Need some assistance, this Flatlander is an Idiot !

[NWOHhunter]

I will be hunting in Eastern Ohio this October. I was looking on my onXmap and placing some waypoints that I feel might be worthy of a stand. What are some things you guys look for when hunting the rolling hills? I am willing to walk a great distance, I do it here but I also know the hills create some difficult travels. I am not looking for spots just terrain features and tips. I hunted the same area last year and I had encounters with deer but just not anything I wanted or they were not close enough. I felt like I was kinda just stumbling along and this year I want to try to be more efficient at my approach and hunts.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Gern186]

Put your stand downwind from the corn pile.

 

[at1010]

access
kill them ontop
if you hunt a bottom, you better be in a blind.
Ridges are natural travel corridors
Don't hunt unless the wind is perfect.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Warm air rises, cool air sinks. In light wind, pay particular attention to that in choosing your set ups.

 

[jagermeister]

Obvious funnels are always my starting point. Pinch points, saddles, etc… either created by topography or cover, preferably both. Creek crossings are also great, along with benches/secondary ridges. I locate those beat-down travel corridors first, THEN make decisions on access and wind effects.

 

[finelyshedded]

If possible, I like accessing via crick bottoms to a ravine bottom then slipping quietly up a steep bank and right into my stand at the top of that bank on the DW side of a pinch, edge of a ridge top or point or a popular doe bedding area. Sit all day till dark and exit the same way you came in and repeat. Only do this with favorable winds. DON’T GET BUSTED MOVING WHILE SITTING IN ANY TREE AS YOU’ll RUIN A PERFECT SETUP QUICK! Not a better feeling than entering an awesome set like I mentioned above and not bumping anything on your way in and it’s a high pressure cool crisp day within a week of Halloween or Thanksgiving.

 

[Smawgunner2]

Don’t have much to offer other than what’s been said, but from experience (my property is nothing BUT ridges and hollers) trying to judge the wind is near impossible. In camp it may be blowing a certain direction, and then I get settled in in stand #3 for example and it’s totally different. I also find directional changes are drastic. One minute it’s SW, the next it’s East. It’s always a challenge.

 

[P8riot]

Wear 1 boot with a larger sole and make sure thats on the down side as you walk on the hills!

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

Throw milkweed like its confetti on the way in and while on stand. Learn what the thermals do in a particular set up location.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Warm air rises, cool air sinks. In light wind, pay particular attention to that in choosing your set ups.

This...

Throw milkweed like its confetti on the way in and while on stand. Learn what the thermals do in a particular set up location.

And this!

Your scent will do everything but what you think it'll do in the hills. Being mindful of thermals and learning how terrain/habitat features influence your scent stream is paramount for success IMO.

Obvious funnels are always my starting point. Pinch points, saddles, etc… either created by topography or cover, preferably both. Creek crossings are also great, along with benches/secondary ridges. I locate those beat-down travel corridors first, THEN make decisions on access and wind effects.

This is also super sound advice. Like JB, I'll scout in 2D first, then confirm on the ground and work backward to the truck from there. Understanding the wind/thermal dynamics helps me decide when to hunt a spot and factors into the final placement.

One aspect of hill hunting that changed for me last year is my reluctance to hunt shelves. I've always recognized them for their worth in terms of well-defined travel corridors, but have hated hunting them because they're boring to hunt. You basically get 2 angles at the same shot (broadside/quartering) and you're limited to only that trail. That said, we have a shelf that leads into thick cover and it has 2 perennial scrapes that have been on fire the last 3 seasons. The buck I killed last year, was killable on that shelf a week before I killed him and once I gave it some thought, I see why. So don't discount a good shelf, especially near a point/hogsback.

 

[giles]

Access! Access! ACCESS!

And thermals.

Deer will travel in the low dark areas.

Everything else is just deer hunting 101.

 

[Gern186]

Ok this is my non smart-ass answer. I have very limited experience hunting hill country for deer. But the time I got to hunt in Richland County i asked similar questions to the local experts here. After scouting the area I was hunting I set up a couple stands above good trails. Hunted 1 evening and 1 morning. Used my observations from those 2 hunts and dialed in a stand location where I saw constant movement close to where my initial setups were at. I remember distinctly the bucks and does were heavily traveling the edge between an overgrown gas line and a wooded ridge line. After the 2nd morning seeing this movement I promptly pulled a stand and moved over along that gas line. The very next morning I arrowed a nice big doe and a mature 8 point buck within an hour of each other. Basically what I did was put up an observatory stand in an area that held alot of deer sign...then once I saw a pattern that they were using consistently I moved in for the kill. The tree I hung that stand in was only 8 inches in diameter and could only have been 12 feet off the ground. But it was the only place to get in the air. Depending on the amount of time you have to hunt this location the observation stand approach may really work out for you.

 

[Bigcountry40]

The advice above is great. I'm assuming you'rre hunting public? If so hunt hunters -from the opener through first gun seasons you will have company. Transition areas from swamp/water or over looked brush/crp/high grass. If you decide to pick out traditional setups in trees have multiple spots because theyll be an asshole in a self climber like myself in atleast half lol. I haven't hunted eastern/southern public land for deer in 7 years ( I consider Richland county and anything south or east of that), I've been told archery season through the rut is a very crowded, the seasons after gun seasons are a ghost town.

 

[Isaacorps]

One of my favorite spots to hunt in the hills is a deep cut in the hillside. It’s a natural funnel and deer will consistently go up and around it to get where they wanna go. A spot that comes to mind is one I hunt every year and see a lot of traffic. It’s a cut in the hillside that’s about 1/4 of the way down from the ridge top. It’s out towards the end of the ridge and just past it is a beautiful brushy point where the does bed. The bucks travel along the side of the hill and up and around the cut to get to the brushy point. I set up just above the trail they take to get around the cut. With the wind coming over top of the ridge it carries your scent over their heads and harmlessly out into the bottom. I killed my buck in this exact setup 2 years ago. In addition to the one I killed I observed several others following the exact same route, including one much bigger than the the one I killed about 5 minutes after I shot mine lol. It’s definitely tricky to figure out the hills but it’s my absolute favorite place to hunt. Good luck!

 

[jagermeister]

@Gern186 makes a great point and I’ll second it. Don’t be afraid to move when you see deer movement off in another direction. I have employed this tactic successfully multiple times over the years. If you have a hunch that you should move, even if it’s only 50 yards, then do it. Hill country deer often have movement patterns that aren’t as obvious as you would think… especially during the rut.

 

["J"]

Don’t be hesitant too hunt from the ground, some pretty good advice above. But in an area lacking good trees too put a stand up in, find a good hillside that overlooks a good travel corridor and make a ground blind.

 

[giles]

One of my favorite spots to hunt in the hills is a deep cut in the hillside. It’s a natural funnel and deer will consistently go up and around it to get where they wanna go. A spot that comes to mind is one I hunt every year and see a lot of traffic. It’s a cut in the hillside that’s about 1/4 of the way down from the ridge top. It’s out towards the end of the ridge and just past it is a beautiful brushy point where the does bed. The bucks travel along the side of the hill and up and around the cut to get to the brushy point. I set up just above the trail they take to get around the cut. With the wind coming over top of the ridge it carries your scent over their heads and harmlessly out into the bottom. I killed my buck in this exact setup 2 years ago. In addition to the one I killed I observed several others following the exact same route, including one much bigger than the the one I killed about 5 minutes after I shot mine lol. It’s definitely tricky to figure out the hills but it’s my absolute favorite place to hunt. Good luck!

Sounds like a morning spot. When the thermals carry your scent up and over. Evening would be falling to the trail?

 

[Isaacorps]

Sounds like a morning spot. When the thermals carry your scent up and over. Evening would be falling to the trail?

Yep, forgot to add that lol. I never hunt that setup in the evening

 

[giles]

Yep, forgot to add that lol. I never hunt that setup in the evening

Sounds simple to some of us. But I remember my learning curves being a flatlander, lol.

 

[Spencie]

In the SE Ohio hills you are rarely going to beat the wind. It is going to swirl every which way. Sometimes on ridge tops you can get some consistency. Do your best to set up accordingly but be as SCENT FREE as possible. I mean it's a lifestyle during deer season. Every stitch of clothing all the way down to the towel you dry off with. This includes the rare date with the wife in November....still use scent free products.
But what do I know, I'm the worst deer hunter in Ohio!