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Post by onebentarrow on Nov 2, 2020 15:26:11 GMT -5
How Do you know point x is a bedding area and not point a. I have seen deer bed down every where,in a grass field,bean field,picked and standing corn,under my stand. I have found beds every where in the woods.
I have hunted 40+ years and this is the one thing that really stumps me.
Is there a scientific study that shows deer bed in the same spot/area regularly or is this an assumption we make?
I hunted a small wood lot that the deer did not stay in. They only traveled thru it on their daily routine only thing was that was once every three days.you could see the whole woods from the middle stand. That is how I know every three days. Always from the same direction,some times morning,some times afternoon,some times evening, so these deer could not be bedding in the same place daily or is it that the food and cover where you hunt is conduceive to them bedding in the same area regularly and if so how do you determine/recognize that as such?
Onebentarrow
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Post by whitetaildave24 on Nov 2, 2020 16:28:47 GMT -5
Wind plays a huge role in where and how deer bed.
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Post by sculver7 on Nov 2, 2020 16:38:01 GMT -5
How Do you know point x is a bedding area and not point a. I have seen deer bed down every where,in a grass field,bean field,picked and standing corn,under my stand. I have found beds every where in the woods. I have hunted 40+ years and this is the one thing that really stumps me. Is there a scientific study that shows deer bed in the same spot/area regularly or is this an assumption we make? I hunted a small wood lot that the deer did not stay in. They only traveled thru it on their daily routine only thing was that was once every three days.you could see the whole woods from the middle stand. That is how I know every three days. Always from the same direction,some times morning,some times afternoon,some times evening, so these deer could not be bedding in the same place daily or is it that the food and cover where you hunt is conduceive to them bedding in the same area regularly and if so how do you determine/recognize that as such? Onebentarrow I totally agree that wind plays a major role. In my experience, deer won't necessarily bed in the same spot day in and day out, but deer (especially bucks) definitely rotate between a handful of beds based on wind direction. And typically, these beds that they rotate between will usually all be in a fairly close proximity to each other. That is why you hear about a buck's core area. Now during the rut, that can all go out the window as bucks are moving far and wide looking for action. |
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Post by onebentarrow on Nov 2, 2020 19:57:10 GMT -5
Onebentarrow[/quote]I totally agree that wind plays a major role. In my experience, deer won't necessarily bed in the same spot day in and day out, but deer (especially bucks) definitely rotate between a handful of beds based on wind direction. And typically, these beds that they rotate between will usually all be in a fairly close proximity to each other. That is why you hear about a buck's core area. Now during the rut, that can all go out the window as bucks are moving far and wide looking for action. [/quote]
I understand the core aera. Have seen tracking study's on it. I understand how wind direction can play in to just exactly where a deer will bed a lot. What I want to know is how to identify these bedding/ core areas. What to look for,signs it is a bedding aera,how to determine it is a bedding area instead of a place some deer laid down for a short time while grazing. Are these bedding areas more prevalent in an area with high deer densities,are the beds different from ones of a short nap or where they chewed their cud.
Just last year during archery I had 4 does and 1 buck come in and all beaded down within 45 (closest one 15) yrds of my tree. They were there for over an hr and a half. I know this is not a bedding area. Never seen beds here befor. So how do I tell the difference between those and one in a bedding aera?
I am not trying to be hard nosed. I have heard the turm used and never been able to locate one. Or recognize I found one and did not know it
Onebentarrow
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Post by sculver7 on Nov 3, 2020 7:38:09 GMT -5
Oh, I see what you are asking. I can't tell you for sure how to find these repeated bedding areas. I try to find areas of super thick cover either where the woods transitions from one type of trees to another or on the edges of swamps or even out in swamps. Bucks will always (especially on heavy pressured ground) consistently bed in super thick cover. If you are trying to find buck beds, a lot of times the beds will have rubs on trees immediately next to the bed and there will usually be a lot of poop in the bed. Usually, I scout for beds in February right after the snow melts. Beds that have been used year round are also usually really matted down. A spot where a deer bedded for a quick nap will not still look like a bed a month or even a week after they have bedded down there. A bed that is used a lot will be matted down almost year round. I know that probably doesn't help much but that is what I have learned in my limited scouting experience.
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Post by scrobertson on Nov 3, 2020 7:44:20 GMT -5
Best thing to do is scout after season is over and early/mid spring.The sign will be easily visible. This will tell you where the deer where during hunting season. Then come late summer go out and glass if you can and don't be afraid to venture into suspected bedding the deer will come back. Look for single beds in thick or remote areas with hair in the beds. Look for worn down to dirt beds. Typically buck beds will have a rub tree in their bed or really close proximity. Doe tend to bed in groups so if you find an area with multiple beds its usually does, but mark that spot because come rut it will draw bucks. Follow rub lines to thick cover. The best thing you can do is put boots on the ground.
If you don't already know, the hunting beast forum has sooo much information pertaining to bedding/ mature buck bedding. If interested go check out the site its free to join. There is alot of info to dig through and it can seem daunting, but its so informational!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2020 7:56:27 GMT -5
Where I live there are three main bed areas. One major and two minors. The best way to check is right after a big snow and look for the melted snow beds. The major bed has around 40 beds and the minors about a dozen. At times deer will bed close to a feed area, but once that food is gone they move back to their typical bed area or to another food area. If the deer get spooked from a bed area most times they move to another bed area. Watch where they run. From my front window I can watch bucks this time of year come from one bed and go to the next and then to the next. That is how I found them. Observation. I'm not sure of this, but at home and at my brothers place the beds are set in triangle formation. The distance between beds around a 200-600 yards
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Post by tynimiller on Nov 3, 2020 8:35:01 GMT -5
Primary bedding areas can shift dependent on dominant food sources at that time of year, weather changes stripping cover of its leaves making what once was cover not so much, but the BIGGEST factor every primary bedding area I've ever found on private or public is the security factor.
Typically they are large enough to offer different bedding places on different winds, at minimum 3 different directional escape routes out, can see or hear dangers approaching and always free of human intrusion.
An example of very secure but not thick bedding is a hilltop that is void of cover near my parents old place was a constant bedding location....it wasn't thick with cover, it was rather bare understory with minimal BH's present a couple old logs down...BUT house was to it's immediate South used as a backstop and deer would bed along the edges of the hillside letting the wind kick up and over their backs watching their backsides, eyes looking down over the hillside and bottom for approaching danger and could slip W/N/E off that hilltop at a moment's notice.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2020 14:45:09 GMT -5
You`re correct in that, deer can, and will, and do bed anywhere they want and feel comfortable. Typically, the thicker and nastier the cover, the more likely it will be used for bedding, and as has been said, based on prevailing winds. But I`ve found beds from doe families that were in reasonably open cover, but tucked back from the tree line into the woods, where they were watcjing the filed for danger, and catching the breeze for scent from behind them. Their beds were obvious from the melted places in the snow.
Bucks oftentimes bed down below the top of a ridge where they can easily see movement and therefore, danger, ahead and below them, and catch the wind from behind them to smell trouble.
Beds won`t be in exactly the same spot on the ground on any given day, but that general area may well be a preferred bedding area.
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Post by bartiks on Nov 10, 2020 23:21:05 GMT -5
One thing I've noticed is if there are hills or slopes that will catch majority of the sun thru mid morning to early afternoon they prefer to bed there as it provides them a little warmth, not that they really need it but one thing I've noticed. And as all the fine upstanding gents have mentioned here thick cover, that is their alarm system if something is coming in they can hear it long before it sees them. Not that I'm an expert, but just what I've noticed.
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