Hills & Thermals Whitetail Hunting Web Class

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Use Thermals to Your Advantage!

Did you know that most of the bucks featured at the top of this page on my wall were shot hunting hills and thermals? It's true!

Yet many of the most experienced hunters I know even have trouble with thermals.

Let's face it, 50% of all whitetail hunters hunt in enough hills to experience thermals and to really learn why you would you hunt in one location in the morning or another location in the evening—or vice versa.

There are a lot of tricks and tactics that you can take advantage of and throughout this Web Class, I'll teach you how to "cheat" the wind and how you should use the wind to your advantage.

I'm hoping that the experience that I have with hills and thermals—going back to the early '90s—will guide you to success!

Hills and Thermals Screen Cap

Learn from an innovator in whitetail hunting since 1995

Featuring 16 online video lessons in over 8 hours of video grouped into 3 modules, you’ll learn:

  • Saddle, Bench, Draw and other topographic terms and what they mean during the hunt
  • Morning and Evening Thermal Trends
  • How to "cheat" the wind and "forecast" it
  • How food affects where bucks bed in hill country
  • Determine the right location during the right time of day and how elevation plays a huge role
  • Why your stand location and elevation affects your scent
  • How deer move through hills
  • Using ditches and draws to your advantage
  • How to hunt in an actual valley (very tough!)
  • The quiet "Lee Side" Hunting Advantage

... and much, much more!

Jeff With Buck

Your Instructor

Jeff Sturgis takes decades of pursuing his passion, and then professionally transfers those pursuits into the enhancement of his client’s, reader's and viewer's hunting and habitat experiences, across the entire country. Jeff prides himself in creating the healthiest free-ranging deer herds in the world of whitetails, as well as taking on the challenge of hunting the oldest bucks in the neighborhood. Not only has he been able to create, own and operate a successful business in the whitetail industry since 2005, but he has been able to work along side his wife Diane while doing so.

Jeff received the QDMA's Deer Manager of the Year award in 2004, and hasn't stopped learning since. After studying and creating over 1000 whitetail videos and articles, as well as working on over 1000 client lands across 26 whitetail states, Jeff is in a league of his own when it comes to the ability to design your habitat, herd and hunt - anywhere a whitetail roams!

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their property's food plots, bedding areas and who wants to get that mature buck on the wall.
—Josh K

The only thing that is frustrating about watching your videos is I am going to have to wait another 6 months to apply a lot of what I have learned.! Keep it up!
—Chad

Hi Joe, things went great last year. Can't wait for this year! Saw more big bucks last year than ever before!
—Roger N - Michigan

Thank you!
—Craig- WV

Jeff, Your videos are absolutely awesome, good teacher, great speaker, great filming. Keep up the great content.
—John

I have shared your videos with fellow hunters, and they love them. I really don't think you have any idea how you are changing the mentality of deer hunters.
—Johnny

Excellent Jeff! You clearly have a PhD in whitetails. Thanks for another great video!
—Joey

Dylan Thank you for an amazing day.
—Mike- WI

Thank you!!!!
—Josh- Iowa

A big Thank You to Jeff and the WHS team, a real class act! It is nice to have a team to turn to that I trust.
—Patrick- WI

Course Curriculum

Section 1: The Advanced Basics of Hills, Thermals and Whitetails
Elevation Advantage Rules (24:43)
Food Positioned Bedding (07:56)
Common Topo Terms (11:16)
Hill Country Scent Control (08:37)
Section 2: Critical Hills and Thermal Hunting Strategies
Where Do Bucks Bed In Hill Country? (27:25)
Forecasting the Wind (13:15)
Using "Clean Air" Above The Soil (09:02)
Lee Side Hunting Advantage (18:01)
How to Cheat the Wind (11:53)
Section 3: Exactly Where To Hunt In Hills and Thermals
Mid & Lower Point Hunting (15:06)
Evening Thermal Trends (26:42)
Morning Thermal Trends (26:48)
How To Hunt In A Valley (17:04)
Hunting the Top of a Draw (16:29)
Risk and Reward of Ditches and Draws (09:02)
"Plan B" Thermal Attack (21:06)

Hills

PLUS: Exclusive bonuses...

Exclusive WHS Hat

Most deer hunters love hats, and we know you will enjoy this exclusive, high quality hat made exclusively for this web class! Hopefully you will want to collect them all!
$30 Value

Workbook

Make sure to follow along with your web class workbook that will be personally signed by Jeff and mailed to your shortly after your purchase. For this second class, there is room for notes on each page, as well as pages to begin designing your program towards the end of the book.
a $30 Value

3ebooksincluded

... worth over $120!

Free eBook Collection

Along with the “How To Design Your Deer Hunting Parcel” web class, enjoy our first 3 eBooks as further foundations of content to assist you in more accurately designing your hunt, habitat and herd.
—$60 Value

Future Discounts For Upcoming Web Classes

After you purchase this web class, we're giving you a 20% Off savings code for a substantial savings on any other web class series that is in our library in the future. (This offer extends to retail price only, and your savings code can be used at any time after the initial 30 day introductory price for each web series.)

Membership In WHS Private Facebook Group

This is a private, “Members Only” Facebook page that is only available by invitation to web class purchasers and site visit clients. Are you tired of wading through the plethora of poor online advice? Then you can take advantage of high-quality discussions with passionate hunters and habitat managers who share a common goal of getting it done right the first time.
Priceless!

Learn from my decades of experience hunting in hill country

From the first time I hunted 700 foot elevations in Pennsylvania back in the early '80s and then moving to Wisconsin and Minnesota in 2002 and beyond, I took those decades of experience and have narrowed all that knowledge down to the best content you'll find in this web class.

I talk to hunters all the time about hills/thermals. And I even have clients where I'll come to their property—clients who've paid pay me a lot of money for me come check it out—and even though they've hunted hills for decades, they're really not experienced when it comes to making good decisions throughout the hunt guided by hills and thermals.

These concepts work, and have been originated by me personally and have been proven over decades of work by tens of thousands of viewers, readers and clients. While these are the concepts that flood my books and over 1000 articles and videos that can be found on my website and YouTube channel, this is the most comprehensive set of content that can be used to effectively hunt hills – within the steps that you should work to complete them in.

My WHS Web Classes are the next best thing to having me come teach you about thermals on your land in person, and I am excited to open the availability of these classes to a far greater number of folks than the number I personally work with per year – at a much more affordable price!

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

How long do I have access to the course?

After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

What do I need to access the course?

If you have an Internet connection and a modern web browser, you'll be able to view the content.

Can I download the course for offline use?

Not at this time but please let us know if this is something you need. We might be able to make accommodations due to your circumstances (eg spotty/slow Internet, plane trip, etc.).

Is the course available on other formats (eg DVD, audio only).

Not at this time. However, please let us know if this is something you would find useful.

Are there closed-captions / transcript available?

Not yet, but please let us know so we can make accommodations.

What if I am unhappy with the course? Is there any refunds?

If you are unsatisfied, please let us know so we can address your concern.

I purchased the class—how do I login?

After you purchase the class, you will be prompted to create a password to this website and setup your account. If you forgot your password please try resetting it.

What Others Are Saying


Good Day. I am not sure where the best place to express my thanks for you sharing the information on YouTube so I picked your website. I enjoy watching you and occasionally Dylan almost everyday sharing your knowledge. Long story short my dad, sister, nephew, and myself lost our shotgun hunting spot after the 2021 season. It was a great spot on a farm where all we had to do was show up and we would see deer. Been like that for 20 years. Easy really LOL! Now for over 10 years my my dad has had 27 acres of mature timber that straddles a rather deep creek with no field edges. He tried to bow hunt on it a few times with no success at seeing daylight deer despite having a small food plot. Since it was really our best opportunity to hunt outside of public land, I started researching deer information and came across your YouTube videos. I never knew there was so much to learn about deer hunting and habitat. I put together a design for 18 acres on one side of the creek (the other 9 acres is a 2024 project due to bridge issues) and we worked as much as we could to implement the design (there is more than enough to still do this coming year). The plan did work as we saw many daylight deer on the trail cams. Mostly does consistently with bucks sprinkled in starting late September. We had no idea what the deer herd was like here. Turned out to be pretty good by our standards as our shooter board had two 10 pointers and three 8 pointers. In the end my dad and my sister took does and my nephew got one of the 8 pointers off our board. My nephew also got a 6 pointer with a bow while my dad passed on number of yearlings with his bow. I didn't get any as first season I went to a wedding in San Diego (could not pass up the warm weather) and by second season all the cover was mostly gone (hence more work still to be done for late season hunting as it was straight up mature woods we started with). I am very happy overall with the results and could not have done without your information and willingness to share.

My dad was a bit old school and not quite on board with the plan I put together from your information however he is now. With the season over and the only green food being the winter rye our cameras did have 12 does and yearlings on the main food plot which is only 20yds by 90 yds. He said he has never seen that many deer total over the 10 years let alone during the day at the same time. We are so grateful for your expertise and that we can continue to deer hunt and create memories. Definitely a new chapter for us in the deer hunting space. I even got my first bow for this year! :) I look forward to your future videos and podcasts. Thank you again!

Mike

Mike F

First off thanks for all the videos and posts that you have made. I read them all. But a special thanks is in order for your article last week. You talked about hunting the cold front Saturday. Well you convinced me enough to drive 2 hours to my parents hunting land to hunt. On a typical year I wouldn't have started hunting until mid October. But back to my story.

It's Saturday night and I'm in my stand by 5pm. By 6:30 I had already seen 6 different bucks. No shooters or at least not what I was looking for. About 7pm that monster buck came out. Just like you predicted. We had pictures of this buck, and so did the surrounding properties. So how lucky I feel, to have gotten this buck; it is still overwhelming! I know that if I wouldn't have seen your message about hunting Saturday, I wouldn't have been in the woods."

Nick B

Hey Jeff, I watch your you tube videos regularly and have since a couple months before October 1st when in Illinois now season starts. I build a food plot, hinge cut trees, moved stands etc. all while listening to your videos. I wanted to let you know Nov. 12th mid day, I had 16 deer come through. All in a two hour time pan. I got in the stand at 12:41 pm. When I texted my wife I was up safe. I texted my son at 1:05 that I shot a Buck, and by 1:15 I filled my doe tag as well. Was a nice 8 point that I called long horn. Because one brow tine was longer than the other. So was a success. So wanted to say your videos do help, and I listened completely to what you were teaching. Thank you very much.

Here are the pictures of some of the mock scrapes from Jeff’s video and the two I got Saturday. Mid day. 15 minutes apart. I got in the stand at 12:40. By 1:05 I shit the Buck. And by 1:20 I shot the doe. Was a great day.

Dustin K - Illinois

Since watching Jeff’s videos and reading his articles, I’ve completely changed the way I think and strategize my habitat work. As I’ve taken on his strategies as my own, I have learned to transition my hunting properties to improve the habitat as well as my food plots for better fall hunting, and the results speak for themselves!

Terron B

We had an awesome experience with Kevan and have really started to lay out the property. We are excited for this hunting season and will absolutely send pictures.
Here's one from the other day>>>

Jason H - Pennsylvania

Hills & Thermals Whitetail Hunting Web Class

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