Studying a topographic map can suggest how a buck might interact with a local landscape.
Deer hunters can improve their chances of finding mature bucks by studying topographic maps of the landscapes they hope to scour. Such cartographic representations of landforms and landscape features can give you a bird's-eye view of the lay of the land, drawing your eye to variances in terrain and cover that might be favorable to your quarry. This is a version of advance scouting, and can save you time on the ground and lend you a deeper understanding of geography during the hunt.
Instructions
1. Look at patterns of forest cover. Topographic maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey will designate vegetated areas with green shading, and distinguish between timber, shrubland and cultivated tracts. Belts of woods or scrub are likely deer travel corridors, funneling the animals through more open or developed country.
2. Find topographic funnels that may similarly constrict deer movement. These might include steep-walled canyons and the bases of river terraces, cliffs and severe highlands.
3. A dense grove of conifers may shelter an autumn buck.
Focus on deep pockets of forest or timbered swamps -- also shown on USGS topographic maps -- to find deer bedding grounds. While whitetail bucks often retire in such heavily forested refuges, all deer will utilize groves and thickets for thermal cover and shade, depending on the weather.
4. Deer that make regular seasonal movements seek out routes based on topography.
Identify both ridge spines and river valleys, which are often used by deer during seasonal travels -- such as mule deer migrating in the mountainous West, or white-tailed deer trekking to winter yards. Use the map's contour lines to identify these landforms: The lines depict areas of equal elevation, and a dense cluster of them increasing to a knife-edge suggests a sharp ridge.
5. Deer will feast on acorns and other fallen tree nuts.
Look for feeding areas. A USGS map often illustrates orchards and other agricultural land, which are prime foraging sites for deer. A wooded area on a map of a location in a hardwood-forest zone might have mast-bearing trees like oak or hickory in the autumn to attract deer.
6. Find pockets of undeveloped land farthest away from roads and buildings. Bucks become particularly elusive during hunting season, of course, and may seek out especially far-flung places.
7. Aerial photographs and topographic maps can be used in conjunction to identify likely deer habitat.
Use topographic maps in conjunction with aerial photographs of the same area, if you can, to make your scouting even more robust. Cross-referencing between the topo map and the photograph can highlight land-use changes -- you always want to use the most current cartographic resource you can -- and confirm suspicions about vegetation cover and other ecological factors.
Tags: likely deer, topographic maps
