Recently we saw a great example of the difficulty of hunting where there are strong thermals. There are several great thermal lessons in this 1 minute video (this video has been sped up x5) along with a still image below showing the fog floating.
1. Cool air is heavier than warm air and sinks to the lowest point. The creek shown here is the lowest point. That morning, cool air was falling down the mountain and sucked downstream -north to south (left to right). The wind that morning was almost nonexistent but forecasted from the south. Because the wind was low, thermals were able to dominate the direction of air movement. In this case, air was moving opposite the forecasted wind direction.
2. Air was pulled down the creek because it was cool. However, something else happened. The sun began warming air, making it lighter. As the air was pulled downstream it also began to rise.
3. As the sun continued to warm the air, the air shifted and was pulled upstream several times. This is a great example of what happens when cool and warm air mix. The air churns and its path is not predicable- moving up and down, back and forth.
Hunters can apply these observations and lessons when hunting. Understanding how cool air sinks, warm air rises, and how thermals churn/mix when both cool and warm air collide can help hunters better understand where and how scent is carried.
We recently set several Duke cage traps! When selecting trap locations, we consider how we can use thermals to attract more critters to our trap.
Critters often travel along interior roads, making interior road systems great places for traps. Check out the OnX map to see how we use thermals and interior road systems to make the trap line more successful and easier to run!
ProStaffer Philip Brown has been hunting at his farm in Arkansas. One of his strategies has been overlooking a utility easement running through the hardwood timber. He’s also planted a food plot in the easement to help slow deer down as they cross (grabbing a bite to eat on their way).
He’s seen a lot of deer but not the buck he’s hunting. This type of strategy is very effective for seeing critters but can require hunters to put their time in if targeting a specific buck. We hope Philip’s hitlist buck crosses soon!
A viewer recently asked for help on figuring out the thermals and wind direction for his hunting property.
It’s difficult to forecast how the wind will react to the timber and openings on a property until you get boots on the ground.
Thermals are simply air masses moving based on land and air temp. Basically, cold air is heavy and therefore sinks. Warm air is light and therefore rises. This is easy to picture on a relatively homogeneous habitat.
Understanding and using thermals to pick stand locations gets tricky when there’s a mix of shade (cool) and open (warm if sun is shining on it) habitat. In addition, as the sun’s relationship to the earth changes, so can the direction of thermals.
I try to find stand sites where the thermals and/or wind direction will remain the same during my hunt.
The combination of wind speed and direction and thermals can be tough to figure out when paired with topography and cover. Strong (10+ MPH) winds are relatively easy as they usually override thermals. When the wind speed is slower than that thermals and topo/cover may have more of an impact on wind speed.
One of our bigger food plots, Crabapple, is in a bottom – next to a creek. Plots in bottoms can be tough to hunt during warmer weather as deer tend to bed high and move down to plots to feed. The rising thermals (hot air rises) usually alerts deer to the presence of a predator (hunter) located in a bottom. However, air rarely rises when the temps are very cold.
The thermal currents should be sinking toward the creek (cold air sinks). This is more prevalent at the Crabapple plot because it is at the base of a large hill to the west. Hence the field is shaded by the sun early in the afternoon – allowing the air to cool even quicker. This often provides us the ability to enter a stand at Crabapple with the thermals in our favor.
If you want to dig deeper and see how we evaluate thermals and wind direction in planning our hunts, check out these videos: 472, 495, 507, 563, 572.
To dig even deeper and see all the videos and blogs where thermals are mentioned, enter the word “thermals” in the search box to the bottom right of the video player on the home page, select “other” from the drop down box, then click “go” on the far right of the search box.
The temperature was 46 degrees this morning with a 1mph south wind. We’re hunting in a pair of Summit Stands just above a creek on top of a bluff.
Out in front of us is a strip of hardwood timber with a recent cedar cut above. The bluff and the cedar cut act as a great pinch point as deer travel through the hardwoods. (The screenshot of the OnX map shows our hunting set-up best.) Even though there is a south wind, the thermals are stronger.
The cold is sinking down the mountain and being carried to the south. Because this is an west facing slope, it will not receive sunlight until later during the morning. Cool air will continue to sink until the sun rises over the mountain. This will allow us to hunt this location longer than if we were hunting under the same conditions on a south facing slope. We’re hoping bucks aren’t on their feet this morning!
We expect deer to react to the shot (we’ve seen this over and over). We practice like we hunt. When shooting at a deer or target, we aim at the lower 1/3 of the kill zone. If the deer reacts/drops, the shot is still in the kill zone. If the deer doesn’t react, it’s in the heart and/or bottom lungs.
I aim at the bottom third of the deer’s chest whether they are 20 or 40 yards away. I rarely shoot at deer past 40 yards for fear the deer will move and I rarely worry about deer dropping below the flight of the arrow if they are much closer than 20 yards. There are multiple advantages to aiming at the lower third of a deer’s chest. Wounds here usually produce better blood trails because the chest cavity doesn’t have to fill with blood before it starts exiting the wound.
I practice aiming at the bottom third so it’s a normal sight pattern when I’m hunting! See this video that shows how aiming for the lower third pays off!
We’re very excited about this new hidey hole food plot. It will be located on top of a ridge on the edge of a hardwood timber and a south facing slope/bedding area.
This is a great travel corridor. Deer already naturally travel across the saddle in the ridge and along the edge of the timber and bedding area.
Adding an attractive food source will make this an ideal hunting location! We are simply terminating the vegetation with backpack sprayers and will broadcast Eagle Seed Fall Buffalo Blend seed right before or during a rain.
Note: The map pictured above is from our OnX app. It’s a great tool for laying out food plots and so much more! Check out OnX maps here for a free trial! https://smart.link/tjeasbbh3nu2n
Folks often ask how high we place our Summit Treestands. There are many factors. One is cover.
When possible, we like to have cover (limbs and leaves) to break up the hunter’s silhouette and mask movement. We also consider if a tree will provide cover throughout the entire season (even after leaves fall). Cover varies from tree to tree and we adjust our stand height accordingly.
Most of the stands we hang for bow hunting are 20′ +/– high. If stands are much higher it’s very difficult to get both lungs if the deer is relatively close to the stand due to the angle. Some stands may be a bit higher or lower based on the topography near the stand.
