Understanding Terrain for Deer Hunting Success

I think it’s safe to say that no, it does not. Most of us know how to hunt a given wind, but when hunting in any kind of hilly country, wind acts in strange and finicky ways that can make or break a hunt. In our journey to better understand how to use terrain to improve our deer hunting success, let us first take a look at thermals and other wind considerations.

Don’t Get The Wind? Hunt High The first thing you need to know is that once you get down into tricky topography like valleys, saddles, and draws, the wind is going to begin doing funky things. I once heard wind described as water flowing in a creek. When the water runs over pebbles or hits a large boulder, it forms rapids, goes around it, swirls or eddies. Wind works the same way with hills, valleys, and bends in a ridge.

Wind comes across these topographic features and swirls, switches directions, or does a number of other unpredictable things. This being said, you’ll find that treestands in locations such as valleys or on hillsides will often result in variable wind directions, which often can lead to blown chances at deer. Given this conundrum, until you fully understand how wind flows in these situations, it's often a better idea to hunt higher up, in flat areas. There are plenty of great strategic locations where you can set up on on higher ground, which will result in more consistent wind.

Understanding Thermals If you are going to venture into the world of hunting hillsides or valleys, it will be incredibly important for you to understand thermals. I’ll be honest, up until last year I had no idea what thermals had to do with hunting. But given some new education, I know they will change the way I hunt in many situations. So first off, what are thermals?

Thermals are the result of air warming, or cooling. This causes air to move up or down, sometimes along a hillside or ridge. On calm mornings, when the valley floor begins to warm, that heat will begin to rise and will result in an updraft of air moving up the hill. On evenings when the temperature begins to drop, that cold air sinks to the bottom of the valley again, bringing with it that draft of air down the hillside. Understanding this simple fact of nature can make a huge difference in how you play the wind while hunting. Very often these thermals can be stronger and more consistent than a “prevailing” wind, so if you are in a thermal situation, play the wind that results from them.

One interesting theory I heard about, from the “Hunting Hill Country Bucks” DVD, is that this thermal effect can cause a sort of “thermal tunnel”, where the thermals and the prevailing winds hit eachother. This supposedly occurs about 1/4 of the way down a hill or ridge. Very often deer will travel this “tunnel” along the length of a hill. Whatever side of a hill has the convergence of thermals and prevailing winds should also have the most movement. I can’t say that I have any personal experience to back this up, but it’s an interesting idea to consider.

Make sure while hunting a ridge or hillside that you keep these thermals in mind. If it’s a morning hunt, thermals will likely be bringing warm air up the hill, so hunt above a trail you expect deer to come across. If it’s an evening, then expect thermals to be pulling air down into the valley, and make sure you are below the trail or destination you want deer to come through.

How Deer Use Thermals When Bedding One of the most interesting pieces of information I learned while diving into thermals was how deer use them when bedding in hilly areas. Consider this scenario: We have a hill with east and west facing slopes. When a prevailing wind is coming from the west and a thermal is pulling up the east hillside in the morning, these two drafts of air will meet on the east hillside. This is exactly where big, mature bucks will bed.

It makes sense when you think about it. A deer’s number one defense mechanism is it’s nose, so in this situation a buck can scent check it’s blind spot and behind it, while also smelling and surveying the land in front of it and down the hill. If the prevailing wind was from the east, you could expect this buck to be bedded on the west. Keep this factor in mind next time you’re trying to determine where those old bucks could be bedding.

Always Monitor and Learn From The Wind No matter how much you understand about wind behavior in these unique terrains, wind can always surprise you. So make sure you actually check the wind when you’re in the tree, see how it plays out and learn from it. But don’t just check how the wind is blowing in your tree, check how the wind is moving down on the ground. One tip for this is to use milkweed to release into the wind and then watch as the wind carries it away. This will give you a good idea of how wind is actually moving through the area and how it is effected by factors like trees and terrain features.

Now all this being said, I know there is plenty more to be considered when it comes to wind, thermals and especially wind considerations in hilly terrain. It’s certainly a subject that takes a lot of first hand experience to fully understand and apply.