[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/mapping-whitetails-07-advantages-of-hunting-hilly-terrain\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/mapping-whitetails-07-advantages-of-hunting-hilly-terrain\/","headline":"Mapping Whitetails #07: Advantages of Hunting Hilly Terrain","name":"Mapping Whitetails #07: Advantages of Hunting Hilly Terrain","description":"Driving in to work today, I passed a recently harvested corn field and thought to myself\u2026Man, I wish I could...","datePublished":"2016-09-27","dateModified":"2018-12-04","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/mappingwhitetails-07.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/mappingwhitetails-07.jpg","height":664,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/mapping-whitetails-07-advantages-of-hunting-hilly-terrain\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":1155,"keywords":["Hunting","Hunting Strategy","Tips"],"articleBody":"Driving in to work today, I passed a recently harvested corn field and thought to myself\u2026Man, I wish I could hunt there.\u00a0 Now, you are probably thinking I say that about every piece of good looking, deer hunting property I drive by and can\u2019t hunt.\u00a0 While that may be more true than false, there was something special that stuck out about this field compared to other fields in my area \u2013 it was the shape of the field that had me dreaming I was 20 feet up overlooking the back edge.\u00a0 As I continued along my daily commute, I continued to dissect and digest the field and it lead me on to a topic that I thought was article worthy \u2013 the true benefits of hunting non-flat land.Huntable FieldsThe sole reason this article came to fruition was because I drove by a huntable field.\u00a0 In my opinion there\u2019s a big difference between a field you can hunt over and a huntable field.\u00a0 Let me explain: When I say huntable, I\u2019m usually referring to bow hunting, as that\u2019s what I do the most of.\u00a0 Just about any field can be considered huntable with a rifle because if you\u2019re skilled you can shoot a country mile. Bow hunting is obviously quite different and big rectangular\u00a0fields present plenty of challenges. Which takes me back to what caught my eye during this morning\u2019s drive\u2026 the field was an irregular shape with different outcroppings of timbered points and pockets of secluded field \u2013 basically a bow hunters dream.Here’s the field I drove past. \u00a0The little pocket and extending timber points in the middle of the screen are what had me excited. Compare that to the image below, which is what most of the fields look like\u00a0in flat areas.Notice how rectangular the fields are in flat country. \u00a0The lack of timber outcroppings and narrow fields makes them tough to bow hunt. \u00a0Hunting the inside corners is an effective strategy in this scenario (click to learn how).What you see in the top photo\u00a0is a rare find in the area I hunt because it is so flat.\u00a0 There\u2019s no terrain features to dictate where a farmer can plant like there is in hill country, thus, they plant rectangular fields.\u00a0 This is one of the reasons places like Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Iowa offer some tremendous hunting.\u00a0 In hill country, ridgetops and wide\u00a0valleys are typically the only areas planted, while the sloping hillsides remain forested.\u00a0 This scenario provides excellent bowhunting opportunities because the fields are often long and narrow with plenty of little spurs planted. Take a look at the following image to see what I\u2019m talking about.The ridge top is identified in red and the spurs are denoted with yellow stars.\u00a0This is an aerial image from Southwestern Wisconsin in the heart of hill country.\u00a0 The shape of these fields are dictated by the terrain. The flat ridgetops and spurs are planted, while the hillsides provide plenty of cover for big bucks.\u00a0 Not only is it a great habitat mix for whitetails, but the fields are very bow huntable due to the long and narrow shape and small spurs.More LandYou might think 100 acres is 100 acres no matter how you spin it.\u00a0 Not true!\u00a0 The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is what we use in the U.S. to survey land boundaries. The system requires measurements to be taken according to the horizontal distance, thus, slope is unaccounted for. Here\u2019s where the advantage of owning a hilly property comes in.\u00a0 Owning a hilly property means you actually own much more surface area than someone who owns a flat property, thus, more land to deer hunt.\u00a0 \u00a0A hilly property simply hunts bigger than a flat property.Funneling FeaturesYou\u2019ve heard it before and you\u2019ll hear it again \u2013 deer prefer to use the path of least resistance.\u00a0 They\u2019re just like humans and will routinely use terrain features to their advantage when trekking across the country side. Whether it\u2019s a shelf, ridgetop, creek crossing, or saddle, a hunter can utilize these terrain features to get within shooting distance of a deer.\u00a0 Flat land properties simply don\u2019t have those advantageous terrain funneling features to key in on when hunting.To learn more about how to use these features to your advantage, check out the following:Mapping Whitetails #06: Prime Rut RunwaysMapping Whitetails #05: 3 Must Hunt FunnelsCleaner AccessYour treestand location is only as good as your access route.\u00a0 Too many hunters fail to consider the impacts of their walk in and walk out.\u00a0 Typically, we are most concerned with the wind direction, but we shouldn\u2019t abandon our abilities to stay hidden as we approach a stand.\u00a0 Rolling terrain has many advantages when it comes to sneaking into and out of your deer stand.Creek bottoms with steep banks allow you to stay low and enter quietly. While hills and rises break up sight distances, ultimately preventing deer from seeing you first.\u00a0 Subtle elevation changes can go a long way in keeping hunting pressure off of deer, especially when you think about exiting stands near feeding fields during the evening.\u00a0 Hunting primarily in the flat land areas of Southeastern Wisconsin, it sure would be nice to have a stand over a field where I could exit by dropping off a ridgetop and into a small creek and walk out without alerting the deer feeding in the field.In the end, terrain is a tremendous dictator of deer movement and the huntability of any given property.\u00a0 Consider these tips\u00a0when scouting, hunting, or buying your next property."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/mapping-whitetails-07-advantages-of-hunting-hilly-terrain\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Mapping Whitetails #07: Advantages of Hunting Hilly Terrain"}}]}]