Ever make a buck bed?

[cbigbear]

MC can you provide a link to the GPS studies you cited?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Lockdown]

The buck in my avatar came out of the same bedding area 3 days in a row. Same exact bed??? I can't prove or disprove that. The end of the grove he was on was probably 75 yards square and he was on the south end of it all 3 days. It was rut and he was bedding with does, but it happened.

[the g1]

Here is a link to a GPS study. The rocket net could really extend your range.http://ecosystems.psu.edu/research/projects/deer/news

[Lockdown]

The buck in my avatar came out of the same bedding area 3 days in a row. Same exact bed??? I can't prove or disprove that. The end of the grove he was on was probably 75 yards square and he was on the south end of it all 3 days. It was rut and he was bedding with does.

[mauser06]

I once thought bedding was random..and they didn't use beds over and over...till I discovered this place...and started paying attention...

Sure they have many options...but the trick to it is find THE bed they will use during those conditions...knowing why the bed works is big..if they are using wind in that bed it will only work on certain winds...sight might only work after the leaf drop..

I haven't been paying attention to beds but 2 or 3 seasons now...I already have a list of beds that I know have been used through those years...some by the same buck...


My struggle is smaller woods lots and farmland and super heavy pressure...I still have yet to find a bed I know is being used by a mature buck at home....

[ Post made via Android ]

[Zona]

I think it's depends on the buck. Some travel and some don't. Yes hill country has multiple potential locations for bedding, but very few have ALL the ingredients that make a primary bedding location.

Dan, when choosing a potential bedding area, I am looking for a location that I can position multiple beds to take advantage of our predominantly northwest to southwest winds in addition to the visual and potential pressure requirements needed for a bedding area to work. Am I on the right track or wasting my time?

[ Post made via Android ]

[dan]

Dan, when choosing a potential bedding area, I am looking for a location that I can position multiple beds to take advantage of our predominantly northwest to southwest winds in addition to the visual and potential pressure requirements needed for a bedding area to work. Am I on the right track or wasting my time?

Yes... What you need to do varys in different terrains, but if you mimic the local "primary" bedding you should be ok.... For example, in hill country, you cut hinge trees horizontal to the hill right at the position where the thermal and actual winds collide. So a buck can shift around the whole point and bed down hill and down wind of any of these trees.
Then you cut more trees above the beds. Deer prefer it thick above, and its also better for a hunter. Leave the vision open below... On hill points I also prefer to remove all the oak trees around the beds so bucks have to move to the staging area to feed. Oak trees on the bedding points is one of the hardest factors to beat in hill country in early season.

[Zona]

Great point about the oaks, never thought about that. Makes a lot of sense since we had a great acorn crop last year and my buck sightings dropped significantly.

[ Post made via Android ]

[cbay]

Been enhancing bedding areas some the last couple years. Ninebark, spruce and spice bush so far. Without hinging its harder and takes longer but still got our fingers crossed.

[186buck]

Do you guy's who hinge cut trees have a particular tree they like to hinge cut. I'm thinking that some trees will do better than others. Also I think the deer would browse the leafs so what trees would they prefer to eat.

[dan]

Do you guy's who hinge cut trees have a particular tree they like to hinge cut. I'm thinking that some trees will do better than others. Also I think the deer would browse the leafs so what trees would they prefer to eat.

the type of tree don't matter much, the height at which you cut the tree, cutting the tree in relation to the wind and visibility, and the diameter to some extent, matter much more. Your not trying to create food, your trying to create secure bedding cover.

[186buck]

Dan can you go into more detail on how you would cut and where. Say you have a CRP field with a pocket of trees in it. I've seen deer in there before. But it's just not big enought for them to feel safe with out some extra cover. I'm just hoping to be able to make it better place to hold the deer. I assume the tree should be on the down wind side.

Also my question on the type of tree was also to ask if one type will hinge cut easier and last longer. But your probably right it more important to get the right spot.

[justdirtyfun]

Some studies might not see the need to overlay/compare daytime locations with wind direction.

[ Post made via Android ]

[dan]

Dan can you go into more detail on how you would cut and where. Say you have a CRP field with a pocket of trees in it. I've seen deer in there before. But it's just not big enought for them to feel safe with out some extra cover. I'm just hoping to be able to make it better place to hold the deer. I assume the tree should be on the down wind side.

Also my question on the type of tree was also to ask if one type will hinge cut easier and last longer. But your probably right it more important to get the right spot.

Pocket of trees might or might not hold bucks after alteration... But if it holds bucks sometimes I would think your efforts would be worthwhile in that you would make it better, but You might not make it great... I would look at the spot where they are bedding and figure out why they bed there, and enhance those features... A lot of the time they bed on islands on the down wind side where they can smell encroachment from behind and hear it in the thick brush and at the same time see encroachment from in front... They like thick cover behind, and they like to be somewhat hidden but be able to see out.

Take a look at this picture of a field island like you described... I marked the spots I would make beds in red, and the spots I would thicken in yellow. The pink area would be made more open. Behind each bed would be a hinge or a specifically placed log at a height of a couple feet off the ground the log would go vertical to the wind for that spot. If you need a south wind for example, you would need the log or tree to face East and West...

It is very difficult to create "good" buck bedding where there is no bedding features... In this case you have two features... Down wind side of island, and up wind side of island where they bed at the 1st transition watching a small opening... Both are very common farm land type beds. You enhance the places they want to bed at...