How often will a deer change beds???

[Killemquietly]

Any of you gurus out there have any insight on this? I'm am curious how often deer (particularly bucks) change beds. Absent pressure or lack of food sources would they stay put? I always pictured them to rove around kinda like a house cat ie. one day theyre on the window sill, the next your sofa, etc

[dirt nap giver]

From my experience, about every hour they get up and stretch, relieve themselves and change bedding slightly.
The house cat annaligy is a good one.

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[dan]

I think most people think bucks randomly bed where ever they feel like it... But, if you start scouting beds, studying beds, and looking at how they relate to wind currents, they are totally predictable...

How many beds a buck has is a question that would have a different answer for each buck. How many good buck bedding spots are there in his home range? Also, deer are like people and have different personalities. One might stick to 2 or three main bedding areas all the time, another may have a couple hundred...

My personal observations have lead me to believe most mature deer have between 5 and 20 primary bedding areas, and about 50 (maybe more) secondary bedding areas they bed at for certain reasons occasionally like a specific wind direction, or a specific food source, or because of a ramp in hunting pressure.

I think most of the time mature bucks are in the primary bedding areas... And there are fewer primary bedding areas on most hunting properties than most people understand.

I have one bedding area that if I shine a nice buck in a certain field within 1 1/2 hours of dark, i can be very confident that buck will be in a certain primary bed that is a 1/4 mile from there the next day if its the same wind.

[backstraps]

Not a guru, but I have an opinion on the areas I hunt....

The deer density, hunting pressure, time of year and food availability would be huge factors.
I'm sure particular bed use would change from area to area.

Early season and late season I see bucks using particular beds more on pattern. Once food patterns change and velvet is gone, I see bucks using your house cat example.

If hunting pressure is heavy, you find the primary beds and I think that bed will be used very frequently by the most mature buck in the area....or even better multiple bucks

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[JoeRE]

I would agree with Dan's observations. It varies a lot buck to buck...and with age of buck. When a buck hits 5 years old he starts to have less and less I think, but there are exceptions to that.

I see a lot of extremes one way or the other - a buck almost never bedding in the same area two days in a row, or going back to a few beds in a couple small bedding areas almost every day for weeks at a time.

[Killemquietly]

Will a buck use a bed previously used by another buck that is still around (alive). I figure if a buck chooses a bed, it is for maximum security, If buck A moves on to another bed during the course of a day or whatever, and buck "b" comes along, will he bed there as well? or would he smell buck "A" and be afraid to, if he could somehow tell Buck "A" was more dominant? can anybody weigh in on this, where's Mark the biologist? Yeah I'm probably overanalyzing but these creatures fascinate me. I guess the flip side of the question is if I am lucky enough to kill buck "A", and he is dominate and has the best, most secure bed, how long before the next dominate guy can move in and take that bed or would he?

[Stanley]

Great topic for discussion. We only know what we have seen and experienced. Lots of times those experiences lead us to believe things happen like that all the time. Just because one buck is using a bed doesn't mean he will continue to do so. Everything changes as the days turn into weeks. In my opinion if you know where a buck is bedding you best be hunting him pronto.

Bucks get killed all the time, bucks change food sources all the time, landscape changes all the time etc. A bed that provides good cover in Sept will look completely different than say right now. The buck I had patterned from bedding area to food source early October is dead. So if a hunter is looking for that buck in a bed it ain't happening.

[dan]

Will a buck use a bed previously used by another buck that is still around (alive). I figure if a buck chooses a bed, it is for maximum security, If buck A moves on to another bed during the course of a day or whatever, and buck "b" comes along, will he bed there as well? or would he smell buck "A" and be afraid to, if he could somehow tell Buck "A" was more dominant? can anybody weigh in on this, where's Mark the biologist? Yeah I'm probably overanalyzing but these creatures fascinate me. I guess the flip side of the question is if I am lucky enough to kill buck "A", and he is dominate and has the best, most secure bed, how long before the next dominate guy can move in and take that bed or would he?

I have seen many different bucks use the exact same bed on different days. They choose a bed based on safety. And they get up and move based on safety, like the changing of the wind direction or lifting air current that was dropping... I remember shooting a very nice mature buck out of a bed a few years ago that I knew would be there cause the biggest buck in that section almost always bedded there. I shot that buck then noticed the rub line stayed open and went right back in and watch a really nice 10 point get out of the exact same bed... As of right now, between me and a few of my friends we have shot about a dozen big bucks out of that bed.
A small buck will use a bed that a big buck used, Ive seen it... The best bedding areas have a bed or two that are set up perfect and a lot of deer compete to bed there. I call those "primary" bedding areas. They will usually have satellite beds where other deer bed when someone bigger is in the main bed...

[Bayshorebuck8]

This is good stuff.

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[Killemquietly]

I should mention I'm hunting the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, and it is flat,flat flat and marshy. So I would assume all the beds would be smell based with very little sight basis. So, basically finding the thickest,nastiest, thorniest place downwind of all human activity, or maybe a high spot in the wet stuff, for the big boys? I'm still trying to tag my first true wall-hanger, you guys have been great. Dan I made your pepper steak recipe tonight and it was killer, thanks for posting that vid on you-tube.

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[DaveT1963]

Great topic for discussion. We only know what we have seen and experienced. Lots of times those experiences lead us to believe things happen like that all the time. Just because one buck is using a bed doesn't mean he will continue to do so. Everything changes as the days turn into weeks. In my opinion if you know where a buck is bedding you best be hunting him pronto.

Bucks get killed all the time, bucks change food sources all the time, landscape changes all the time etc. A bed that provides good cover in Sept will look completely different than say right now. The buck I had patterned from bedding area to food source early October is dead. So if a hunter is looking for that buck in a bed it ain't happening.

Agree. This is what i observe also. If you find a buck consistently using the same bed for a few days you better set up on him right then and there. I seldom hve seen such predictable behavior that lasts for very long.

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[youngbuck917]

I believe a deer in the Marsh will mostly bed based on sound and smell advantage with some great escape route where he won't need to go far to escape the danger and then bed back down. I know here in Wisconsin if a deer runs too far or gets out of the thick stuff for gun season it will most likely die.

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[Lockdown]

I should mention I'm hunting the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, and it is flat,flat flat and marshy. So I would assume all the beds would be smell based with very little sight basis. So, basically finding the thickest,nastiest, thorniest place downwind of all human activity, or maybe a high spot in the wet stuff, for the big boys? I'm still trying to tag my first true wall-hanger, you guys have been great. Dan I made your pepper steak recipe tonight and it was killer, thanks for posting that vid on you-tube.

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I am hunting the same "flat flat flat, swamp/marsh" scenario that you are. The big ones that I find are in swamps and sanctuaries (refuges, city limits, managed land). Use bing maps birds eye view (there are others sites as well) and look for a high spot in the swamp with trails going to it from multiple directions. Keep in mind very heavy trails are likely does. Hit that spot when it's rut when the bucks are with the does. If you see a small piece of dry land with faint trails, that is likely a bucks bed room.

If you scout an area in the spring and think "man this is going to suck to get to" you're on the right track. I've also seen them near roads and heavy pressure if it's a place that is ignored by hunters.

Scout hard and analyze everything!

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[Lockdown]

Got slightly off track there but regarding bedding in this terrain, the only consistently reused beds I have found are in swamps. Even then catching one doing the same thing twice is rare.

I talked with a local landowner of a gravel pit the other day that is known for big bucks annually. I was telling him about the hunting beast and what I've learned. He was interested but at the end of the conversation he said "all I can say about big bucks in the pit is there's absolutely no telling when or where they'll be. I grew up here (his house overlooks one side of the pit) and have lived here all of my 67 years and haven't been able nail down any consistent bedding or patterns on any of the big bucks we see here. You're lucky to lay eyes on one period."

Flat land is tough... Look for whatever structure you can find.

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[DaveT1963]

Got slightly off track there but regarding bedding in this terrain, the only consistently reused beds I have found are in swamps. Even then catching one doing the same thing twice is rare.

I talked with a local landowner of a gravel pit the other day that is known for big bucks annually. I was telling him about the hunting beast and what I've learned. He was interested but at the end of the conversation he said "all I can say about big bucks in the pit is there's absolutely no telling when or where they'll be. I grew up here (his house overlooks one side of the pit) and have lived here all of my 67 years and haven't been able nail down any consistent bedding or patterns on any of the big bucks we see here. You're lucky to lay eyes on one period."

Flat land is tough... Look for whatever structure you can find.

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I said in another post that deep woods is toughest and then added southern swamped are right there. I don't think people have a real understanding at his vast these are and finding edges is an art in them. I've hunted ETex versions and had a hard time in those can't imagine the big LA, MS swamps. Hats off to anyone that can consistently get it done there.

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