1 bucks beds...How far apart?

[PredatorTC]

I understand that one buck has multiple beds he will use at a time depending upon wind and whatnot. How far apart have you seen their beds and in what terrain. Im not talking about how far apart a buck will bed in the summer and then the one he will use in the in the winter because that can be miles apart. Im talking about at one time. Such as a bunch of bed that he may choose from on any given day. Hope this makes sense.

[JV NC]

I think it's kinda like the old joke - "Where does a 500# gorilla sleep"?

I don't think bucks go through the woods looking for a specific 3'X5' (or, a few of them) to lay down in. This spot seems fine, I think I'll lay down, here (for now). I can't grasp why people think they have such specific spots they WILL lay down in.

[Stump]

I think it's kinda like the old joke - "Where does a 500# gorilla sleep"?

I don't think bucks go through the woods looking for a specific 3'X5' (or, a few of them) to lay down in. This spot seems fine, I think I'll lay down, here (for now). I can't grasp why people think they have such specific spots they WILL lay down in.

My thoughts are about the same, but what do I know. It seems to me that if a buck is in a vantage pt of being able to see anything from one direction....wind something from another and have at least a couple escape routes.........any area is a good bedding area. Which in hill country, there are literally hundreds of spots that would fit the bill.

Maybe Dan or others could chime in, how do you know....what makes one spot better than others. To the degree where you think a big buck would/should be there "most" of the time and it's a spot to key in on?

[JRM6868]

I actually think bucks Do have specific spots they lay down in not necessarily the same 3'x5' square but the same location. Whether it's for location to food,security,lack of competition from other bucks in the area etc. Bucks choose a specific area to bed in for a purpose. Otherwise hunting beds would just be random so why not just set up just off of any point in hill country and hope for the best. A bucks beds can be as close as just moving to another side of a point based off the wind. If he has a good visual below him and a SW wind protects him one way a NW wind would protect him the same just on the other side of the point. Maybe a east wind moves him off that point on to another side of the hill to where he has the same advantages as the other bed but this east wind works to his advantage. A bucks bedding isn't random. He chooses them based on external pressures he is exposed to. No one can decipher why he chooses one spot over another unless you actually burn some boot leather and think about the process he went through to bed there (food,security,rival buck location,does,hunting pressure,etc.). However I definitely think something tells the buck this spot is safer than that spot.

[JV NC]

A bucks bedding isn't random.

Never said it was. Bedding in the exact same spot every day is more predictable than not.

I agree....their instincts are uncanny. I don't think they'd fall into that trap.

[Spysar]

I think if you think of turkey hunting, the buck bed thing might make more sense.

A male turkey is vocal, so we know where he is bedding. Turkeys will roost in the same prime spot over and over until they are messed with, the difference is you can hear a turkey to prove it.

I hunt them in a way that Dan hunts deer. You set up as close to their bedding as you dare, and hope you are on their route when they exit.

I think male deer probably do the same thing, they occupy prime spots until they are messed with.

Sometimes a turkey will have another prime roost or several. The deer probably have the same type of pattern, unfortunatly deer don't give their spots away vocally.

Make any sense to anyone?

[headgear]

I feel bucks bed in certain safe bedding locations day after day, sometimes that is the same bed other times it might be a different bed depending on where they travel during the course of their night. Because of food source changes, pressure from humans and predators, or the rut they might choose to bed in a different location. Far from random but a little more complex then bedding in one spot until until they feel pressure. I think the key to the whole thing is knowing how many quality bedding spots the land you hunt has.

[dan]

I understand that one buck has multiple beds he will use at a time depending upon wind and whatnot. How far apart have you seen their beds and in what terrain. Im not talking about how far apart a buck will bed in the summer and then the one he will use in the in the winter because that can be miles apart. Im talking about at one time. Such as a bunch of bed that he may choose from on any given day. Hope this makes sense.

Some bucks cover a very large area and bed differently often. Some really stick to core areas. I have hunted bucks in the same area, about the same age class, that one buck would stay in a tight area about a 1/2 mile square, the other would be seen a couple miles away... So really, your question is hard to answer.

[dan]

I think it's kinda like the old joke - "Where does a 500# gorilla sleep"?

I don't think bucks go through the woods looking for a specific 3'X5' (or, a few of them) to lay down in. This spot seems fine, I think I'll lay down, here (for now). I can't grasp why people think they have such specific spots they WILL lay down in.

I totally disagree... I have watched many mature bucks go back to and bed in the same spot day after day.... They change bedding areas, or spots based on food, wind, thermals, pressure, etc... But spots are not picked randomly... I really believe, from most of your posts that you have not every really studied buck bedding... I have. And, I will also state, that the older they get, the more they seem to lock down exact locations...
And when you study those beds up close, you can see obvious reasons they bed in the exact spot they do...
If it were not for bucks bedding in certain spots, I would not have very many bucks on the wall... The majority of the mature bucks I have shot, I knew where they were bedding when I set up, and I shot them just after they exited there beds.

[JV NC]

They change bedding areas, or spots based on food, wind, thermals, pressure, etc... But spots are not picked randomly...

I'm not implying they were/are, Dan. But, do you think the wind, thermals, etc... are SO constant, that they could nail down a minutely small area that would best protect them in all conditions? I'm not talking about them doing anything willy-nilly. Quite the contrary. I give them more credit than to limit themselves to the exact same areas......day after day after day after day. Maybe the best defensive postion (based on all criteria) is 40yds. up the ridge and to the NW (that AM). Maybe it switches an hour from now...and he moves back 40yds.?

I really believe, from most of your posts that you have not every really studied buck bedding... I have.

Your hunting "system" requires this thinking. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm saying bucks here don't do what you're describing. Admittedly, I've never studied deer where you live. If you say they bed like that there, heck I believe you.

And, I will also state, that the older they get, the more they seem to lock down exact locations...

I agree with that. Our definition of exact locations is just different. I could pretty much tell you which ACRE a particular buck is bedding in, here. Ask others that hunt NC farm country. My bet is they'll congratulate me.

[Zap]

Finding out about a bucks bedding habits is a difficult task.

But a sure route to becoming a more successful hunter.

[Hunter74]

Say you have a scenario were you believe a buck has 2 different primary bed fairly close say 200 to 300yrds apart... Now that's far enough you couldn't cover both possibilitys with one set but its close enough that you couldn't determine wich bed he's using based off seeing him or his tracks in a nearby food source...

What things would you go by or look for to hopefully determine wich bed he is in on a given day so your not burning bridges when he's not in the bed you set up on?

[ Post made via Android ]

[Zap]

Just my opinion, but I would hunt one then the other on two back to back evening hunts.

Hunt the closest one to your entrance point first.

Or you could go in at night and leave your scent at one and then hunt the other the next evening.

[Hunter74]

Just my opinion, but I would hunt one then the other on two back to back evening hunts.

Hunt the closest one to your entrance point first.

Or you could go in at night and leave your scent at one and then hunt the other the next evening.

These things are what I had in mind... Just wondering if you guys have found methods or signs that will give you an educated guess of if a buck is occupying a particular bed in the situation that you know he's on the property but there's a few bedding options for him?

[ Post made via Android ]

[Czabs]

Just my opinion, but I would hunt one then the other on two back to back evening hunts.

Hunt the closest one to your entrance point first.

Or you could go in at night and leave your scent at one and then hunt the other the next evening.

These things are what I had in mind... Just wondering if you guys have found methods or signs that will give you an educated guess of if a buck is occupying a particular bed in the situation that you know he's on the property but there's a few bedding options for him?

[ Post made via Android ]

Time he is hitting the food sourced based on the location of the bed

And check for tracks on the trails coming out of the bed