Wondering if anyone has utilized a consultant or built their own hill country plan that could help illistrating their improvements. Looking for help by someone who has seen success in their habitat work. Im trying to understand the where and why there are specific applications to specific locations such as food, fruit, corridor cuttings, bed cuttings, tsi, water, etc as they relate to larger hills... Ive watched a ton of youtube and minus one individual I cant find much on property that has higher elevation and that individual is pretty guarded in providing the step by step of how he does what he does. I cant afford to hire someone, its just not in the cards and id like to build a property like many have on a limited budget. Anyone out there that could share some hill ideas?
Hill country habitat plan?
- Thread starter OHBB437
- Start date
One place you might check would be your County Cooperative Extension Service office. They would know what would thrive in your particular area and climate. They are paid by tax dollars and they don't charge for services or advice. The crop specialist at my local office is also a deer hunter and plants food plots on his own farm. He has visited my properties several times and we have shared some valuable information with each other. He also works closely with the farmer who leases land from me to grow crops on.
Lynn
Lynn
BenAllgood
Well-Known Member
Check the Property Tours sections for guys that are successful in hill type terrain.
Like Letmgrow stated, local resources could be good. They are great for my area in Kentucky. Here's a link to the private lands biologists with Ohio's DNR. They know your area and would be a great resource.
https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/...dship-citizen-science/private-lands-biologist
Like Letmgrow stated, local resources could be good. They are great for my area in Kentucky. Here's a link to the private lands biologists with Ohio's DNR. They know your area and would be a great resource.
https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/...dship-citizen-science/private-lands-biologist
Cedar Ridge
Active Member
BenAllgood
Well-Known Member
Chris Mason. He knows his stuff and can help coordinate projects.
https://fw.ky.gov/More/Documents/privatelands_biologists.pdf
weekender21
Well-Known Member
Where are you located? Elevation? Grow zone?
I’m in western NC, zone 6B. Our place ranges in elevation from ~2800-3300. We’ve done a good bit in the past few years. Every property is different though.
What are your goals?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jon
Active Member
I consult in NY and deal with topography quite often. Typical elevation changes are anywhere from 500-1500 ft on most client terrain. A lot of the decisions on what to do depend as much on your herd as it does topography. That aside, a simple step in the right direction is to taking existing movement and just enhance it throughout your property. Meaning you take game trails and ensure they run in directions they want to, but establish some more huntabilty through access correlated to terrain and tie to these trails. You can get more advanced by bringing in dozers to clear areas and create benches etc. My suggestion is continue to look at your property as objective as possible draw out what works and you and your hunting buddies evaluate the pitfalls of the plan. I’m not going to bash on anyone who consults but the first step in creating a plan is simply knowing what deer like to do in your terrain and remember you know way more about your property than any consultant because it’s your land and you’ve hunted it!
Jon
Active Member
Lol absolutely nothing
, funny enough I think your sentiments on the leg situation is historical fact! When our bucks hit flat ground they normally tip real easy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jon
Active Member
Very cool you can spit on the slopes from my house. I have client on top of that hill you are talking about, avg to decent hunting in this area. Skiing wise,it’s an icy mess in these parts.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And somehow they do that walking around in daylight which amazes me...
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
I’m working with an elevation change of around 800’. I also have plenty of benches, ridges, hollers, fingers, and saddles and have made almost all of my improvements back in the timber.
Like previously mentioned, when the land offers natural movement patterns use them to your advantage. Get in there and figure out where they are bedding (bucks/does) and plan your access/hunting accordingly. The time of year will determine prime food sources and I still hang it up when the acorns drop. Nothing I’ve done can compete with that.
I have been adding food plots where possible because that is my biggest limiting factor. It would be nice to add them in the perfect spots, but the terrain doesn’t allow it. It took me a while to let that sink in. I have learned a ton from guys here and read almost every book there is on it.
I am no expert, but have been very successful over the last four years and have had three or four bucks running around in the upper age classes each year. I have also been fortunate enough to take one the last three years and my Dad killed what I believe to be a 5yo this year.
Making habitat improvements in terrain like ours is tough, but I enjoy the work more than anything else I’ve done.
Good luck!
Sent from my iPad using Deer Hunter Forum
Like previously mentioned, when the land offers natural movement patterns use them to your advantage. Get in there and figure out where they are bedding (bucks/does) and plan your access/hunting accordingly. The time of year will determine prime food sources and I still hang it up when the acorns drop. Nothing I’ve done can compete with that.
I have been adding food plots where possible because that is my biggest limiting factor. It would be nice to add them in the perfect spots, but the terrain doesn’t allow it. It took me a while to let that sink in. I have learned a ton from guys here and read almost every book there is on it.
I am no expert, but have been very successful over the last four years and have had three or four bucks running around in the upper age classes each year. I have also been fortunate enough to take one the last three years and my Dad killed what I believe to be a 5yo this year.
Making habitat improvements in terrain like ours is tough, but I enjoy the work more than anything else I’ve done.
Good luck!
Sent from my iPad using Deer Hunter Forum
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
Also, Google Earth is your friend. Get a good app for your phone and mark trails and sign every time you are out there. Make sure you can export the waypoints so you can import them to Google Earth to start putting the puzzle together.
I’ve seen rubs on the same ridges every year. Primary scrapes in the same spots every year. The terrain really drives movement on properties like ours.
Sent from my iPad using Deer Hunter Forum
I’ve seen rubs on the same ridges every year. Primary scrapes in the same spots every year. The terrain really drives movement on properties like ours.
Sent from my iPad using Deer Hunter Forum
weekender21
Well-Known Member
I completely agree, that’s the major difference between mountain country and flat land. You can definitely make improvements but terrain funnels are king.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Jon
Active Member
Tonight we took the second high scoring buck on my property. The property was 98% woods, north slope with a change of elevation of 300-400 ft and is less than 50 acres, Tough hunting!!!!My first tactic was reducing hunting pressure, second was creating better access, third was improvements. The improvements waited until I had developed a plan no different from my clients. Point is that hunting smart can go just as far as improvements one might end up making, so ensure it’s about strategy from a where and when to hunt philosophy as much as manipulation or other tactics. I’m also in NY where the hunting pressure is greater than most any other state, that plays a lot into the design. So consider your neighborhood.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Similar threads
