Do deer travel the creek beds and why?
Streams and creeks allow bucks to quench their thirst while finding cooler temperatures and thick cover. This makes them terrific early season hotspots—ones that are neglected by many deer hunters. Creeks act as natural funnels for buck travel which gives you the perfect opportunity to set up along them.
Do deer like dry creek beds?
Deer are bedding and staging in creek bottoms during the heat of the day. You might say, well duh, they are getting water. But the deer are in areas of the creek that are dry. When I first head out at daylight, most of the deer I see are bedded down in CRP fields that include fescue or brome grass.
How do thermals work in creek bottoms?
There are usually a few spots right in the creek bottoms where thermals will take you scent straight up until the sun warms them up and the thermals start pulling up the sides of the bottom. Afternoons are just far less predictable IME unless there is a solid terrain feature you can play the wind off of.
Do deer follow creek beds?
River and Creek Crossings River and creek crossings are excellent locations to catch deer moving. Again, think paths of least resistance. Deer likely won’t swim if there’s a spot they can walk or wade across.
Do deer drink from creeks?
They will readily use troughs, ponds, creeks, rivers springs, dew, snow and even mud puddles. In fact, secluded depressions that hold water for any period of time will be used heavily by deer. These tucked-away surface sites allow does with fawns and weary bucks to go about their business in seclusion.
Do deer move when pressure rises or falls?
A high, stable barometer is also good hunting. After compiling our results, whitetails seem to move best when the pressure is between 29.90 and 30.30 inches with the best movement occurring at the higher end of that range, around 30.10 to 30.30 inches.
Do deer prefer streams or ponds?
Deer prefer a stagnant pool of water over running water,” Reed said. Make sure you do the little things correctly when putting in a water source. Like your favorite food plot, placement is everything. Don’t just put your pond in the middle of a field or somewhere deer don’t frequent.
When should you hunt a water hole?
When deer are bedded all day in a dry location, and then head to their afternoon food source, adding a waterhole to their travel corridor can create the most precision stand location in the woods.
Do Bucks Cross Rivers?
If a river or creek runs parallel between bedding and feeding areas, deer absolutely will cross it, so walk parallel along its banks on the same side as the food source during midday. Again, try to find crossings with mature buck tracks — these are usually more discreet — and give one a shot.
How do deer use oxbows?
An “oxbow” is a bend in a river or creek that forms a bowl shaped loop that almost forms an island with just a small area of dry land connecting to the mainland. Bedding will be along the river in the bowl shaped area. They have one dry entry predators can enter on. Deer can monitor it with wind-blown scent.
What temperature do deer move the most?
A drop of 10 or more degrees in daytime high temperatures tends to elicit a positive increase in deer movement—this seems to be the threshold for a meaningful cold front. Furthermore, cold temperatures in general (compared to the average for that time of year) are almost always a good thing.
What affects deer movement the most?
It’s not hocus-pocus; it’s atmospheric air density that triggers this activity. More to the point, it’s the rapidly rising or falling barometric pressure that precedes or follows a weather front that seems to show the biggest impact.
Will deer drink stagnant water?
“I think deer prefer to drink out of a mud puddle or small pond rather than a river or creek. The water in a pond isn’t moving so the deer can hear better when they drink and are more aware if predators are approaching. Deer prefer a stagnant pool of water over running water,” Reed said.
Is it worth deer hunting in 70 degree weather?
2. There are dry temperatures and wet temperatures. Deer prefer humidity between 40 and 50 percent. If it’s 70 degrees out and the humidity is 70 percent, there won’t be much daylight activity even if you’re 5 degrees below average temperature as stated above.
Is it better to hunt before or after a cold front?
First Morning After a Cold Front – The best time to hunt deer is the morning after a cold front passes. As temperatures stabilize and skies clear, mature whitetail bucks will be moving towards food sources and also concentrating on pre-rut or rut activities depending on the time of year.
Do deer like rising or falling pressure?
When barometric pressure is rising, deer hunting is better than when the barometric pressure is falling. I make sure I’m well aware of cold fronts at this time of the year, because when there’s a cold front coming in, the bucks really start moving – hunting food and places to bed-down.
Are creek bottoms the best way to hunt big bucks?
I picture that outing when I think about hunting creek bottoms during the rut in the big woods of Pennsylvania. In my opinion, hunting creek bottoms can be one of the most effective ways to kill a big buck during the rut, but recognizing the right conditions is crucial to having the opportunities.
When is the best time of year to hunt creek bottoms?
The rut is, by and large, the most effective time to hunt creek bottoms. Not that it can’t be effective at other times of the year, but if you are trying to play the odds game, the rut is your best bet. I like to think of creek bottoms as the interstates of the big woods during the rut.
What’s the deal with wind in creek bottoms?
Wind in creek bottoms also tends to swirl in narrower valleys, creating some risky hunting setups. I mentioned beaver ponds earlier; they can even create their own thermals.
How far did the Buck Run down the creek?
The buck ran about 80 yards and piled up in the thicket on the opposite side of the creek. I picture that outing when I think about hunting creek bottoms during the rut in the big woods of Pennsylvania.