Bedded buck pic.

[Stanley]

I thought this picture was a great illustration of why a buck would choose to bed where he does. The wind was blowing from the North this day. The other does and turkeys came from the south. North is the direction the doe and turkey are facing in the two pictures. There are more pictures of does and turkeys coming to the water. The buck is facing to the west. He has all areas covered with his senses & other animals, sight to the west nose to the north and the other animals have him covered from the south and east. Bucks do not just randomly bed but bed where they have an advantage. Dan has touched on this many times. I just wanted to illustrate with pictures how and why in this bucks case, he chose to bed here. The buck stayed bedded in this spot for 2 hours.

[James]

Do you think he was maybe locked down with that doe? Doesn't seem like a regular bed but I agree with your points on why he laid where he did.

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[Stanley]

Do you think he was maybe locked down with that doe? Doesn't seem like a regular bed but I agree with your points on why he laid where he did.

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He was not locked down with the doe. Bucks normally sequester with does in more isolated spots not in high traffic areas. The doe left and other does came to the water. It is not a regular bed. I have never found a well used bed in this area. I call it a bedding area that has many bedding options for bucks to bed in. Areas with very few bedding options are where more well used beds will be found. This pond is in the middle of a thick timber which makes it desirable for daylight usage. I think of it like this; a buck will bed where he is safe, this spot provided that buck with a safe place to bed in the daylight. It is quite obvious he is very comfortable there.

[solocam88]

Looks to me like he layed down there because he was exausted and was close to water. Nice pictures.

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[Hill Hunter]

With those advatnages + the rut, I've seen bucks lay by water, awaiting a female companion.....probably because a high percentage of does will use an unpressured water source frequently and the bucks could tell if they are in estrus or close without even getting standing up. "a local watering hole," if you will...lol....dont even have to drive anywhere, they come to you.....

[Edcyclopedia]

I know you have tens of thousands of pitctures to go thru, but did you find any other deer bedding in that spot?

Cool pics and thanks for sharing...

[dan]

Awesome pictures Stan... Like someone else mentioned, I wonder if that bedding location monitored does in heat getting a drink, as well as the other advantages you mentioned.

[Bigdaddy-yoyo]

Cool picture and explanation Stan......Waiting to scent check hot Does seems to be the logical scenario.....Just my thought.
Buck is safe and not burning fat reserves for winter....

[Stanley]

I know you have tens of thousands of pitctures to go thru, but did you find any other deer bedding in that spot?

Cool pics and thanks for sharing...

I have gone through about half (7000) of the pics on that water hole. No other bucks bedding there.

[Stanley]

With those advatnages + the rut, I've seen bucks lay by water, awaiting a female companion.....probably because a high percentage of does will use an unpressured water source frequently and the bucks could tell if they are in estrus or close without even getting standing up. "a local watering hole," if you will...lol....dont even have to drive anywhere, they come to you.....

There was not a lot of chasing going on at the time. The real chasing kicked in about a week later. I'm fairly certain one of his concerns was this guy.

[Stanley]

Awesome pictures Stan... Like someone else mentioned, I wonder if that bedding location monitored does in heat getting a drink, as well as the other advantages you mentioned.

I did get way more pictures in October and November than I did when it was hot in August. I was very surprised about that. So there may be something to that. Although the does didn't really start coming in until about 5 days later. He more than likely had one eye on the does and one eye on the Yote.

[jonsimoneau]

Stanley I think the reason you get more pictures around water in October and November than during a hot August is that the vegetation is now dried out and deer do not get as much moisture from their food.

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[Stanley]

Stanley I think the reason you get more pictures around water in October and November than during a hot August is that the vegetation is now dried out and deer do nvot get as much moisture from their food.

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Great point

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[hunter_mike]

That is really awesome. Not just the picture but the fact that you can explain why that buck bedded that way

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[Stanley]

The buck is scent checking the wind. This is a great example of what a buck does when bedded in survival mode.