Hill Country Property

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Buck_it
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Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:27 am

Hello All,

That season is upon us once again where off season prep is in full swing. A little background on the property: 10 acres of woods, 75 acres of old overgrown cow pasture with goldenrod, dogwood, honeysuckle and breyers and 5 acres of apple trees.
Elevation change of 200' from west side of property being the highest, and our camp in the valley below. I can gain access to the west side of the property and that's it. I've noted on the map key elements within the property based on scouting done in February and past experiences on the property. I will be hunting primarily the first week of October (Southern middle of New York) and Halloween-November 17th. Based on this information, where would you guys set, scout and predict deer movement? I've harvested one 150 class buck by pure luck 8 years ago (Icon picture) traveling through the upper 1/3 wind funnel traveling from north to south, other than that, he's the only buck taken above 80 in the 30 year history of the camp.

feel free to ask any questions.

Any info/experiences will help tremendously.

Best


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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:38 am

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justdirtyfun
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Sat Jun 29, 2019 4:56 am

Would you be able to do an observation sit from high in a tree? With the common wind/weather conditions that you think are best? It shows wind blowing from doe to buck beds which is might the best option.
I would try for the lowest elevation tree you can get up in on the tree line that aims down the hill to the yellow box.

I would suspect that the property will be sensitive to scent and probably sight as well. Maybe go in during predawn if you think they see your movement.
You don't have to be the best, just do your best.
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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Tue Jul 02, 2019 12:54 am

yes there are multiple locations for observation stands. this property is 2 hours away and have limited time to get down there. im down at least one weekend a month. After hunting the property for some time, the wind doesn't necessarily do what you may think. Because the elevation change, it seems the wind goes comes from the south the lower you get in elevation. The wind follows the valleys through the area and makes predicting wind movement very difficult. I've recently started sitting in stands trying to learn specific wind compared to what mr.wrong says. We have a stand in the treeline you talk about, we see good amount of does, not to many bucks. observation sits show lots of activity where those buck beds are and Cameras show us lots of activity in the valley's at all times when the apples are on trees, after the apples are gone, its tough to pinpoint where they are. we have three community scrapes.
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby matt1336 » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:37 am

Maybe try setting off some smoke bombs around your sets so you can get a good idea about what the wind actually does. You’re just beating your head against the wall if you don’t have a good grasp on the wind currents.
Ive done this and it’s worked well. Buy a bunch of them. I also recommend that if you do this...do it while leaves are on the trees and when they are not. It makes a difference.
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:44 am

0i just started this process of seeing actual winds in the stand. it seems like the big mature bucks cruse the valleys where the wind can shift and swirl. Ive had hit lists, and see them but cant seem to cut them off during hunting.
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Wed Jul 03, 2019 8:27 am

How much pressure and surrounding pressure?

How many young bucks are being harvested in the area?

Does a buck bedding area exist on the property?

What do cams show?

Its alot of questions if you or the neighbors are killing the small bucks not enough are reaching maturity to be competitive and lay down sign. So the bedding will be harder to locate.

I would focus on the edge transitions near bedding.
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justdirtyfun
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Wed Jul 03, 2019 1:28 pm

To follow up with my mention of a specific treeline. I was suggesting using that location for an observation stand. It is not a great location to hunt by any means.
You don't have to be the best, just do your best.
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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:45 am

Tennhunter3 wrote:How much pressure and surrounding pressure?

How many young bucks are being harvested in the area?

Does a buck bedding area exist on the property?

What do cams show?

Its alot of questions if you or the neighbors are killing the small bucks not enough are reaching maturity to be competitive and lay down sign. So the bedding will be harder to locate.

I would focus on the edge transitions near bedding.



North- Owner1__ property was logged about 8 years ago. They own 125 acres, they haven't hunted in about 4 years.
South - Owner2__they have a pond, apple orchards and alfalfa field in front of their house. I know his family parks on the road to the east and walks up the steep ridge there. i only know of one mature buck in the last 10 years. it was the biggest ive ever gotten on camera. doesn't hunt much, none in bow and a couple days in rifle season.
East - Owner3__Doesnt hunt much, maybe a couple times a year
West - Town owns property. It was an old landfill so its wide open 150 acres. I know on the west end of that property, the have food plots with a hunting club. more than half their members are brown and down guys.

i only found two possible areas of consistant buck bedding

cams show about 3 mature buck on the property when apples falling, once they are done, the population moves on. The biggest mature buck always stays. Once shotgun opening starts, the property becomes a ghost town. My family uses quads to get around during that time. i usually dont hunt when they do because i only like hunting with my bow.

honestly the question is.....where would you focus on looking to find the buck beds. im trying to find the buck beds i guess
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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:47 am

justdirtyfun wrote:To follow up with my mention of a specific treeline. I was suggesting using that location for an observation stand. It is not a great location to hunt by any means.


A friend of mine has been going in that stand the last two years, after discovering this site and listening to podcasts, its in the worst location and has been moved. But we have plenty of trees to sit and observe long distances. We will be sitting in two weeks and again in august when im planting the food plots
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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Wed Jul 17, 2019 4:26 am

OK, i realized i asked for a golden ticket without putting in the work and effort myself on the property. After coming back from camp with two afternoon observation sits, it seems the bucks are funneling from the northwest side of the map from our neighboring property where they jump a fence crossing at the northern end of the property and follow the small thicket in the middle of old pasture. From there, they either travel east towards the known buck beds (down the hill) or continue along their southern path and disperse at the east to west treeline. I've never done an observation sit, and that was incredible to witness nature being nature. Sunday morning i decided to check the known buck beds i found in spring, sure enough, not used. I can only assume those beds are used at certain parts of the year (pre rut and post rut). Even though my property is very thick in some places, i still think the mature bucks bed on the northern/western adjacent properties. The town owns the western property one and north hasn't been hunted in years. I cant get in the thickest of brush this time of year so i'm going to target these little pockets (Valley) during the post season scouting. hopefully get some snow and track in December. What ya'll think?
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby matt1336 » Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:59 am

Yeah scout more. You’ll be surprised about what you didn’t know about the property when you look at it from a different perspective. I really think you need to figure out the wind currents. With out a good understanding of them, you’re just spinning your wheels. No amount of scentlock is gonna hep you from screwy winds
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Buck_it
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Re: Hill Country Property

Unread postby Buck_it » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:37 am

yea, i completely understand. Those winds have haunted me in the past. I guess it's all about the growing process and learning process. Like dan says, there no better learning tool than being in the woods.


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