dan wrote:Happens a lot during the rut. I like doe bedding areas better than buck bedding areas during the rut. I have found those buck beds empty for the most part during the rut. It is not hard to understand why. The bucks go where the does are. That isn't to say buck bedding areas are not a good place to keep an eye on. Much more buck movement in the thick during the day, for sure.
You gotta hunt rut beds in the rut. Bucks bed in certain spots for certain reasons. I find mature bucks bedded to pick off other deer going thru funnels, and along trails going to or coming from doe bedding. Just like your not going to kill a buck out of a bed that is set up for acorns along the transition of an oak woods when there are no acorns there, you gotta shift to where they bed when they are seeking does.
I would say this would be in relationship to doe bedding? It is hard for me to find buck beds that are used very little. The doe bedding areas are much easier to find. I have seen bucks bed in one spot and never use it again during the rut. It may be a nice sandy bed in the shade on a hot day. It may be the buck was just tired and needed a rest. I'm not sure why I'm just sure they did because I saw them do it.
A buck with a doe will bed many times during the day. Those beds are random beds and never used again that I have ever seen. Some of these spots are in weird places. Not the normal buck bed that is established. One reason the beds are never used again is because the buck is dealing with other bucks fending them off. They try and find isolated areas out of normal deer traffic.
Some hunters say they have seen bucks use the same areas tending does year after year. I have never seen this myself. I think a big contributor of this is a good percentage of the bucks are killed by other hunters. So most of the bucks are not alive to go back to an area to tend a doe. In my mind it is about percentages, which spot gives me the best chance. I don't like my odds of hunting a buck bed during the rut. This holds even more true for me hunting a rut bed that I have not been able to find. I have just seen too many bucks on their feet during the rut.
For me Early season I do like those established buck beds. During the rut I like the doe bedding areas. After the rut back to buck bedding and food sources. Great discussion for sure.