Friday's target public land bed

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James
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Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby James » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:35 pm

Back on November 14th I hunted a public land spot here in MN from sunrise to 2p (had to pick my daughter up that evening). This has been an intriguing spot to me because despite seeing a shooter numerous times from distance in this spot in 2012 I could never pin point where the bed actually was. When I climbed down around 2p on the 14th I decided to scout the island before taking off, I figured I hadn't seen anything and I wouldn't be back anyways. I had setup in the dark so the sign I had seen to this point was whatever I could see from my tree. As I started walking around I noticed some very large rubs from this year. As I looked around a bit I found his bed, right behind one of his massive rubs. The bed was clearly used very frequently and had a large buck dropping leading right into it.

So this is what the Beast is all about. Follow along as I bring you this hunt live on Friday. Have I already burned the bridge in this spot? Possibly. I am hoping that the buck may have been out breeding and not using this location for a small period of time during the rut. He clearly did not come back to this bed the morning I hunted in there. I was in plenty early and never heard nor saw anything approach.

I'll be setting up for an afternoon hunt. The tree I hunted that morning is within vision of the bed, so depending on how I feel I may hunt 1 tree over about 20 yards to keep my profile away from the bed. The shooter I saw come from this spot in 2012 was an obsession buck that I finally got a shot at that year and missed just under him. You can see that buck and read a recap here - http://www.james-squires.com/2012/09/24 ... g-weekend/

I doubt that buck is the same one using this bed 3 years later, but I guess you never know. I am just glad that I located the spot that the mature bucks were using in this location. That year in 2012 the buck was back to using this bed on Nov 22 when I saw him again come from this spot. I was on a different island and had to watch him from a distance. I am hoping the buck using the bed this year follows the same pattern.

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby dirt nap giver » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:43 pm

Good work on the Intel gathering. Sometimes you just have to dive in during the season to nail down a spot. I find myself doing it a couple times a year just to figure out the bed. Spring scouting doesn't always show what is happening during season.
ill be following.

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby James » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:49 pm

I'll add that I have a marginal wind, not a "perfect" wind for Friday. I tend to believe marginal winds ARE actually the perfect winds. Never seems like it works out when the wind is completely to your favor. As long as the wind keeps a little W in it I'll be fine. We have a NNW wind for Friday. His bed is SW of my tree by about 75-80 yards. So I have an "offset" of maybe 30 yards E of his bed and N a ways. He has several trails that would take him past my shooting lanes but one "back door" trail that takes him straight into the cattails right from his bed. Hopefully if he's home he'll want to stage a bit on the island before heading on his journey towards feeding grounds.
Last edited by James on Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:50 pm

:dance:

Good luck on Friday James!

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Bowhunter4life » Thu Nov 26, 2015 3:08 pm

I have done this so many times, I find myself getting aggravated with a spot and things just not playing out like my fall scouting showed yet I know a big buck is in the area or has been I'll dive right in and gather the information I need. I may give the spot another try at a later date but for me most of the time it is great Intel for the following season and has paid off. Good luck James!

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:41 am

Awesome post. Good luck james. Looking forward to hear how it goes.

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Fri Nov 27, 2015 4:46 am

Go git em'!

I'll be working...

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Zona » Fri Nov 27, 2015 3:41 pm

Thanks for letting us join you. Good luck!

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby VA5326 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:56 am

Good luck.
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James
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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby James » Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:57 am

Getting ready to hike out in about 30 minutes. Will try to bring as many updates as my fingers let me. I've got 27° on the mercury and that is as warm as it will be.

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby stash59 » Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:03 am

Fingers crossed!!
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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Hauntedwaters » Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:28 am

Get after 'em!
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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:48 am

Good luck James!

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby BowHusker » Sat Nov 28, 2015 8:13 am

Good luck, look forward to updates!

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Re: Friday's target public land bed

Unread postby James » Sat Nov 28, 2015 9:15 am

Setup by 3:00, took forever getting in. Deer trails have 1/4" of ice in the cats. Wind is great. Setup was great. I picked a tree a few yards further than I was thinking to keep my distance. I can glass the big rub from my tree but I can't quite see the bed.

Very quiet tonight and I know that I had that working against me getting in. There was one very long gated track coming into the island. Looked to me like this morning as the ice in his holes hadn't froze over yet.

I videod the approach and setup. Hoping to have something exciting happen tonight.

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