old field habitat beds and rubs

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Hawthorne
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old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby Hawthorne » Wed May 18, 2016 2:49 pm

I scouted an area the other day that was a 15 -20 old field with 10 foot tall brush and trees with rolling topography. It was surrounded by mature hardwoods and one side dropped down steep to a creek bottom. I found a ton of beds within the field and jumped a single large deer but couldn't tell if it was a buck. I also came across multiple areas on the transition where there were rubs in clusters in young sumac and aspen. Would you think with that many beds its a doe bedding area and the rubs was from bucks cruising the area or could bucks be bedding in there and staging making all the rubs on the transition? Just trying to figure if its just a good rut spot or early season. Might have to do some observing and trail cams to figure it out. This is a public area but I found no hunting sign which surprised me. It was kinda a long walk. What's your experience hunting this type of area?

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby 9pt » Wed May 18, 2016 3:13 pm

Hawthorn,
This sound very similar to the overgrown field I shot my buck in last year (on private). I found that the bucks were bedding under brushy bushes early season in the middle of the field but with escape routes in at least 3 directions. The does beds in the thicket at the transition from the field to the mature woods. Both the buck and doe beds we were on the downward side of the field near the creek. My setup was in a mature hickory tree in the field that had multiple trails intersecting at its base.

Hope this helps.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby Hawthorne » Thu May 19, 2016 5:20 am

Thanks 9pt. I think im gonna put up a trail cam in about a month to see what's using that field. I did find one scrape. Im gonna set the cam over the licking branch cause bucks will use them all year. If anything is on cam that interests me ill give the area a few hunts this fall.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby Wlog » Thu May 19, 2016 10:59 am

Could be bucks, does or both bedding in there. If you hunt it a few times like you said, that should tell you what you need to know. I've seen does and bucks bed in areas like you're describing.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Thu May 19, 2016 2:04 pm

Back a number of years ago (1999 or so) I had a spot with an overgrown field. Butted right up against and alder thicket. Man, probably one of the most predictable bedding spots I have ever seen. But, expect for 1 yr, it was mostly does. When Nov rolled around, it got good...so didn't the gun hunting ramp up.

Only 1 yr did 3 bucks call it home. 3.5, 2.5 and a 1.5. All ran together. Saw them from stand. No does that season. Other than that, place was doe central. I was still pretty green around the gills :D

As far as the sign/beds. Its hard to know exactly "who" is using it. I have areas that have bunch of beds. But found a dead 2.5yr old in one of them this year. So bucks do use them. But what time of year? Typically, when I see bucks in Sept and October, there are not many does around. If I see a bunch of does, I typically bail on the area. Does just do not seem to tolerate the bucks during early season.

The good thing about it...does not take a lot of time to figure out and make a decision. Some trail cams in the right spots should tell you all you need to know.
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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby redfeather » Tue May 24, 2016 2:57 am

These overgrown fields are the first thing I look for when hunting a new piece of property. The group that I travel with to do our out of state public land bowhunts have like several mature bucks in these areas in Kansas ohio Pa And Missouri. As mentioned above they are fairly predictable bedding areas but can be difficult to hunt. Most of the times the grass and brush are to high for a ground hunt and the trees aren't quite big enough to get a stand in but they seem to be a deer magnet anywhere we go.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue May 24, 2016 4:56 am

This is a great topic. In the last few years I have observed a couple fields going fallow and going up in brush and how that has changed deer behavior. Its interesting to me because I once thought of this sort of thing as a negative, harder to find and see the deer that sort of thing. My thoughts on it have changed a lot. For the first several years a field is fallow, its basically a giant foot plot all summer long. A lot of those plants we call weeds deer call lunch, and have been proven to be great nutritional sources. They were eating that stuff long before food plots were invented. Typically the weeds are tall enough they make good bedding cover come fall as well, and deter a lot of hunters because its so different than woods so they can become virtual sanctuaries. As the years pass woody growth increases, so I am seeing more browsing in them particularly late season when food is a bit more limited.

I also am seeing when internal edges form on older abandoned fields, with islands and strips of brush, deer are really influenced by that. They bed around islands of brush like in swamps, bucks cruising along transition lines and through bedding in the rut and does seeking out the thickest areas to avoid buck harassment in the rut...its pretty interesting to see it change year by year. In each situation I think the overall deer hunting got a lot better with the field going fallow and growing up with weeds then brush. All in all I agree with the previous comments, old fields are something I have started to look for due to the combination of other hunters avoiding them and deer being attracted to them...makes for some unique and challenging hunting but figuring that out is part of the fun.
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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby TNstalker » Tue May 24, 2016 10:16 pm

I had a chance prob 5 years ago at the biggest 8 point I've seen to date in a grown up field. It was small an round mostly had turn to saplings an had a big tree line on the west side of it an a patch of smaller saplings on the west side of that in the back end of a larger field. Was a good spot. Saw 2 shooters with in a week one busted me the other came in an surprised me bc he was 30 out already by the time I saw him. By the time I got the bow drawn I had one shooting lane left he wouldn't stop an I didn't feel comfortable taken the shot on him. I have a private place now that took me a little while to figure out how to hunt it but it has a grown up field on it. killed a nice 3 year old 8 prob 3 years ago out of it. I believe he was bedded in the center of the field bc there is a low spot an all the beds I've found are around that spot. I had a 2 big deer using off an on last year but never saw them in it when I was there just the sign. It took me hunting it to figure out it was mainly a buck bedding spot bc I see 3 bucks to every doe. Sometimes maybe one out of 5 hunts all I see is doe's but I don't see a lot from this stand. It is the thickest cover year round in that area. This year I'm just going to monitor it more an stay out till one is hold consistently in there. That's how I killed that 8 out of it bc I didn't hunt it but one time. went in when the sign was every where around the outer edges. Shot him second trip in an saw a real big deer on the way to get the truck to get him out lol. Guess that's how it is sometimes. But I love over grown fields my self.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Wed May 25, 2016 5:30 am

I hunt quite a few overgrown fields (many were a clear cut that grow over or old CRP stands) and I noticed the first 3-5 years the deer tend to use it more for food unless there is some additional cover (tree line/island as Joe RE mentioned). Once it gets 4 -6 foot high I think they really start using it for both food and bedding. One thing I do, in addition to high/low spots and edges, I also identify where water sources are. On hot days, the overhead cover is not as great and they might bed close to a known water source. Does often bed in the thickets and the bucks, while cruising, might just work up a thirst and come popping into the water source late morning/early afternoon. To me the does bed in small clearings in these and the bucks more on structure/edges. The closer to the breeding season I would start looking downwind of the doe bedding (small opening) areas. Of course edges are always ripe for travel routes and these are usually pretty easy to see in grown over fields. Don't forget about small ditches/creeks (even if dry) that cut through these as those can also be great travel corridors.
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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby 9pt » Wed May 25, 2016 5:38 am

DaveT1963 wrote:I hunt quite a few overgrown fields (many were a clear cut that grow over or old CRP stands) and I noticed the first 3-5 years the deer tend to use it more for food unless there is some additional cover (tree line/island as Joe RE mentioned). Once it gets 4 -6 foot high I think they really start using it for both food and bedding. One thing I do, in addition to high/low spots and edges, I also identify where water sources are. On hot days, the overhead cover is not as great and they might bed close to a known water source. Does often bed in the thickets and the bucks, while cruising, might just work up a thirst and come popping into the water source late morning/early afternoon. To me the does bed in small clearings in these and the bucks more on structure/edges. The closer to the breeding season I would start looking downwind of the doe bedding (small opening) areas. Of course edges are always ripe for travel routes and these are usually pretty easy to see in grown over fields. Don't forget about small ditches/creeks (even if dry) that cut through these as those can also be great travel corridors.


Good input Dave about the water source. I have been thinking of setting up over the creek in my spot. I might hang a trail camera there this summer. Your post gives me a bit of additional reasoning.

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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby gjs4 » Wed May 25, 2016 1:21 pm

Ive found them to bed in these fields on rises, adjacent to visual markers (trees, bushes), at the end of ditches and random (meaning I couldn't identify why) areas. Almost all of my finds were from glassing and without a single exception they were used only by that one buck that I found there rather than the classic most years someone wants to live there with the same variables deal. Only other thing I could contribute is these fields vary on bedding based on recent cuts and regrowth but guessing that's about preferred food with that regrowth.
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Re: old field habitat beds and rubs

Unread postby JoeRE » Wed May 25, 2016 2:27 pm

DaveT1963 wrote:I hunt quite a few overgrown fields (many were a clear cut that grow over or old CRP stands) and I noticed the first 3-5 years the deer tend to use it more for food unless there is some additional cover (tree line/island as Joe RE mentioned). Once it gets 4 -6 foot high I think they really start using it for both food and bedding. One thing I do, in addition to high/low spots and edges, I also identify where water sources are. On hot days, the overhead cover is not as great and they might bed close to a known water source. Does often bed in the thickets and the bucks, while cruising, might just work up a thirst and come popping into the water source late morning/early afternoon. To me the does bed in small clearings in these and the bucks more on structure/edges. The closer to the breeding season I would start looking downwind of the doe bedding (small opening) areas. Of course edges are always ripe for travel routes and these are usually pretty easy to see in grown over fields. Don't forget about small ditches/creeks (even if dry) that cut through these as those can also be great travel corridors.


Yea that is sort of the timeline I have seen as well. One big field I have watched went fallow 6 years ago and the last 2 years has seen a lot more woody growth, and more bedding as well in the fall. Weeds die down around here come first frost and are often knocked flat as soon as we get a decent snow but as the field gets brushier there is bedding cover and browse later in the season. It seems to have a similar evolution as a clear cut, just doesn't grow up as fast as the old root systems are not present.


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