Deciding on bedding areas

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MN_DeerHunter
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Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Thu Sep 18, 2014 12:16 am

Guys,

I'm going to try out my first sit of the season tonight and am trying to narrow down the bedding areas to hunt. My question is do you guys decide which bedding area to evening hunt based on the direction of the wind in the morning that day?

So a south wind in the morning would have bucks bedding in the cattails along the south side of a wooded area so they can smell into the woods and bolt into the cattails if they detect danger? Here is a view of the bedding I was thinking of hunting this evening:

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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Sep 18, 2014 1:39 am

You have to set up on a favorable wind for you when you are hunting. Try and watch/monitor the wind as you hunt. If the wind switches during the hunt and it will sometimes you must adjust accordingly. Many times I have changed positions during the hunt.
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: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby headgear » Thu Sep 18, 2014 2:01 am

Generally yes, when I am thinking about hunting a spot I check the wind in the morning to see where they might bed. That looks like a great spot for a buck to bed on a south wind, if you find mature buck sign in the area all the better.

The trick is hunting him without getting busted so if you have a strait south wind you might have to hunt off the side of the bedding area. If you get a SE or SW wind I would try and work the angles and sneak in a little closer. If you have a south wind swing to the west all the better. Sometimes I hunt a safe wind sometimes I really push it and get busted, if you aren't pushing the limits or taking chances you might not be in the game on public or pressured land. I would also think about the thermals in this spot, once the wind dies down that was behind the bed will suck a lot of scent past the buck. However you can also use this to your advantage, those larger bodies of water off to the sides could help channel your scent off to the side. Sometimes if the wind is doing crazy things I will stay back until things calm down and then slip in late when I know a thermal will be more predictable.
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Thu Sep 18, 2014 3:50 am

Thanks for the information guys, the wind is supposed to switch and be coming from the N around noon-3, then switch and be from the E for the rest of the night. So I am going to be set up perfect to approach from the south then set up on the West or even directly South of the wooded island.

I'm going in blind though so we'll see what happens...
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby dan » Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:11 am

Depends if its wind based bedding or not... Most marsh bedding is not wind specific. Are the beds on the island or in the thick brush adjacent to the island?
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:28 am

I am guessing as far back from the main woods as they can get, this area gets a lot of archery activity. I haven't had a chance to see this spot this year in person, i've only scouted it online.

So if marsh bedding does not specifically relate to wind direction, do bucks base their decision to bed in one spot over another mostly on pressure, and security of the spot? Or possibly at random?

I know each animal is different but i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby dan » Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:33 am

MN_DeerHunter wrote:I am guessing as far back from the main woods as they can get, this area gets a lot of archery activity. I haven't had a chance to see this spot this year in person, i've only scouted it online.

So if marsh bedding does not specifically relate to wind direction, do bucks base their decision to bed in one spot over another mostly on pressure, and security of the spot? Or possibly at random?

I know each animal is different but i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this

Best bedding spot for security around that island... usually a finger of dogwood that mixes into the cattails off a point. The only good bedding brush I see off that island is the stuff between the island and the main land.
I like the brush along the stream in the cattails West of the island. Bet there is staging coming out of that brush onto the main land... That looks better than that island to me.
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby headgear » Thu Sep 18, 2014 4:33 am

This is just a guess but if there is pressure close by I'd guess the older bucks have a safer location picked out, but hunt it anyway and see what happens, highly likely some deer are using that as a bedroom.
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:18 am

I would not have thought of that small strip of brush as bedding I guess, this gives me an idea of other places nearby that could be good.

I'll give it a try and report back on my findings - thanks guys!
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby MN_DeerHunter » Sun Sep 21, 2014 2:28 am

So I had to work late Wednesday so I didnt make it out until last night.

Wind at entry: S
Wind forecast for evening: S changing to SSW to W

I went in really slow and made sure to check the wind along the way. My plan was to check out the island and the thicker cover to the west. Dan was right, the island was not good bedding. Actually there was hardly any cover at all there, but it was covered in deer tracks I think from them eating acorns at night possibly?

Anyways, I snuck onto the island having to cross knee deep muck and I thought I would just observe the thicker brush to the west for the night. It was interesting to see how the wind changed near the swamp. For the most part it was from the SSW blowing my scent out across the pond, but with about an hour left of shooting time I felt the wind do a complete shift and was now coming from the east right into the suspected bedding area to my west. I was using milkweed to observe this and thought maybe the cooling air was dropping my scent to the ground before reaching the brush, but I think it probably went into the brush because I didnt see squat for deer. Here's the view from the stand Image

Also, on the walk in I stumbled upon this rub in some really thick brush. Its kind of hard to see but if you look close you can see how high it reaches on the tree. Is it possible to get an estimate of the size of the buck just by looking at the rub? Image
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Re: Deciding on bedding areas

Unread postby jonsimoneau » Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:17 am

dan wrote:
MN_DeerHunter wrote:I am guessing as far back from the main woods as they can get, this area gets a lot of archery activity. I haven't had a chance to see this spot this year in person, i've only scouted it online.

So if marsh bedding does not specifically relate to wind direction, do bucks base their decision to bed in one spot over another mostly on pressure, and security of the spot? Or possibly at random?

I know each animal is different but i'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this

Best bedding spot for security around that island... usually a finger of dogwood that mixes into the cattails off a point. The only good bedding brush I see off that island is the stuff between the island and the main land.
I like the brush along the stream in the cattails West of the island. Bet there is staging coming out of that brush onto the main land... That looks better than that island to me.


Dan that post coupled with the map really puts into perspective of what you are looking for as far as bedding areas in the swamp. I too would have suspected the Island until you pointed out the brush to the west. Thank you.

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