So you cannot find any beds.....

[Zap]

Indianahunter, your previous post was awesome.

But it revolves around finding the beds....which is a very good tactic.

It is also a tactic that some may have trouble getting the hang of, and I was trying to stimulate discussion.

For example:
Good area, good potential buck bedding in the high spots in a cattail marsh.
Dont really have time to look em all over, but you see:
a small island in the middle of the high spots, lotsa oaks on the island.
Good late september spot?


Same situation, but no oaks on the island.
There are alot of big scrapes in a row thou...
Good late October spot?

If I look a spot over and do not find exact beds, I want to come away from that with at least one hunt figured out.

Maybe I am wrong?

Ok buddy, no problem I just wanted to make sure I was answering your question ...and it is a good one. Outside of the rut it is still all bedding for me....even if I can't find them physically I am trying to logically deduct where they may be. Shoot I guess honestly the rut is all about bedding for me as well...just switch from buck bedding to doe bedding. It is a great question I think a lot of people will be helped by it.

Thanks Marty.

Take us down the "logically deduced" path....in other words taking what you can find and putting it to good use.

[Buckfever]

This is getting off topic.......

You cannot find any beds.

Now what?

Are they bedding on the property? If it's big enough that it's likely and you can't find them, then I'd wait for snow. If it snows where you're looking.

[Buckfever]

That is the part that interests me. Zap you are saying you do see these deer on your property but can't find the sign right?

I was starting a topic for discussion.
Obviously Dans system is a good one.

But, maybe there are places you have a limited amount of time to scout.
You know bucks are there, have been there, go there, whatever.

You go in and do not find exact bed spots.

Then what?

I mean alot of folks do not have an unlimited amount of time to scout, but want to hunt outside the rut.

What do you look for?

For me it's kind of the opposite, sometimes the core buck bedding isn't on the property and all I got is a rut hunt. So I might be looking at a funnel on a buck travel corridor towards the doe bedding. But that's real good for maybe 3 days out of the season. I think the core bedding is what you're looking for outside the rut.

[goldtip5575]

[quote="Zap"]This is getting off topic.......

You cannot find any beds.

Now what?[/quot
[tab=30] There was a spot I would shine that was private no hunting access that had a bachelor group of 15 bucks that were hitting a 5 acre soybean no B.S.In that group 5 were 130-140 and 3 were 160 or better.Would you rather hunt your 1 located buck bed in a different area or hunt a 20 acre travel corridor/food section with no beds located on it but in the heart of this bachelor groups range?

[Ack]

Look at the big picture.....with aerials try to pre-determine where the most likely bedding area would be, whether it is on or off your property. If there is a food source on your property and you can get between it and the bedding, hunt there. About the best you can do without nailing down their exact beds. it's all a guessing game unless you know when and where they are at all times on your property.

[Autumn Ninja]

I would hunt the food source...not on top of it...but the terrain and edges that surround the property with the food source in mind.

[headgear]

I guess if I don't find the beds and don't have any extra time to scout I would hunt a few observation stands to see what I could learn, scout with the stand on your back and hunt any fresh sign you find, and then possibly try and save most of my time off for the rut.

You can still learn a lot about a property by just hunting it any way you can. It also might be worth checking out other properties if you aren't chained down to hunting one spot.