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Need some advice for hill country

Gern186

Gern186

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NW Ohio Tundra
I was selected for a 1 day hunt at a Southern Indiana refuge hunt in a couple weeks, here is the topo map of the area outlined in red that I will be hunting. I know the area is 100% woods from the aerial map. Being from flat country I don't know much about hunting hilly terrain with solid woods. So I am asking you guys advice on a game plan on where to try and set up. The hunt is on November 2nd and the bucks should be starting to move around on their own a little, so any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 
You are looking for anything that will neck the deer down to a pinch point for you. Looking at the pic where the 880 mark is there are two cuts that come pretty close to each other from different directions. Right between the top ends of those cuts looks to be a good pinch point and for a 1 day hunt that's where I'd try to be that time of year.
 
I like looking for Ridge points and pinch points. There's two big ridges that stand out to me and I would sit on the crosswind side where a buck can walk one side of the ridge and scent check both sides of the ridge. Usually 1/3 of the way down from the peak the wind will start to swirl and roll over, bucks like to travel this thermal tunnel bc it allows the walk down from the ridge peak out of sight but yet smell what's on both sides of the ridge. Imagine the wind hitting one hillside, rolling up over the top, rolling down the backside and starting to tumble and swirl 1/3 of the way down, that's where a buck wants to be! Stand placement is just as important, above the thermal tunnel in the morning and below it in the evening allowing your thermals to work best for you as well. Pinch points where the topo contours pinch down real tight are nice also if its not too steep for you. Otherwise you may have to hunt the downwind side of the pinch 1/3 of the way from the peak. This 1/3 rule of thumb from the peak really plays keep during the rut which it sounds like that's when your going. A buck can cover A LOT more ground scent checking the downwind side of a peak looking for does rather than wondering aimlessly.
 
HAHAHA. Them ain't hills. These are hills... (In my best Mick Dundee voice.)

StroudsTopoRevised.png


Seriously. To me, that's flat. But Zach and Chuck gave good advice.
 
Unless those are 80' contours on that map Chad, I don't see any real terrain to exploit. Maybe its just the pic, but that's flat. Maybe not NW Ohio flat, but flat enough the terrain won't give you many features to take advantage of. I would think an aerial would suit you better.
 
Although I agree on it not being "steep" contours, deer still work them the same. Just sayin.... deer use the terrain the same to THEIR advantage. It has to be good/great for them and okay for you.
 
bowhunter1023 said:
Unless those are 80' contours on that map Chad, I don't see any real terrain to exploit. Maybe its just the pic, but that's flat. Maybe not NW Ohio flat, but flat enough the terrain won't give you many features to take advantage of. I would think an aerial would suit you better.
Click to expand...

I looked at an aerial and it is 100% woods...lol You cant see anything but trees, although there are places where it looks like some of the trees are large oaks. I agree that this terrain is flat compared to strouds. I will probably just still hunt my way back in there at daylight and move slow until I see something that looks good, either that or sit along the road where I can see about 200 yards in each direction...this is a controlled hunt and there are a number of guys assigned to each section of land.
 
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Gun...my buddy has been there before and he says it is really thick and a climber is what I should take...Ive never used a climber before...ha
 
Just based on the topo, it has to be thick. All that white area would have been clear 20-30-40 years ago when those were put together. So if it is woods now, you can bet your ass it is thick stuff. A climber could help get you up above a lot of the undergrowth. I'd use the aerials to locate some of those big oaks and get in there near those. The block of green to the west side half way down would be a good spot to start IMO. Those trees should be big enough to climb.
 
No better time than now to practice with the climber!! Especially if you plan to get out there at daylight and want to get up quietly LOL!
 
looks pretty flat to me. Its more important to note what borders the area you intend to hunt. Look at an Ariel map see if there are any features that border your area that the deer will frequent.
 
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