RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
06-09-2003, 12:50 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bland County Virginia
Posts: 469
RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
I live in a very mountainous area of west virginia, and generally there are only two direction, up & down.... I have had success on the ridgetops (which are a pain in the a#* to get to) and also in the creek bottoms, but generally the real bruisers come from the ridge tops and come down into the bottoms. Which, since some of the foothills are only about 2400ft or so, for a big buck running a doe it only takes a matter of moments to go from top to bottom when the ground is barren. So that leaves me with the question- If you do everything else right, you play the rut signs, you know where the deer are bedding/feeding, you know the travel patterns, Does it really matter if you set up on the top or bottom?? I mean I' ve been known to know my way around the whitetail woods, but this question really gets me. And I know several things play in like WHERE exactly they are bedding/feeding, or the time of year. But I' ve heard a tale or two of people spotting bucks that WOULD NOT tip over that ridge regardless of what was down there. I' ve seen (and even harvested) some real dandy bucks on both ridge tops and in the bottoms, but I have to say the bottoms have really produced for me the most.....But does it really matter in a general case??
06-09-2003, 07:46 AM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: NW Montana / SW Alberta Rockies
Posts: 3,258
RE: RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
I would say neither, but since you have signs in both places, then hunt where the deer are and go with your intowishin. The mulies here will travel below the ridge line and the white-tails are where you find them, they are there one day and gone the next, but if you can locate the does dureing the rut, then the big boys will follow. When I hunt elk/deer here in the mountains you can always count on wind curents going down the mountain in the early morning and then the thermal currents change and will rise as the morning progresses. This is why I like to hunt parallel to the reveens to compensate for any change in wind direction. Good Luck, Bobby 
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06-12-2003, 08:42 AM
#8
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 380
RE: RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
Like thundermug, I' m a Florida boy, so we know very little about your predicament. 
However, I will add something I read somewhere; you have to remember that in the morning as the air is heating up, the air from that bottom you' re hunting in is going to rise towards the ridge top, and in the evening as the air cools, the air from the ridge top sinks to the bottom. Which is probably why your buddies had bucks that wouldn' t come down from the ridge no matter what they did.
However, I will add something I read somewhere; you have to remember that in the morning as the air is heating up, the air from that bottom you' re hunting in is going to rise towards the ridge top, and in the evening as the air cools, the air from the ridge top sinks to the bottom. Which is probably why your buddies had bucks that wouldn' t come down from the ridge no matter what they did.
06-13-2003, 09:13 AM
#9
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Biloxi MS USA
Posts: 39
RE: RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
I am no professional but this is the way I hunt the Virgina mountains and it works good for me. In the morning I hunt saddles between ridges and travel routes to the ridges. If you are a late riser you should look for high points with sharp drop off on one side and an easy route another way. This seems to be where most of my bucks bed. Downside to that thought is you hunt in his bedroom and you have to take the steep side up. In the evening I hunt food sources and thick travel area' s coming from the ridges. This also takes care of the thermal winds in the morning as the sunrises the air warms and rises as well. The opposite happpens as night falls. The deer will often bed in area' s they can take advatage of this. Good luck and keep the wind in your face.
Hope this helps you, Gabe
By the way I believe the big bucks only come down at night unless the area has very little pressure. During the rut hunt does and where does bed.
Hope this helps you, Gabe
By the way I believe the big bucks only come down at night unless the area has very little pressure. During the rut hunt does and where does bed.
06-13-2003, 11:50 AM
#10
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southern Illinois
Posts: 461
RE: RIDGES OR BOTTOMS??!!
I hunt at a point where three ridges come together and believe it or not I hunt there every shotgun season same place, same exact stand(well it has been rebuilt) but I have hunted that deer stand for 10 years everyday shotgun season and have seen more deer come up those ridge to that point then you would believe. I don' t hunt it bow season just shotgun but it is amazing how well those ridges produce deer. I would definitely say ridges!!!