Also, think in terms of "stems per acre". It’s not enough to identify a few scrapes or a well-used trail; you’ve got to piece together the likelihood of deer using that exact area while you can still see your pins. Place them about 5 to 6 feet off the … This allows them to smell danger long before they see it and seek out a little warmth in the colder months. These trees will make the area feel thicker and more secure. A little human intrusion during the summer months is not going to displace those deer. Look for some sort of backing and clear out a nice place to lie. Sources tucked into remote locations close to bedding areas receive the most daytime use. That morning the target panic didn't matter, I didn't even have to fire a shot. Mature buck hunting, herd and habitat techniques. We were looking for a place to hunt with our bows, but since our father couldn't make it out to "mentor us" we had to leave the bows at home. And that means you’d better bring your A-game if you’re planning to slip in for a hang-and-hunt evening, … Locating bedding areas is not easy and one might need a lot of legwork. Conventional wisdom says that the deer daily routine revolves around feeding areas at night and bedding areas during the day, but there are caveats. I'm sure you can narrow down on most parcels of land where a mature buck will NOT be. In most cases, that's not reality. Damage to agricultural crops and trees, threats to human safety and property through deer-vehicle collisions, and destruction of landscaping and other property by deer in urban and suburban areas can be significant. That concept was incredibly true within the confines of the souther… Scouting for deer in the post season will do just that! At that time my intrusion might be just enough to cause them to bed elsewhere or become more nocturnal in their movements. We can group bedding areas into two basic categories: Thick and Open. Find these bedding areas and they will be good year after year. A good unit will give you a satellite view of your property so you can accurately mark trails, hot spots, tree stands, bedding and feeding areas, and travel corridors. I can't stress enough how I've enjoyed a personal quest of locating daytime mature buck hang-outs throughout the last 24 seasons. Most bucks will have 3-5 places they prefer to bed, and they will use them in various conditions at the different times of the year. Bacon-Wrapped Venison Jalapeno Poppers Recipe, Wireless Whitetail Work: Moultrie Mobile Does it All, How to Scout and Hunt National Forest Land, Lay the Groundwork for an Over-the-Road Whitetail Hunt, Scouting Deer Bedding Areas: Locating, Creating and Observing, How to Plant Food Plots on a Budget with Small Equipment, Deer Factory: Northern Climate Warm-Season Food Plots. Deer generally don’t use the same sites year-round. Let rubs lead you to success! During 1996, I watched an incredible 10 point all Summer long in the fields adjacent to our land. “Early season is the time to hit that. Open areas are most often the back sides of ridges where a buck can lie with his back to the wind and survey the area in front of him. Scouting deer habitat for buck bedding areas is a whole lot easier than you may think. Rest assured though, if you build a bed or bedding area within a typical buck-type hang out, you will get a buck to use it no different than if you plant a turnip seed in the right soil you get a turnip! For several sits I watched in the evening as he made his way out into the fields, always avoiding my conservative approach of using one of 3 stands with only the "perfect" wind. It has been really amazing to scout and hunt mature buck beds throughout the last few decades, both before and after the shot! However if while searching for the most important ingredient for squirrel stew I discovered a large deer track, I just had to figure out where he was going. This is a great way to hold bucks on your property and make sure they do not get to comfortable at the neighbors. And I say mature buck because younger dispersing yearlings or fawn bucks often find themselves caught somewhere in between the older bucks, and the bulk of the doe herd. Having the knowledge of where they are bedding, and putting cameras out that will help you track the times and locations of their movements, you will significantly increase your odds of taking a buck home as soon as the season opens. If you see four or more beds in a circle, it’s likely a doe bedding area. Deer, he said, don’t simply bed all day and feed at night. I've had a huge passion for where a mature buck beds during the day since I was a teenager. In the fall, deer prefer to bed in grassy areas rather than rough areas with sticks and stones. We found a very big track that lead down a small draw through the hardwoods. As some of my clients can attest to, I often point 50 yards ahead and say, "I bet one beds in there", as we then go crashing over to a small bump, bench or flat to check it out. Thick areas are more often used when it is exceptionally windy, or cold, rainy or if the buck feels threatened by human intrusion. Yes, these two are polar opposites and bucks may use both, even during the same day when the conditions change. Most likely bedding areas in the northern half of this area are circled in red. Haynes Shelton debunks the common belief that you must have big, fancy equipment to plant food plots. All North American Whitetail subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. There is a simple formula for scouting buck needing areas in the off-season. Whether it was during the frequent misses of the early years, or finally connecting on my first "bedding area bucks", my passion for scouting deer bedding areas was critical to my success. In fact, buck bedding areas are the easy locations to find. Bedding areas are sanctuaries where deer stay over the night without any disturbances. They are usually oval-shaped areas with thick vegetation. And the beauty is that when you remove one mature buck, another buck will typically take over the same small bedding area, maybe even the same bed, and use the same patterns that lead to the previous demise of the former occupant. Cut a few trees to allow the sun to reach the forest floor. A sole trail that has larger tracks (approximately 3 to 4 inches across and 4 to 5 inches long) should not be overlooked. If you're armed with the right supplies – and the proper snacks – a routine day afield can... We break down the truth on these cellular-enabled scouters. Deer generally prefer motionless bodies of water during daylight hours. A little work with a leaf rake will make this bed perfectly suitable for a buck to call home. Another way is simply to stay out of the area. Once you know where the bucks are bedding, just find where the bucks are feeding and your chances of killing them early in the season go way up. Heavily scouting bedding areas is best done during the off-season when disturbance will be a non-issue. Now, throughout the years it's become apparent to me that bucks will bed in certain areas, and does in others. I brought a saw out the next time I visited the area, and still to this day I have a nice set of rattling antlers courtesy of the biggest buck I had ever seen in my very short hunting career, all the way back in 1986. This may sound a little off the wall but trust me it really works. I just knew that even though he lived across the fields within a small patch of red-willows I would get my opportunity on some late October or early November morning. Now we live in age that with an incredible variety of opinions, experience, and practices! Where a buck beds, why he doesn't bed where other deer do, and how to kill him in and around his bedding area is the name of the game as far as I'm concerned. It was easy to conclude that if I knew where a mature buck was hanging out during the day, I could fairly predictably kill him on his return to the same spot in the morning, or as he left that area to travel to food in the evening. I’d like to narrow my scouting area on public land down. Watching and studying the bucks of summer could lead to great success in this fall! It's taken a lot of years of scouting bedding areas to define the patterns of daytime bedding for whitetails, but those past experiences have greatly influenced how I hunt, speak, write, and manage hunting properties for my career. Clearcut Choices For Scouting Bucks. And if you want to scout a bedding area and see exactly how deer come and go, January is the time to venture into their sanctuaries. That's simply not the case; he's how to plan and plant food plots on a budget with small equipment. Next winter, there’s a good chance they’ll stick to these routes. It's helpful to use a map or a smart phone app to take note of your findings. Finally, in 1997 my luck changed when one of the bucks I had watched all summer gave me a chance on 10/31 after I had waited for a NE wind to go after him on a back-door approach that would leave him out in the fields while I slipped into the SW corner of his bedding area from the South. He was a beautiful 8-point buck that was at least 3 years old. Again I was rewarded when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching in the dark. After mid-summer, I prefer never to violate a bedding area. Deer do the same when bedding and keeping tabs on traffic (us/others). Good location is just part of the equation. Scouting deer bedding areas has been a critical ingredient to my success as a hunter and habitat manager, and I strongly encourage you to practice your deer bed scouting efforts often on the lands you hunt as well! If we know the area ,and human traffic draw routines , and passing through deer runs/areas when we stand in a bed or crouch in one we can get an idea usually of why a deer used that exact spot. Knowing the dominant wind direction in an area allows me to focus on the downwind side of terrain and vegetation features while cyber scouting. There is no doubt that deer are the most widespread and popular big game animal in the U.S. First, a little biology lesson. They also don't mind walking a bit to get to an all-night food source. Do you have any advice for spotting deer bedding areas using a satellite map ? |
As I travel the Midwest to hunt, whether it be on private or public land, the process of scouting deer bedding areas, defining where a buck will bed within them, and then hunting cautiously while skipping around to find the right buck I want to go after within it's own bedding area. We can group bedding areas into two basic categories: Thick and Open. You can also roughly pre-determine the distance you will be walking, … I sure wish that I had a few of those buck opportunities from the 90's back, because although they were important pieces of my development as a young hunter, they still haunt me! If a hunter finds a deer bed while scouting, it’s like finding a roadmap to how he’ll hunt an area. I suppose it makes them feel secure to have their back covered. Here's the research behind doing it right. In 1988 a nice 7 point that tried to sneak back into his part of the ditch bank between two cornfields. Here are tips on: How to locate where a deer sleeps; How to create bedding areas to attract deer; How to Locate bedding areas Throughout the winter months, you may notice deer in small secondary bedding areas between the main food source and the main bedding area. A raccoon, even a grouse? It was easy to conclude that if I knew where a mature buck was hanging out during the day, I could fairly predictably kill him on his return to the same spot in the morning, or as he left that area to travel to food in the evening. Like a big old bass that likes to lie beside a stump, bucks often like to put themselves up against some sort of structure. deer and humans occur at various levels of intensity across the state. Yes, these two are polar opposites and bucks may use both, even during the same day when the conditions change. I've had a huge passion for where a mature buck beds during the day since I was a teenager. Preparing for All-Day Sits in the Deer Woods. I quickly turned to him in my excitement, he heard me move on the old hang-on stand with the plastic platform, looked straight up at me, and slowly turned to walk away. An out-of-the-way area that offers an easy escape and allows the deer to monitor its surroundings effectively is prime bedding, and these areas are usually near food and water sources, as a buck will travel as little as possible to conserve energy … In 1995 a beautiful 10 point that snaked his way along the Cass River to the West before turning North into the ag land every evening was another heart breaker. Generations of bucks have bedded in these areas, because, for the most part, the terrain features do not change. Organize and Prioritize. Tips and info on mowing your pastures/foodplots and how best to avoid fawns and turkey poults... Be prepared to take care of the carcass and cape after downing your trophy buck. Using a few cameras around the area you plan to hunt will quickly start to give you an inventory of all the bucks in the area. The wind coming over the top of the ridge will carry the scent of danger, and he can see any danger that is coming from his front. Take note of how many beds you see clustered together in one area. Those bucks which live long enough to reach maturity have learned how to play the cards they have been dealt with regards to habitat and cover. Since those early years, many bucks averaging over 4 years of age have fallen to me under similar circumstances, and the absolute most important part of the puzzle was first scouting those particular buck's bedding areas. Part 4 - Mapping bedding areas. One way to improve a bedding area is to hinge cut a few trees during the winter. In 1987 I missed a gnarly looking buck as he returned to a pine-thicket across a dried up golden rod field about a hour after light on a foggy late October morning. Since you know exactly where they are bedding, it's a lot easier to find where they are feeding and locate the travel corridors that connect the two locations. Once you get a feel for where a buck likes to lie down, you can create individual beds and bucks will readily use them. Working with clients the past 11 years in nearly 20 whitetail states has shown me that that if you can find where a mature buck calls home during the daytime, he is "killable", anywhere a whitetail roams. All it takes is a topographical map, or one of the great new interactive computer `topo' (TOE-poe) maps, and an understanding of how terrain features affect deer movement. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. Watch for drag marks of a buck’s front hooves in fresh or powdery snow. Intimidated by the idea of hunting in the national forest? *Our Gear. Spend the extra time in the areas with the most browse and you will often be rewarded. MAPS and APPS - Get 20% off OnX Hunt! There is even a difference for young and old bucksyoung and mature does. Then the steps stopped under me. At the same time I have been blessed to experience a lot of success and failures along the way of narrowing down a particular bedding area to a particular buck, and then going in for the kill. For many hunters and land managers, feeding the herd is now a popular management activity. Often, deer bedding areas are located on the downwind side of obstacles or hillsides. Let's explore this in more detail. Your post season scouting needs to start by searching for bedding areas. I was 16 and my brother Kevin was 14, as we set off on a cold and rainy October day to explore the Pontiac Lake State Recreation area in Southern MI. Bucks and does don't often bed in the same areas, although there is some overlap. Doe Bedding Areas In addition to food, bedding areas complete the circle of a whitetail movement. I made this small brushpile and cleaned out the area in front of it. Having an inviolate bedding area where you are careful to never bump a buck can be a big help in making the buck stick around. Open areas are most often the back sides of ridges where a buck can lie with his back to the wind and survey the area in front of him. For this reason, a top goal of any scouting trip should be to understand where these are. Buy avoiding large areas of high water areas, large cedar swamps and low-land shrub expanses, the portions of change and diversity that lie between can funnel nearly 100% of the deer movement in the area. To grow grass, it takes sunlight. This allows the deer to smell danger from behind and see danger ahead. So much goes into why a buck beds where he beds — the topography, side cover, entrance and exit. 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