Hill tops or valleys

[Elmo]

Heard someone say to stay off of hilltops. That wildlife tends to avoid mountain or hilltops and congrugate in the valleys. Is this true or not? What if the hilltop or mountain top is more of a plateau?

[Paulie]

I've shot plenty of deer on the hilltop near me. It all depends on whats there......

[Dom]

hill tops make good look out areas like were i hunt you can see a fare distance in all directions my opinon

[arrow nocker]

deer love to bed on the side of hills.The opposite side the wind is blowing from.that way they can watch down hill and smell what is coming from behind.Kinda like a human looking down hill for a deer right.You gotta think like the deer.I have seen this many times with a little snow on the ground.You can see more beds on the side of a hill when the leaves fall than in thick crap.

Watch out hunting ridges cause of upward wind drafts.When the wind blows across the top of a ridge it will draw wind up from the bottom of the valley.Kind of like when driving in your truck and the wind blows over the cap and you get the air coming upward on the back window.Ever see a can swirl around in the back of the truck while driving down the road?It will do this and swirl your scent around.

Valleys and ridges can be hard to hunt.Sitting on the top of a ridge can work to your favor but you got to do your homework.You can easialy be busted long before you know you have.

[dave6x6]

Big fan of both but arrownocker made some great points. Particularly like ridges that run north and south because alot of the time the deer will follow the ridge instead of walking up and over it. With a predominantly w-sw winds in our area it keeps you from getting busteed most of the time. By the same token, when the chasing really kicks in, the bucks in my area tend to herd the hot does into the bowls and valley and these pockets can be extremely hot during all parts of the day. You are maybe going to get busted down there occationally so you have to time it perfect and tell yourself that if you blow it on this buck , then he probably was going to be miles away chasing does by sunrise anyway so sit tight and wait for the next one to make a mistake. Again this is only a strategy that applies when you know bucks from outside your area are wandering all over looking for does. I don't really advise banking on a valley set-up if you are after the known local buck in the area. The wind is too unpredictable for that.

[Doc]

Take a walk someday with snow on the ground and take note of how many sets of tracks you see going up and down the hills. The deer in the valleys are the same deer on the hill-tops (and vice-versa), and they can cover that distance in no time at all (and do).

[dave6x6]

Take a walk someday with snow on the ground and take note of how many sets of tracks you see going up and down the hills. The deer in the valleys are the same deer on the hill-tops (and vice-versa), and they can cover that distance in no time at all (and do).

So are you going to give your advice then ? Your correct, deer do walk up hills and down hills but are you saying that they don't prefer the path of least resistance.? Under normal circumstances deer choose specific paths to climb the hills and ussually it has something to ease of resistance or security cover in those areas. Also i should clarify my srategies are based on my hunting properties features which are basically easy rolling, agricultural land with creek bottom hardwoods and thickets. My ridges are not adk ridges. Not sure Elmo what terrain your thinking about when you asked the question because you'll probably get different opinions from big wood-big mountain guys then you will from guys in my area.

[dave6x6]

Doc, I apologize, I mis-read the original post which was wondering whether deer avoid ridges or hilltops and prefer to hang out in the valleys. I mistakenly replied thinking he was wondering bout hunting strategies or stand placement choices. After re-reading, I completely agree with your statement that the deer you see in the valleys are the same ones you will see on the hilltops. They travel up and down pretty much daily with ease. Sorry again ..

[Elmo]

Thanks for the responses. I was doing some scouting an area with a friend of mine and he said we should get off of this hilltop we were walking on because animals wouldn't come up to the hilltops as much. Granted I know he isn't an expert on the matter but it did make me curious on the matter.

[Doc]

About the only difference I see between hill-tops and valley bottoms is the fact that whichever one I am hunting, it will turn out that the deer were having a party at the other....lol.

By the way, don't forget the trails up and down the side-hills. Those can be some super hot-spots. Deer do get very habitual about choosing and using those (especially early in the season).

[arrow nocker]

elmo.

Did you look really close for tracks and poop.Pay attn to all the vegitation.Look for saplings that have been chewed of at the tops from deer.Those will tell you if there has been deer there.And how much they frequent that area.

Go down the edge of that ridge a little ways and look for a trail that runs perpindicular with the ridge.Deer will walk the opposing side of the wind direction along it.They know how wind drafts work.Crazy how smart those critters are.

They bed on side of hills alot so when still hunting ridges always hunt the wind and slowly peek of them but you are pobably already busted if you are come up with wind blowing wrong direction.Walk the ridge edge like a deer would.And hunt down it.

[gjs4]

http://www.cabelas.com/stoney-wolf-hill-country-bucks-dvd.shtml?WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=1164643&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=6406F915-921B-E011-8E88-001B21631C34&mr:referralID=NA

Buy this DVD. watch it 3 times. Start over with a good approach.

sorry for the snarky opinion- honestly trying to help

[Elmo]

Gjs4. No offense taken. I appreciate the recommendation. Most hunting videos I've seen are just footage of people shooting deer. I'll buy the DVD and check it out. I also have "Hunting October Whitetail" but haven't gone through all of it yet.

Arrow nocker. I saw tracks and dropping but I don't have an eye for chewed saplings yet. In any event, I lost privileges to the spot I had scouted so I have to start from scratch all over again.

[gjs4]

Blood Bros have two DVDs- (no books) and theyre amazing. No entertainment and all education. The eberhart ones (which are now at cableas for 15$ for all three on one disc) are decent. Lots of good books. Knowing what your hunting I would suggest hunting trophy whitetails by herndon.

huntingbeast.com - great insightful website

pm for more ideas and takes...my lousy reply is most people on here are guys who want big bucks but will do nothing for effort when it all boils down to it

remember NY is all high pressure....let your wind torch your neighbors ground- unless they own the bedding.

thermals- am your scent goes upward...pm downward.

your core stands will do some damage to deer movement in the pm....am only and basically you are hunting buck bedding imo

good luck and be safe

[Elmo]

It seems like most books and videos are all geared towards getting the biggest buck possible. I'm not a trophy hunter. I'm only interested in filling the freezer.

[BUCKrub91]

I like to sit on a hilltop looking down into a valley...

[Elmo]

I order both the Blood Bros and Eberharts from Cabelas. Will check them out once I get them.