Question about beds

[Super goat]

So last year I bumped a buck up out of a bed I'm pretty sure he was with a doe possible small buck. This was November. I believe this deer was away from where he spends most of his time. It really threw me off as I didn't expect to see this spacific deer in this spot. Now my question is was he probly there because of the doe with him? Would this be a bed he or other mature bucks use often? Should I hunt this bed this year? Are these type beds just used during the rut? I know you guys don't know the answers for me personally but if it was your situation how would you go about it? That particular day that deer was at least a mile away from his core area maybe a little less as the crow flys. At least what I believe is his core.

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[Stanley]

I would say no it was a random bed the buck used to tend the doe. I have never seen a buck reuse a bed that he was doe'd up with. I always look and hope but it just doesn't happen, sorry. I would spend my scouting elsewhere.

[dan]

I know this is going to sound a little off to some of the guys, But I have seen a pattern of bucks bedding in the same area he was seen the year before with a doe... Certainly this is not always the case, but it does happen enough to make a guy think.

[Rome]

I too have seen what Dan has seen, bucks using the same bedding spot while tending. I have a lease that has a "tending/breeding bed" that only gets used during this time period. It's a very visible bed from 3 of our rut pre-sets, so ever since discovering this 7 years ago, we glass it through the rut, and sure enough, we've spotted bucks w/ does there on at least 5 years, and one of those years, we saw it used by two different bucks 6 days apart. I'm more of a "lurker" on this site, but have been monitoring for someone to talk about this since I've never read about tending bedding, and how to hunt it. We've tried to hunt it a bit, but it's not a traditional bed setup....it doesn't offer much cover, but has tons of visibility. I did a stalk on it last year, as we had high wind and light rain. I got within 28 yards, just never got the right shot opportunity before he took off. I think that's the only way to try and hunt this. BTW...that buck was back in that bed with that doe the next morning at sunrise. I watched them stand up in it just after sunrise, feed a bit, then lay back down. I don't know why they love that spot for tending, but they do. I just need to figure out how to get better at turning that knowledge into a result.

[Stanley]

I know this is going to sound a little off to some of the guys, But I have seen a pattern of bucks bedding in the same area he was seen the year before with a doe... Certainly this is not always the case, but it does happen enough to make a guy think.

Are you talking same bed or same area?

[gatorbait42]

3 years ago a 2 yr old 8 point showed up in my back yard tending a doe and they were bedded between my 3 pines at the back edge of the property. They have been back so far every year since then and bed in the same spot. So far they have been back within a couple days as the previous year. I have another spot where a finger of woods juts out into the field and it seems very other year there has been a buck bedded in there with a doe, so I definately feel there is some kind of pattern.

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[VT Outfitter]

It is my opinion that terrain, wind direction, food sources, and pressure from predators will more often dictate where the deer will bed down. During rut, if a Doe is not ready she will evade the buck going into the thickest stuff she can find. When she decides the time is right, they will try to find a quiet place where they wont be bothered by anyone. This could be a hedge row, small thicket, middle of a cut corn piece, or even a deep cut drainage ditch alongside the highway. Where ever it feels safe.

[dan]

I know this is going to sound a little off to some of the guys, But I have seen a pattern of bucks bedding in the same area he was seen the year before with a doe... Certainly this is not always the case, but it does happen enough to make a guy think.

Are you talking same bed or same area?

Both... In the case with the big Rome Wisconsin public buck I shot a couple seasons ago, he only seemed to spend time on the public for a short window during pre-rut and rut. I knew exactly what bed he bedded during rut. But, the one year when I went after him he bedded about 50 yards from that bed cause of a doe in heat so I bumped him. The next year I shot him as he came out of the primary bed.
I have a lot of other similar stories, but that was a good example cause it ended in success. Often rut beds are easy to monitor because the buck leaves lots of sign around them. They tend to be located strategically in proximity to doe bedding.