Mature buck approaching bed

[n.sampey]

Just curious if a mature buck will always leave and come back to his bed with the wind in his face???

[MACHINIST]

In for the answer!!

[Bowhunter4life]

They often J hook or circle the bed on the downwind side in the mornings scent checking it before entering. Evenings they could leave wind to their face or to their back. All depends on where they are going that evening to feed or check does. The wind in the evenings often doesn't dictate which direction they leave.

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[MACHINIST]

So when hunting a bed how do you decide which trail to watch on a given evening?

[n.sampey]

About how many yards out do they stay from the bed when j hooking

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[Swampbuck]

Leaving thier bed my guess is it could be either. I've seen them go into wind and wind to back. This is limited experience but still

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[mheichelbech]

I watched a small buck do a j hook; he only went about 30 yards.

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[Spysar]

No, a buck doesn't always have the wind in his face.

[dan]

Just curious if a mature buck will always leave and come back to his bed with the wind in his face???

There are a couple words I try not to use when referring to whitetails. Never & Always top that list... There are "always" exceptions.

With that said, I had a discussion with Andrae last year about this very subject, we both agree that they leave there bed regardless of wind direction in the evening. But I said I had seen some bucks enter there bed wind to back... He has had a lot more success than me in morning hunting, and actually prefers mornings and says if your patient and understand how they bed and when they arrive in morning after daylight, it is a great hunt.
He says they ALWAYS come to bed with wind to face and that he has watched hundreds of bucks arrive at beds, and they ALWAYS have wind to face... He said my observations were not of the deer actually bedding, and that they often approach with wind to back but then J-hook out of my sight picture... And looking back, I never saw the deer I saw go into beds with wind to back... I just saw them enter the area of the bed. all the ones I saw lay down came in wind to nose.

I have noticed while tracking deer that the big old bucks often come in and cruise past a bed on a cross wind that blows to there intended bed, and then sweep a large j hook to the bed so they can smell anything that follows there track, and still have there ground scent in line with there airborne scent.

I have actually been mimicking whitetails in some of my set ups, especially the ones where the buck could come from several directions. I like to go to the stand with wind to face so that my ground scent is in-line with my airborne scent giving only one line of exposure to get busted.

[Stanley]

I think it is easier to understand if you look at it like this. The bed is the starting point for buck movement in the evening. The bed is the ending point for buck movement in the morning. Everywhere the buck travels between the starting point and the ending point is a big area compared to the buck bed. So the buck can return to the bed from may directions and does. The wind is not the sole determining factor in what direction the buck returns to its bed. Food source, water source, obstacles, predator encounters, things like this all determine how the buck returns to the bedding area.

I think evening bed hunting is more productive because you know the starting point. If you also know the ending point you can set up and have a good idea of the buck travel route. In my opinion morning hunting is not as calculated because the area the buck is coming from is much bigger than like his bed in the evening.

I think we may have some different interpretations on bucks going to bed down. If a buck is on a food source in the morning and heads to its bed with the wind to it's back (I have seen them head to bedding areas with any and all winds). The buck would need to do a J hook to make sure the bedding area is safe. If a buck heads to the bedding area with the wind in its nose. He would not need to do a J hook to know if the bedding area is safe. So in a sense both you and Andrae are correct.

[semperfidelis]

Dan and Stanley,

Excellent info, thx!

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[Thermals]

Well said Stanley

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[checkerfred]

So if a buck enters below the bed by j hooking, why couldn't you set up below the bed by entering either direct from above or below the bed, and wait for him to return. I know they can enter really early in the early/late season, but what about during rut? I'm also talking about gun hunting where you have more shot opportunities at further distances

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[Beauford]

Will the type of terrain change any of this? I know a bed the deer would come from the south or west. If he would have the wind in his favor walking into the bed before his J hook he would be swimming to his bed all the time? Or would he use the wind and then walk 200 -300 yards to this bed without it in his favor?

[dan]

So if a buck enters below the bed by j hooking, why couldn't you set up below the bed by entering either direct from above or below the bed, and wait for him to return. I know they can enter really early in the early/late season, but what about during rut? I'm also talking about gun hunting where you have more shot opportunities at further distances

[ Post made via Android ]

The trick is not crossing the J-hook path on your entry (they are ultra sensitive around there beds of human presence), Knowing the direction they will come from before the hook, and knowing how deep the hook will be... In a lot of cases it differs day to day, and buck to buck...