Leeward side in open country

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Leeward side in open country

Unread postby keb » Thu Jan 09, 2014 7:41 am

Have never given much thought to the leeward side in the the open hill priaire or grasslands region, always was more of a cover travel focused type hunter.

Whats your guys views or thoughs, its hill country minus the trees.


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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby dan » Thu Jan 09, 2014 8:44 am

Depends... If there is great cover in the draws they will bed low if the cover is absent on the hill sides. If cover is comparable, or only slightly less desirable on the hill, they will bed the hill most of the time... Hunting in Western states I noticed this a lot... Bare hills but brush cover in the draws and all the bucks were in the draw bedding on the edge of cover wind to back looking up and running the minute you peak your head over.
Had my best luck in this situation by hunting the bottom of the draw where they funnel in and out. But you need to watch the thermals.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby hunter_mike » Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:27 am

Dan that is awesome, It made me think of this buck bed I found on my uncle's farm. I found it this spring and was not too confident it would be used so I went and checked it in september just for fun. When I checked it, sure enough there were some fresh rubs and decent size tracks in the areas around it and also in it. It was definitely being used by a buck but I wasn't sure if it was just a night bed or if it was being used in daylight. I don't think I kicked anything out of it when I checked it but I couldn't be too sure, both fields surrounding it were corn so he could have easily slipped out.

But anyways the bed is the red dot in the middle of the map

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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby hunter_mike » Thu Jan 09, 2014 10:30 am

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby dan » Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:26 am

Image
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby dan » Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:28 am

Hard to tell for sure, but I would bet on that being a day bed... Be interesting to see if its there on "bean" years.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Jan 09, 2014 12:04 pm

It looks like a typical night bed to me. In flat country or any type terrain bucks relate to cover and structure. With that timber ground close by, I would be checking that out for sure. If there is some kind of structure a tree or some heavy brush that could be a day bed.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:19 am

I've seen decent travel and sometime bedding in open bluff country on private property, rarely on public. Its not uncommon to find open areas in the bluffs where the ridge is the steepest. Bucks will travel these areas if there is even a slight bench to navigate the terrain. The best areas have low growing cedars and bushes rather than grass/dirt/rock...that is where you find the beds, if they exist, too.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby MOBIGBUCKS » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:30 am

dan wrote:Image


An isolated spot like that looks like a day buck bedding spot to me. All of the hunting pressure will be down there in the big timber. I also agree with Dan that it's a bed used on rotational years with corn. I had great spots similar to those scouted out and all of them were void of sign because beans were planted instead of corn this year. My scouting last year will pay off for the 2014 hunting season.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby BassBoysLLP » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:39 am

MOBIGBUCKS wrote:
dan wrote:Image


An isolated spot like that looks like a day buck bedding spot to me. All of the hunting pressure will be down there in the big timber. I also agree with Dan that it's a bed used on rotational years with corn. I had great spots similar to those scouted out and all of them were void of sign because beans were planted instead of corn this year. My scouting last year will pay off for the 2014 hunting season.


How many buck beds did you find on an isolated small piece like that one? Multiple for different wind directions? Only used on certain winds? What is your strategy to hunt it?
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Jan 10, 2014 3:05 am

I do know for a fact that this spot historically has been used as a day bedding area before. Every single year my uncles and cousins drive it out on opening day of gun season. They have never killed a big one out of here but they have kicked big ones out of here a couple times and the buck always gets away.

On the picture below, the green dotted line is the path my uncle takes with his fourwheeler multiple times per week to go cut firewood in the area circled in green.

Both times I have scouted the spot (once last spring and once in late september) i was pressed for time in the area but I found only 1 bed and it was very strange because the way it was situated was facing somewhat uphill with a good view of the field edge to the NE of the bed. The bed was very concealed, I had my brother sit in it while I walked along the field edge and it was amazing how well he could see me and I couldnt' see him. But anyways we probably really stunk up that area bad in september and I never went back once this year to hunt it.

I am planning on going back there this spring and looking at entry and exit trails, try to find other beds and make a plan of attack. This bed is also in a spot where I could watch it from a distance in the summertime since there will more than likely be beans planted around it this year.

The other red dot is a spot I have kicked up some deer and I want to check out this spring.

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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Jan 10, 2014 3:41 am

There are trees and adequate cover in this bedding area though so might not be much help to the original post.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Jan 10, 2014 4:10 am

Depends on pressure and availability of other cover I would imagine.

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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby Stanley » Fri Jan 10, 2014 5:28 am

hunter_mike wrote:I do know for a fact that this spot historically has been used as a day bedding area before. Every single year my uncles and cousins drive it out on opening day of gun season. They have never killed a big one out of here but they have kicked big ones out of here a couple times and the buck always gets away.

On the picture below, the green dotted line is the path my uncle takes with his fourwheeler multiple times per week to go cut firewood in the area circled in green.

Both times I have scouted the spot (once last spring and once in late september) i was pressed for time in the area but I found only 1 bed and it was very strange because the way it was situated was facing somewhat uphill with a good view of the field edge to the NE of the bed. The bed was very concealed, I had my brother sit in it while I walked along the field edge and it was amazing how well he could see me and I couldnt' see him. But anyways we probably really stunk up that area bad in september and I never went back once this year to hunt it.

I am planning on going back there this spring and looking at entry and exit trails, try to find other beds and make a plan of attack. This bed is also in a spot where I could watch it from a distance in the summertime since there will more than likely be beans planted around it this year.

The other red dot is a spot I have kicked up some deer and I want to check out this spring.

Image



Good plan
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: Leeward side in open country

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Jan 10, 2014 5:36 am

yeah stan i wish i had done that last year instead of going in and stinkin it up but I was not confident that it would work which was a mistake.
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