What if you can't find beds, but still want to hunt????

[christian1]

The thought has occurred to me that since I am very new to this whole game, I may not have a whole bunch of beds to hunt this fall. I have kept a log and to date I have over 9 hours of walking/scouting in this year. While this is not nearly the end, my success per hour is very, very low--like dismal.

With all that considered and given the fact that I do like to hunt--what are my options? Guessing on bedding? This has not proved to be very successful while scouting. Yes, there is hunting funnels during the rut, but outside of that what are my options. Am I just jumping the gun by expecting I won't be successful at finding beds this year? Just seems at this point I better have a plan B.

chris

[dan]

I am willing to say, successful or not, with only one scouting season under your belt your going to be short on beds to hunt... I can make pretty good and accurate guesses, but I have been doing it a while and would not expect you to be able to do that 1 season in most likely...
What has worked well for me is to walk the transition lines, especially remote ones that don't get a lot of human activity and walk the edge till I find good buck sign coming out of the thick side and set up... Transitions are often close to bedding and this has paid off many times for me.
Its still a lot better than sitting the same stands over and over, or over the top of food....

[christian1]

I am willing to say, successful or not, with only one scouting season under your belt your going to be short on beds to hunt... I can make pretty good and accurate guesses, but I have been doing it a while and would not expect you to be able to do that 1 season in most likely...
What has worked well for me is to walk the transition lines, especially remote ones that don't get a lot of human activity and walk the edge till I find good buck sign coming out of the thick side and set up... Transitions are often close to bedding and this has paid off many times for me.
Its still a lot better than sitting the same stands over and over, or over the top of food....

This is exactly what I am looking for Dan. I couldn't agree more. When I hear you guys talk about 20 some beds that you have scouted I freak out. No matter how good I am there is no way I can put up that kind of numbers in one Spring. Thanks for the tip on transitions. I have a journal started. I am going to put tips like this on one page so I don't forget them come Fall.

chris

[christian1]

I am willing to say, successful or not, with only one scouting season under your belt your going to be short on beds to hunt... I can make pretty good and accurate guesses, but I have been doing it a while and would not expect you to be able to do that 1 season in most likely...
What has worked well for me is to walk the transition lines, especially remote ones that don't get a lot of human activity and walk the edge till I find good buck sign coming out of the thick side and set up... Transitions are often close to bedding and this has paid off many times for me.
Its still a lot better than sitting the same stands over and over, or over the top of food....

This is exactly what I am looking for Dan. I couldn't agree more. When I hear you guys talk about 20 some beds that you have scouted I freak out. No matter how good I am there is no way I can put up that kind of numbers in one Spring. Thanks for the tip on transitions. I have a journal started. I am going to put tips like this on one page so I don't forget them come Fall.

chris

And by "good buck sign" I take that to mean scrapes, rubs and big tracks?

I have to think that I am not the only one in this position?????

chris

[dan]

Sign that a buck is coming out of the thick area regularly... sometimes just tracks, sometimes rubs... Stand on back, hunt it right when you find it, not the next day.

[basspro05]

Great question,

This is one I have often thought about myself, considering this is my first year with the Beast Knowledge.

We were able to start scouting in January, and between work, family, and housework, my hunting buddy and I have scouted about 40-50hours so far.

We have covered about 400 acres or so on different public properties and have I think 6 buck beds scouted and pinned down.

Unfortunately, almost all of these are on the same wind direction which is S, SW, or SE.

So Dan, thanks for the response, because I know if we do not both close the deal in the first few weeks of the season, as fall and winter settle in, we are going to need to scout and hunt in season. And you just laid out a great place to start.

We have to just keep telling ourselves this is a process, it takes years to scout and accumulate properties and bedding areas.

[dan]

At 1st your going to probably struggle finding enough beds to hunt or even knowing which ones and when... Really, a lot of them won't pan out, but some will produce almost every year. You need to work on this for a lifetime. I would like to say its easy, but its not... Your going to loose some spots to loosing permissions, or someone moving in, or the bucks naturally moving on for some other reason...
I literally have thousands of beds scouted out in public properties all over the place and in several states, and have forgot more than I probably remember, however, for me to keep up with my game, I still need to scout and find more. You hunt a spot once or twice in a year, maybe you never get there, but then one of the beds keeps producing, you add a few producers, drop a few that hardly ever produce or keep producing small bucks...
If you take this kind of hunting up, the work never stops. But you will get better and better at it.

[Philski]

Dan can you elaborate on transition lines?

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[cbay]

Your feedback is priceless Dan. Thank You.

[dan]

Dan can you elaborate on transition lines?

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A transition line is an "edge".... An interior transition is an edge back in a ways that is sometimes less noticeable... A hard transition is an edge where an open field meets woods, or something similar. A transition area or some call a "soft" transition is where there is an area between the transition that is gradual, like trees turning to cattails but there is 50 yard wide strip of dogwood (redbrush) between the two. Bucks tend to bed near transition lines. Especially points, corners, or bowls in the transition line.

The top 1/3 elevation in hilly woods also acts like a transition line.

[dan]

This has been a horrible year for scouting up here in the north... Way to much snow that just won't go away... We are finally pretty much melted here now.

[Philski]

Thanks Dan.

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[backstraps]

Dan, when you are hunting terrains other than marsh, do you find any particular "type" of transition lines to be more productive?

I know that is a broad question. But I would assume, an interior transition line where pressure is less, and a buck's sense of security may have him there more often?

I am thinking of a scenario like where a pine thicket being surrounded by a large amount of hardwoods?

[dan]

Dan, when you are hunting terrains other than marsh, do you find any particular "type" of transition lines to be more productive?

I know that is a broad question. But I would assume, an interior transition line where pressure is less, and a buck's sense of security may have him there more often?

I am thinking of a scenario like where a pine thicket being surrounded by a large amount of hardwoods?

I think one side being wet and thick is always good... I like interior transitions on public because of pressure on hard transitions.
I was just looking at a property for a guy with a pine woods surrounded by hardwoods... I picked out some points and corners and he went back and scouted them. Most had bedding.

It can be tough though if they are bedding right on or around the points on the transition edge. You need to factor that in and try to stay back and try and pick up sign a little farther back so you don't kick him.

I would want the transition to have at least one thick edge, hopefully two.

[Bowhunter4life]

Dan, when you are hunting terrains other than marsh, do you find any particular "type" of transition lines to be more productive?

I know that is a broad question. But I would assume, an interior transition line where pressure is less, and a buck's sense of security may have him there more often?

I am thinking of a scenario like where a pine thicket being surrounded by a large amount of hardwoods?

I know you directed this to dan but I live and hunt hill country. I have had a LOT of success hunting the transition edge of a clear cut. Have killed some still hunting and killed some just setting near good sign coming in and out of the cut. I have taken more bucks near the clear cut in the mornings than the evenings. I catch the bucks coming back to the clear cut to bed early in the mornings. I only hunt this property during the pre rut/rut period though. I have also caught a few bucks mid morning searching for does near this tradition line... It's a few hours away so don't have the luxury of hunting it year around so I hit it around the rut.

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