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Looking for some tips in the hills...

J

johndeere506

Member
8
2
Columbus
I just signed up here after looking for info and not finding much online. Im hunting my uncles place about 100 acres in Pike County. Ive hunted a little bit of public land too but had a LOT of other hunters in there when I went.
I have passed up a lot of bucks looking for a good one, but im just not seeing them. I know they are there but I keep picking the wrong spots or something. Does anyone hunt the hilly areas? What do I look for? Ive seen some good tracks and a few good fresh scrapes but nothing is producing. There is a good mix of points and ridges, valleys and bottom land, and valleys with opposing points, saddles etc. What do you guys focus on for late gun season or muzzleloader season? Im seeing a bunch of doe, just no big bucks. HArdly even any small bucks now that I think of it... Anyone have some tips for me?
 
It's tough in the hills right now due to the bumper acorn crop in most places. The hills equate to timber and the acorn crop this year gives them easy access to food without traveling very far. If you're in an area with spotty mast, you can key in on the trees that did produce, especially those on south facing slopes near cover. Looking for greenbriar on those south facing slopes is also a good idea. Finding a good shelf between food and bed is a good bet this time of year. Our best late season spot is a pinch at the head of a drainage down from the crest of the ridge about 50 yards. There's a saddle to the west with open hardwoods full of acorns, with south facing bedding to the east. It's the most consistent post-gun season buck spot I have.
 
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Like jesse said. South hillsides. I like to hunt saddles when I'm in ky. I'm central ohio its pretty flat here and we have crops everywhere. Not sure how you feel about a corn pile but they can be deadly late in the year.
 
Good tips so far. I forgot to ask are mornings or evenings better in late Dec and Jan? Most of his land is north facing slopes so not sure i can find much thats big and south facing. Unless you meant even small hills south facing are good, Im picturing south facing ridges, his land is mostly the north side of an E/W ridge. I did notice acorns were everywhere.
 
Ridges in the morning, valleys in the evening. Learn the thermals and you will greatly increase your sightings.

Late season is all about the food. Find the food, find the deer.

(I'd search thermals here if you don't know what I'm talking about. I think it was @Stressless that posted a great video with visuals.)
 
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Mornings are still ok if you can get between their night feeding spots and those south facing bedding areas without running them out of the feeding areas.

No matter what, be very mindful of the wind and thermals in the hills. Bucks are more weary of human interference now more than anytime. You really gotta up your game now as far as scent control and not getting winded. It’s tricky in the hills.

The saddles are awesome if you have ample bedding around them.
 
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johndeere506 said:
Good tips so far. I forgot to ask are mornings or evenings better in late Dec and Jan? Most of his land is north facing slopes so not sure i can find much thats big and south facing. Unless you meant even small hills south facing are good, Im picturing south facing ridges, his land is mostly the north side of an E/W ridge. I did notice acorns were everywhere.
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Use Google Earth or OnX to find areas on the south side of his ridge that look thick. Maybe a pine stand or look for a noticeable change it the canopy that might indicate a clear cut. Better yet, maybe some overgrown fields. Then find a saddle or other obvious cutover that deer are using to cross from S to N.
 
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How many times do you guys sit a spot like a specific saddle or something before moving on to a different terrain feature? I have been hunting thermals, but Ive been huning ridge TOPS, looking down, and bottoms looking up. These hills are big, so that leaves about a 500 yard swath of sidehill im never actually hunting, and thats where Im seeing a few in the distance. How do you hunt that? Seems like there are deer up top and bottom that would wind me with thermals if I hunt in between.
 
Find the shelf with the food on it. Thats why they are there. Either traveling to or from food and bedding. Then figure out if morning or evening is better. This might take some trial and error.

Are you a ground hunter? Tree? Ground blinds? Blue jeans and flannels? Ghillie suits? Give us a little more inside info so we can help direct you a little more personally. All these questions make a difference. What kind of scent control are you using?
 
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When you're hunting terrain with multiple benches, that's where your scouting will tell you where to be. Deer rarely travel the ridge tops, preferring a line of travel below the crest. Finding the trails that sidling the hill from one elevation to another is a good way to narrow in on the right spot along the slope.

As for how many times will I hunt a spot, it all depends on access and what type of impact I feel I'm having. I have one stand that's on the edge of a major change in elevation that I can almost hunt daily because the access is so good. I have another that's at the head of a drainage where access is tough. It's hard to hunt it repetitively. The conditions must be right when you go in there.
 
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To @giles' point, one of my favorite hillside tactics is sitting on a chair/bucket behind a tree 20-25' above a shelf. A lot of times, there's just enough of a flat spot on the uphill side to make a comfortable sit. I've also dug out spots on the hillside so I could have a good sit, or hung stands 3-5' up the trunk, but the downhill shot is 25' below. I have one such stand right now where the platform is chin high on the uphill side, but the shot is 30' in elevation at 25 yards.
 
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bowhunter1023 said:
To @giles' point, one of my favorite hillside tactics is sitting on a chair/bucket behind a tree 20-25' above a shelf. A lot of times, there's just enough of a flat spot on the uphill side to make a comfortable sit. I've also dug out spots on hillside so I could have a good sit, or hung stands 3-5' up the trunk, but the downhill shot is 25' below. I have one such stand right now where the platform is chin high on the uphill side, but the shot is 30' in elevation at 25 yards.
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I did a buddy hunt with Michael Saturday and I was explaining all of this to him. Found a new spot that is absolutely SICK for gun hunting. I need to take a shovel out with me next time. Might of finally found me a morning spot with easy access and everything.
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I cant tell you guys how much I appreciate all the info so far. Every time I've asked to help in the past I was shunned because Im not bowhunting. I get it, but I prefer to gun hunt, I just think its fun.
Im mostly ground hunting. I found when I carry my stand I was avoiding going to more difficult to access spots, so I ditched it. As for scent control, I completely respect anyone who is devoted to carbon, ozonics, sprays and all, but its not my thing anymore but i have done it. I prefer to hunt the wind, in clean camo gear, and sit on the ground. I will use my climber if the spot NEEDS it.
I did see some good info in the snow last week, but I wasted my time in the wrong areas when I had the chance... I did notice bucks werent using the big saddles in the middle like the doe families, they were way off by the edge where it was thicker and less obvious it was a saddle. I wish i had scouted the areas I believe now the bigger bucks are.
 
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I guess one of my questions is that I haven't found, is when hunting high or low on a point, do you sit on the high point and hunt the draws of each? Or are you hunting the ditch or draw and shooting up to each point ridge? MAybe thats different for morning vs evenings... Im not good at this hill stuff it seems. I get the concept but i feel like im struggling.
 
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