Set up question ....

[Choupic]

So you got your buck bed picked out for opening day . Wind is right , everything is good for the place your setting up on . Do y'all always go in before light in the morning ? Do y'all wait till right after daylight , midday ? And why ?

And if you happen to jump him up , do you climb up a tree anyway in hopes of him returning before dark ?

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[dan]

I hunt spots in early season mainly in the evening. I go in about 2pm... I will hunt in the AM, but I go to spots that can't be hunted in the evening, or I don't intend to. Bucks are usually bedded in the morning early season before daylight.
If I jump a buck I usually hunt the spot anyway. Almost shot a 150 class buck last year that returned to his bedding area a couple hours after I jumped him.

[Choupic]

Ok thanks ! I'm trying to understand a lil better sorry if my questions seem simple . Lol So , how close do you want to set up on this buck ? Obviously you don't want to bump him out on purpose and obviously there are different obstacles for each circumstance . But on average , what is too close and what would be a lil too far away to set up on a MB bed ? Thanks !

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[Mario]

I know Dan would answer this best but this is what I have learned. A mature buck may get up from his been with only 15 minutes of day light. So if you set up two far away, say a couple hundred yards he may not travel out of his safe zone in that time. You want to get as close as possible without bumping him, 50 yards or so. Its a game of chance but if you know the exact position of your bed and take your time getting in slow and quiet you can go in detected. Dan has a story in his book I believe that describes where he walked past hunter set up far out on rub lines leading to a bucks bed, all were to far away to make the kill in day light he got within 75 yards to get the buck on his feet in daylight. Now if you have the buck patterned in early season they can be less nocturnal so you may catch him moving earlier, but it really depends on what you have observed with this particular buck. If your not sure might be good to back off and get as high as possible in an observation setup where you have a clear view of his travel from his bed. Observe the time he gets up and moves. Be far enough out so you can observe with the binocs but go undetected so you don't push him. Then if the wind is right hit him hard on your next sit. The first sit in close is almost always the best chance in making the kill.. This is what I have learned thus far about beast style setups

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[Swampbuck]

Choupic i think the distance really depends on the terrain but where we hunt observation is obviously mostly impossible. From what I have learned they seem to have about a 200 yd core. You need to be within that and the closer the better without blowing them. If its really thick (which im sure it is) 60-80 yds is the closest I think you can get without blowing it.... If its an opening maybe more but I think in general you need to be within 100 yds.... I also think you could make it work on the outside edge of that 200 yds but it would require a lot more time and ensuring you know where he is, know you are on his travel route and play the wind and wait him out.

[BigHills BuckHunter]

I hunt spots in early season mainly in the evening. I go in about 2pm... I will hunt in the AM, but I go to spots that can't be hunted in the evening, or I don't intend to. Bucks are usually bedded in the morning early season before daylight.
If I jump a buck I usually hunt the spot anyway. Almost shot a 150 class buck last year that returned to his bedding area a couple hours after I jumped him.

I'm surprised that buck returned a few hours later.

Soft bump?

[dan]

A buck might only move 75 yards from his bed in daylight, or he might move 300 yards. You generally only get one crack maybe two before he knows he is being hunted. The closer the better. If you can get to 75 yards you can shoot him if he moves 75 yards in shooting light or if he intends to move 200. But if your 175 yards out and he moves 75 your hunt is over...

You need to push the envelope and get as close as possible. How close is to close wiill depend on a lot of factors like terrain, your skill, weather, wind, etc. The only way you will learn how close is to close is to go out there and do it and fail a time or two... If you never bump a buck out of his bed and cuss yourself for it, your probably hunting to far back.

[BigHunt]

I hunt spots in early season mainly in the evening. I go in about 2pm... I will hunt in the AM, but I go to spots that can't be hunted in the evening, or I don't intend to. Bucks are usually bedded in the morning early season before daylight.
If I jump a buck I usually hunt the spot anyway. Almost shot a 150 class buck last year that returned to his bedding area a couple hours after I jumped him.

I'm surprised that buck returned a few hours later.

Soft bump?

last season I bump a shooter buck out of his bed as I walked out to an island......what I should of done was stopped and set up right away but I didn't .....as I walked out that night I passed through were I kicked the buck up ...sure enough ...crash crash crash .....I didn't see it but im almost positive it was the buck I kicked up , he must of came back to investigate

LESSEON LEARNED