Buck Bedding Found...

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SidewayZ
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Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby SidewayZ » Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:37 am

So when the Bed is found and the deer run to a food source is known. Next step is to plan the hunt based on patterns you have found from this deers movement, then (devise plan for wind / stand location etc.) What I am saying is I know where the bed is and where he is going. I am assuming using this method means most of the time you would want to hunt this deer in the afternoon as opposed to morning. Or do you want to get into stand at 2-3 hrs before sunrise and wait for the buck to return?

Maybe each deer is different and plan hunt around your scouting info for that particular deer?

Just wondering if anyone is seeing one time of day to be more successful than another?


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Rich M
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby Rich M » Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:44 am

Evening is more predictable - bucks often return to their beds hours before light and may bust you in the dark.

Set up along the trail the buck uses to leave his bed, as close as you can get without spooking him off the bed.
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby Jrichard » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:18 am

In my short time of experience, I have noticed either way its a crap shoot so to speak. If you go in, in the afternoon the deer may not even get out of his bed until after dark. If you tip him off at all he may bust out of there, or hold up until well after dark. Or like I said before, he may not even move at all until after dark even if he doesn't know you are there.

As far as the morning, IMO I like to hunt bucks then for a few reasons. (#1) In RI legal shooting time is 30 minutes before sun up. Some states legal shooting time is sun up. So I have an advantage there. (#2) Unlike humans, if a buck leaves say a field after eating a while before sun rise he doesnt plan for "delays". If he catches movement by other hunters, catches there wind ect. hes most likely going to avoid that area and take a longer route going back to his bed. Which in turn helps my third point. (3) You can get much closer to the bed when the deer is not in it. So that delay will make it so that hes coming into bed later.

This exact thing happened to me when I killed my eight point. I put my buddy in his tree. And i moved about 75 to 80 yards away and got into my tree. The buck ran into where my buddy was, caught him climbing in his climber, ran around the rock wall and right in front of me.

IMO variables in the morning seem better. That doesn't mean I dont hunt bucks in the afternoon. But I feel like one wrong move can bust that deer out of there, or cause him to stay put until dark.
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby tgreeno » Wed Dec 07, 2016 12:43 pm

There are many variables. What wind does he use that bed. What wind is best for setting up on that bed. What trail will he use coming of going from that bed. How early does he get to his bed in the morning. Will he actually be in the bed the day you're able to hunt it. IMO...finding the bed gives you about a 5% chance of actually killing a buck out of it. You fail many many more times than you succeed hunting bedded bucks.

Most will say, evening hunts are more predictable that morning hunts on bedded bucks. But both will work. I perfer evening hunts because you aren't "hoping" you beat the buck into the bed.
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fishlips
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby fishlips » Wed Dec 07, 2016 2:31 pm

I prefer afternoons because i don't like getting up super early to set up. I also find it easier to check sign on your way in on an evening hunt. Morning hunts also require a very well thought out approach so that you can get to the stand without tipping the deer off.

I also seem to notice deer will generally get up during shooting light in the afternoons, but they can bed well before shooting light in the morning.

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mheichelbech
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby mheichelbech » Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:52 am

For me it depends on the situation. If I think it's a pretty sure thing he is using and traveling out of that bed, I may set an observation stand to get a better idea of his movement and then go in for the kill once I've established what the buck is doing. My observation stand will be a spot that he cannot in anyway tell I was there.

This saves me from possibly hunting the right tree and spoiling the hunt before I'm ever in the game.

If it's more of a bedding area, then I use a bit more generalized strategy however if I am confident he is using a specific bed I need to be spot on with my hunts.

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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Dec 09, 2016 12:22 am

Yea there are many variables.

One that often is what makes the morning versus evening decision for me is access. We have fairly high deer numbers and it is often hard to get near a good buck bed and not spook either satellite bucks bedded or does. Spook them and it can be a domino effect. If that is the case, morning is the only choice by setting up before any deer are back in the bedding areas.

I have had a lot of success with morning bed hunts (more than in the evening) not because they are better odds than evening, but because evening hunts just weren't an option often for the above reason. I target the best conditions for morning bed hunts. . If you can get into a spot in the evening cleanly go for it.
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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby WVFrid » Fri Dec 09, 2016 5:30 am

Hey JoeRE,
How early are you getting in and all set up? A lot of times I'm limited to just mornings only and I'd like to get a lot better at it.

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Re: Buck Bedding Found...

Unread postby Wlog » Fri Dec 09, 2016 5:42 am

Another important variable is seasonal timing. If you find a bed post season scouting sometimes it's hard to determine when exactly is the best time to hunt it. You have to consider if it's because of a certain food source, if so what part of the year would they be hitting that food source. There's a lot to consider and usually in my case it takes time and actually hunting the spot a few times before I figure out when the best time to hunt it is. That may take multiple seasons. So if you think you have all your bases covered and you go in to hunt the spot. Don't give up on it. Could just be off on seasonal timing a bit. Keep a journal and write down your observations. That will help jog your memory and keep you from making the same mistake twice.

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