What Does Your Hunting Areas Look Like?

[Doc]

Here are some of the pictures that show the diversity of my hunting grounds from the swamps and thickets of the valley to the open Hardwoods of the hill. No farms or agriculture of any sort. Challenges?.....yes. But a good variety of habitat that has something for every critter.

So, what does your hunting turf look like?

[Four Seasons]

[wolc123]

[Doc]

13 hours ago, Four Seasons said:

Ah.....Letchworth. Probably one of the most scenic places on earth. And we know they have some nice deer there......lol.

[Four Seasons]

23 minutes ago, Doc said:

Ah.....Letchworth. Probably one of the most scenic places on earth. And we know they have some nice deer there......lol.

No doubt one of God’s better drawings. And critters are there for those that will do what it takes for sure. 

[Northcountryman]

17 hours ago, Doc said:

Here are some of the pictures that show the diversity of my hunting grounds from the swamps and thickets of the valley to the open Hardwoods of the hill. No farms or agriculture of any sort. Challenges?.....yes. But a good variety of habitat that has something for every critter.

So, what does your hunting turf look like?

Awesome!! Very diverse-you got a favorite habitat of those or all productive from time to time?

[Northcountryman]

Awesome pics Gentleman- thanks for that!!

[Doc]

6 hours ago, Northcountryman said:

Awesome!! Very diverse-you got a favorite habitat of those or all productive from time to time?

The general deer activity does move from hill-top down the hill to the scrub-brush in the valley bottom in the evening and then back up the hill in the morning........generally. So I wind up hunting all of the areas. Then when rut comes on, all bets are off. Down in the valley bottom, the deer stay confined mostly to trails through the vines and multi-flora rose patches and tag alders. Many of those areas there is no chance of getting an arrow through without carefully cutting some shooting lanes. The hilltop is a whole different kind of a hunt. Trails are scarce and not always used. A lot of it is wide open and the deer tend to wander randomly through the areas feeding on acorns and such. That's ok when it is gun season because now with rifles, you can reach out and connect on the wanderers. But with a bow I have to look for pinch points around the big ravine and other features that steer the movements.

I've been hunting camping and wandering around this whole area (uphill and down) since I was a kid, so I know it all like the back of my hand and know the deer pretty well.

[Northcountryman]

Nice description; any ideas as to why they come up in the morning and down in the evening? Usually, when considering thermals, I believe its usually the opposite: where they follow thermals up later in the evening as the air cools and sinks; there are MANY other reasons, however, that theyd go against. Would be an interesting analysis, though , to try to figure it out .

[Doc]

1 minute ago, Northcountryman said:

Nice description; any ideas as to why they come up in the morning and down in the evening? Usually, when considering thermals, I believe its usually the opposite: where they follow thermals up later in the evening as the air cools and sinks; there are MANY other reasons, however, that theyd go against. Would be an interesting analysis, though , to try to figure it out .

Yes you would think that that is the wrong way for them to use the thermals. But they like to bed up on the side hill towards the top so they can look down on upcoming danger and have the thermals delivering scent from danger below. I suppose they have patterned the "people movement" and have gotten used to hunters coming from the road below. In the morning. That's just a guess. But the pattern is consistent. 

At night they come down for the better browse in what used to be the small farm fields of decades ago.

[airedale]

My main hunting area is right out my back door, my property sits in a large several mile block of big mixed woods, while it does not have a big Deer population I love the convenience and time saved traveling. The small game population is decent with just about all species to be found except Pheasant. I have other good places to go but prefer big woods hunting, below is a satellite photo of a portion where I do most of my hunting.

Al