Hunting in Bluff Country Question.

[SCbowhunter1]

If all goes well I should draw an Iowa tag next season (fingers crossed). If so I will be hunting some public ground along the river bluffs. This is certainly beautiful country bountiful with deer. I hunt in rolling hills now but this bluff land is a little steeper than I’m use to. So does anyone have any tips for hunting bluff country with lots of timber.

BTW, I should get to hunt private ground with an experienced Iowa bow hunter but on the occasions I do not I would like to hear how some of you hunt in the timber near the bluffs.

 

[TallTines]

Really a general question so I'll answer it the best general way I can.

Hunt high in the mornings(preferably over bedding areas). Hunt low in the evenings either in a funnel or in between bedding and feeding. And for god sakes find the does,does,does if you are here for the rut.

In big timber you better learn how to read the sign real well and understand how that buck is using it because w/ so much cover for a buck to walk in you really have to narrow it down for where he is comfortable traveling. During the peak of the rut this won't be as useful, but for all other times it won't hurt.

You really are just going to have to get out there and pound around during the summer or winter and find the trees you want to hunt from. Come shed hunting and scout at the same time. If you do this it will probably be the most informative thing you can do.

Good luck here in Iowa

 

[SCbowhunter1]

Thanks for the response. Sorry for the broad question. To narrow it down a little, I would like to better understand how the deer transverse from bedding to feeding (and where they generally bed). In most of the similar type terrain I have hunted the crop lands have generally been in the bottoms land. In these areas the deer would bed high during the day to catch the rising thermals then move to bottoms at night to feed and catch the falling thermals. However, in Iowa the bottom lands are timber and the ridges are crop land or CRP.

I’m hoping to make it out before spring up, but 1200 miles is quite a trek and expensive. /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

No matter how the hunting goes, I'm sure I'll another great trip. Last time I saw more deer in week than I will see hear in week hunting.