you can see, I wouldn't just walk straight into the woods from the parking area. What I would do in this scenario is walk parallel on the opposite side of the road from where I intend on hunting. Cross the road and drop down in toward the creek bottom using thicker vegetation to hide myself. The how far away to stand and wait for thermal drop is really dependent on the location. In the area we had success last year, I'm only 150 yards or so from the ridge point because its actually a walking trail that is used heavily. Based on the results so far, I believe the deer on the opposite side of the point aren't bothered by human scent coming from the path.

Looking at the map and laying it out similar to the area I've been hunting, the buck bedding is found on the East facing slope. With a westerly or northerly wind, I wait until I feel thermal drop happening before moving in. With those wind directions, the hunt will be short. For us, one hour is about the limit. With a Southerly wind, I'll go in early with light winds but with high winds, I'll wait for decreased wind speed or thermal drop. These areas are just nasty when wind speed is high no matter which direction. The thick pine, hemlock, rhododendron, terrain and thermals all seem to fight with one another causing huge wind swirl.

My stand locations revolve around finding the corridor of easier travel for deer to travel up and down or across between rhododendron stands. Mainly across the face of the point. This is where I'm finding the best buck sign, we've seen older bucks use at the end of the day and makes them most vulnerable. I set up below the crossing corridor and if possible within bow range of the up and down trail to up the odds. Most times this is on the opposite side of the point from bedding but I just scouted another similar type of point that is very broad. Hunting the opposite side of the point would put me more than 200 yards from the best buck bedding and out of the game if you ask me. As for elevation, I'm finding its all relative to cover. On the broad point I just scouted, the cross trail corridor is at the 1/3 from top elevation. On the tip we hunted last year it was 1/3 from the bottom.

Do I bump deer? Absolutely!! Last year, I started the season paying a lot more attention to thermals and applying it to my hunts. I attempted to get into this one area (3) times over the course of three weeks (once a week). I tried three different entry routes and bumped deer each time. I figured out which entry got me closest before bumping deer, looked at the buck sign and picked a spot 30 yards back from where I stood previously when bumping the deer. We used (2) different stand locations around the point, one near the tip at 1/3 from bottom elevation and one on the bottom half of the west facing slope. The doe and younger bucks were coming out first following the east side of the point down to the creek bottom. The older bucks didn't follow the others but were seen wrapping the point. Coming down (traveling North) the east side of the point, then turning (West) across the point, and finally turning (South) uphill on the west side of the point. It appeared to me they were scent checking any trail that came or went from the point and smelling the entire point once they hit the thermal drop around the tip of the point.


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The Silence
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Re: Moving In For the Hunt After the Thermals Switch

Unread postby The Silence » Mon Apr 12, 2021 8:59 am

Coalcracker. WOW. Thanks so much for taking the time and posting that. I really appreciate it. Such a chess game. It's amazing how just a matter of feet can make such a difference. Way to hang in there. Were you ever able to get one of the beasts or at least get close?
It's so cool when a plan gets close to working out. It means you put yourself in a position to succeed. Thanks again.


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