Your thoughts on hunting multiple buck beds in same area....

[virginiashadow]

I posted a map below with fictional buck beds that seem to be used with Southeast-Southwest winds.

Do you guys hunt tight to a specific bed or do you set up between beds? Setting up close to a specific bed seems to give you a good chance of catching that buck moving before sundown, but it also limits your chances of potentially intercepting the buck(s) moving from another bed that is close by. On the other hand, hunting between buck beds seems to give you better odds at cutting off bucks because one never knows what bed a buck will use from day to day, however you will not be as close to his actual bed which means your chances of getting a shot at him before sundown diminishes as compared to hunting tight to one bed. If any of you feel like marking up my fictional map to show me your thoughts I would appreciate it.

Thoughts?

[dan]

For me it would depend exactly how close the spot would be that cuts off two bedding areas... Some of my spots do this.
One thing you could do is wait for a weather condition, or moon phase that might get them moving a little earlier and then hunt the spot connecting both. MOON OR WEATHER DON'T MAKE HUGE DIFFERENCES WITH PUBLIC LAND MATURE DEER, BUT EVEN IF ITS ONLY 10 MINUTES, a deer can move a long way in ten minutes.

[JRM6868]

Ultimately I think if it's one buck's beds he going to prefer one over the other. If they are all set up for a SW or SE wind one spot will be his go to bed over the others. I would find out which bed that is and hunt it. Setting up between the three somehow or two for that matter has too much landscape between them and you can't hunt them effectively unless he's using one particular draw or something to get to those beds before he branches off to go to his bed. Hunting in between them can also swirl your scent by the way the hills are decreasing your chances without even knowing it. Hunting a mature animal requires you to decrease the odds of something going wrong to work in your favor. Moving in between them increases your odds of something going wrong.If your concentrating on one bed you can concentrate on all the factors that help you achieve your goal which is harvest that buck.

[RaisedByWolves]

Ultimately I think if it's one buck's beds he going to prefer one over the other. If they are all set up for a SW or SE wind one spot will be his go to bed over the others. I would find out which bed that is and hunt it. Setting up between the three somehow or two for that matter has too much landscape between them and you can't hunt them effectively unless he's using one particular draw or something to get to those beds before he branches off to go to his bed. Hunting in between them can also swirl your scent by the way the hills are decreasing your chances without even knowing it. Hunting a mature animal requires you to decrease the odds of something going wrong to work in your favor. Moving in between them increases your odds of something going wrong.If your concentrating on one bed you can concentrate on all the factors that help you achieve your goal which is harvest that buck.

x2, however I wouldn't be opposed to hunting between them if it was Nov. or the moon phase was right.

[virginiashadow]

So during the early season you guys tend to hunt one specific bed and then as the rut approaches you sometimes hunt between beds?

[BigHunt]

So during the early season you guys tend to hunt one specific bed and then as the rut approaches you sometimes hunt between beds?

[virginiashadow]

For me it would depend exactly how close the spot would be that cuts off two bedding areas... Some of my spots do this.
One thing you could do is wait for a weather condition, or moon phase that might get them moving a little earlier and then hunt the spot connecting both. MOON OR WEATHER DON'T MAKE HUGE DIFFERENCES WITH PUBLIC LAND MATURE DEER, BUT EVEN IF ITS ONLY 10 MINUTES, a deer can move a long way in ten minutes.

Dan, I am ignorant to which moon phases seem to get deer up on their feet earlier in the PM.

[JV NC]

So during the early season you guys tend to hunt one specific bed and then as the rut approaches you sometimes hunt between beds?

Help me out.....

If a hunter was trying to kill a buck, during the rut, why would he hunt between buck beds...in lieu of hunting between two doe bedding areas?

[JRM6868]

So during the early season you guys tend to hunt one specific bed and then as the rut approaches you sometimes hunt between beds?

Help me out.....

If a hunter was trying to kill a buck, during the rut, why would he hunt between buck beds...in lieu of hunting between two doe bedding areas?

During the pre rut/ early seek phase the buck will be getting to his bed later from scent checking doe bedding and will work back and forth between his bedding catching the thermals rising from for bedding without have to search each bedding area.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[JV NC]

During the pre rut/ early seek phase the buck will be getting to his bed later from scent checking doe bedding and will work back and forth between his bedding catching the thermals rising from for bedding without have to search each bedding area.

Is this the same thing as hunting the downwind side of doe bedding?

[JRM6868]

During the pre rut/ early seek phase the buck will be getting to his bed later from scent checking doe bedding and will work back and forth between his bedding catching the thermals rising from for bedding without have to search each bedding area.

Is this the same thing as hunting the downwind side of doe bedding?

No because your actually hunting the buck bedding not the doe bedding their just catching the thermals rising they aren't actually searching out the does bedding areas and scent checking them. As they walk from one of their beds to the other.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[RaisedByWolves]

So during the early season you guys tend to hunt one specific bed and then as the rut approaches you sometimes hunt between beds?

I don't have any spots like your saying, but if I did, I would hunt it during pre rut, not during the rut....then I would switch to doe bedding like JV NC mentioned

[JV NC]

My thinking is.....if a buck's interested in does, is there a better place to hunt....than - where does are?

I'm all for hunting buck bedding areas. Gotcha. But, there's (IMO) a time and a place for everything.

I'm not saying (at all) that hunting buck bedding during the pre-rut can't produce. I'm sure it can. I kinda see it like hunting with my recurve v. the compound. If I was looking to make more of a challenge out of killing a buck, I'd take the recurve........and hunt buck bedding, during the pre-rut. If I wanted my best shot at killing a buck, I'd take the compound and hunt the downwind side of doe bedding areas....or, better yet, get between two doe bedding areas.

VA....I hunt buck bedding "areas". I couldn't tell you if there was 1 or 4 bucks bedding in there.....or, which one I thought might come out that day. It would be a pretty safe bet I'd never seen him before. But, if history is a good teacher, I know they're there. 1 bed - 1 buck? I have no idea. 4 bucks - 4 beds? Again, no idea. I've never really given that a moment's thought.

Interesting thread. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this.

[JRM6868]

What I'm talking about is a small window of time where the buck knows its not time yet but is antsy kinda pacing back and forth waiting for it to be time. I have a property where the bucks don't show up until oct 20th and it's that time I usually see them do this. It's about a week or so too soon for them to really be harassing does hard and they kinda walk back and forth from one of their beds to the other scent checking the thermals hunting the doe bedding at this time will ruin your hunt because the bucks will be scenting you being above you. Once you get into the beginning of November is a good time to hunt the doe bedding areas on that farm if you rut hunt that way. I don't rut hunt that way I hunt just off the buck bedding because of the pressure all around me, hunting the buck beds get the bucks out of their bedding early enough during the rut so that you have of chance of shooting them in daylight.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[RaisedByWolves]

I've seen on more than one occasion(property with moderate pressure), a 4.5yo+ buck not even participating in daytime rutting activity, during peak rut. My point is some bucks (truly mature bucks) should only be hunted close to their bed for the best chance at killing them. They let the younger 2.5's and 3.5's rut around and get shot.