quick question about stand placement

[lol]

I'm wondering if anyone has set a stand up on the top of a ridge facing down. My concern is that the height plus the slope might create too much angle looking down the hillside and just wanted to get some thoughts before I put it up and regret it. I'm wondering if it might be better to come down a little bit from the top or if that would just expose us to any deer that might come over the top. What I'm trying to accomplish is to watch the oaks between the top and bottom of the ridge to catch deer feeding.

 

[Billboy]

I hunt Campbell County (steep) quite a bit and this is how I generally set up. I like being able to watch down the mtn (preferably in a bowl or where a secondary ridge comes in) so I can see the contour trails and benches where deer are likely to travel. You just need to keep the wind/thermals in your favor.

 

[lol]

I hunt Campbell County (steep) quite a bit and this is how I generally set up. I like being able to watch down the mtn (preferably in a bowl or where a secondary ridge comes in) so I can see the contour trails and benches where deer are likely to travel. You just need to keep the wind/thermals in your favor.

Gotcha. I've got a property line on the top of the ridge with wma on the downhill. Deer have been moving between wma and my property via this ridge. I'm wanting to set up on the line so I can hunt WMA or private depending on what's open that week.

 

[Ski]

Depends. If you're using a bow then yeah you need to factor shot angle.

Also if you're going to be hunting mornings and are above the ridge crest then until 9am ish your thermals will be falling down each side of the hill, potentially spooking both sides. Same applies to late afternoon after sun drops below the horizon.

That said, every situation is different. Really the only way to find out is to hang and hunt. See what happens. If you need to make an adjustment then do it. I'm always moving stands around. Just part of it.

 

[BSK]

Where I hunt (ridge-and-hollow terrain), each ridgeline will have a topographic crest (the highest point on the ridgeline), as well as two "military crests" paralleling and on either side of the topographic crest. The "military crest" is the topographic feature where the ridge suddenly breaks over and becomes steep. It is called the "military crest" because it is where you would need to build a defensive trench from which a soldier can see all the way down the hillside.

The military crests are where we place our stands. They will be high enough to cover the top of the ridge, but also see all the way down the adjoining hillside. I also find that bucks - especially older bucks - like walking these military crests instead of the topographic crest.

 

[lol]

Where I hunt (ridge-and-hollow terrain), each ridgeline will have a topographic crest (the highest point on the ridgeline), as well as two "military crests" paralleling and on either side of the topographic crest. The "military crest" is the topographic feature where the ridge suddenly breaks over and becomes steep. It is called the "military crest" because it is where you would need to build a defensive trench from which a soldier can see all the way down the hillside.

The military crests are where we place our stands. They will be high enough to cover the top of the ridge, but also see all the way down the adjoining hillside. I also find that bucks - especially older bucks - like walking these military crests instead of the topographic crest.

This ridge unfortunately doesn't have a military crest other than a small maybe 30x30 area on the northern point but I've had a buck bedding there recently and I'd rather not set up in his bedroom. At the bottom is a large creek with some thickets on the other side, on top is s large flat with thick pine. The ridge between is hardwoods with an elevation drop of about 80 ft to the creek below.

 

[lol]

Depends. If you're using a bow then yeah you need to factor shot angle.

Also if you're going to be hunting mornings and are above the ridge crest then until 9am ish your thermals will be falling down each side of the hill, potentially spooking both sides. Same applies to late afternoon after sun drops below the horizon.

That said, every situation is different. Really the only way to find out is to hang and hunt. See what happens. If you need to make an adjustment then do it. I'm always moving stands around. Just part of it.

No good way around the thermals but at least the prevailing winds run directly towards the face of the ridge. I'm still trying to figure out how to hunt this property without alerting deer and I'm not sure I'm going to really be able to based on how its laid out, unless I get someone to drop me down from a helicopter.

 

[East TN Hunter]

I like setting stands up on the top. Only concern with too much angle is for archery hunting.

 

[lol]

I like setting stands up on the top. Only concern with too much angle is for archery hunting.

I ended up letting my boy pick a tree. He went down to the creek bottom and found a trail in a laurel thicket crossing the creek with hog and deer tracks. We went back as far up a draw as we could and still have a clear line down on the creek bottom. It's for juvenile hunt next weekend so I deferred to him.

 

[killingtime 41]

No good way around the thermals but at least the prevailing winds run directly towards the face of the ridge. I'm still trying to figure out how to hunt this property without alerting deer and I'm not sure I'm going to really be able to based on how its laid out, unless I get someone to drop me down from a helicopter.

Bucks like to walk the leeward sides of ridges about 1/3rd way down roughly from the top. It will be more important when they are looking for doe's in my opinion.they can walk the length of the ridge and still smell what's on top due to thermal drop and or wind . They will also travel windward just not as often is what I've found. Hunt it and find out is all you can do.

 

[lol]

Bucks like to walk the leeward sides of ridges about 1/3rd way down roughly from the top. It will be more important when they are looking for doe's in my opinion.they can walk the length of the ridge and still smell what's on top due to thermal drop and or wind . They will also travel windward just not as often is what I've found. Hunt it and find out is all you can do.

Its an odd layout. Its the confluence of two creeks. Basically, the creek that runs the middle of my property cut a mountain in half on its long sloping side, so I have a steady slope that runs 1700 ft or so E/W the length of the property along the north boundary. Across that line to the north the slope continues up to a small peak and then drops off steeply to the other creek that wraps around this small mountain. To the south of my creek is a long upward slope that turns into a flat, but on this side its broken by three or four finger ridges running North/South. At the west end, I have a ridge that drops down into the main creek that mine flows into in a "T" intersection. This creek runs parallel to my property line. So the only real ridge I have is the west ridge. Under the prevailing wind, I only ever have a windward side, and I don't really even have an east facing ridge anywhere. I don't believe there is one at all to the east of my property until you cross over into north Carolina. West of me, the only east facing ridge nearby is across the creek that runs N/S to the west of my property.