Where should I hunt bucks in a ridge/valley type habitat?
Filed under: Hunting Tactics
Question
Hello Grant, family, and entire Growing Deer Family. I have a question for you about the terrain that you have their as it is very similar to where I hunt. The main difference is their is no plots here just timber. I have a long ridge(1/4 mile maybe more) that runs south to north on the very west side of my property. There are 4 fingers (points) that run to the east settling into the valley that runs all the way to the east of the property ( dead ends houses and lake). The valley is 1/2 mile in length. It seems from what I’ve learned that the mature bucks bed on the ridge and points. The doe beds are spread around the long valley floor in random thick areas. Now to my question. For rut hunting only where would you think the best buck traffic area will be. Will the bucks abandon the ridges and search the valley bedding areas or will the does push to the ridges when ready? What have you seen in your area away from the food plots?
Bryan,
Bucks tend to frequently use the path of least resistance that they don’t associate with danger during the rut. Research has shown bucks move a lot during the rut so hunting travel corridors is a great strategy. I try to find a travel corridor that I can approach, hunt, and exit without alerting deer. I suspect the ridge top or ridge fingers may be good options.
Enjoy creation,
grant
November 2, 2015
