Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

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Findian
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Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby Findian » Sun Jan 29, 2017 11:34 am

I've looked around on here for this type of bedding. And I didn't find much about it.

The area is northern Wisconsin big woods. Wolf country.

My brother and I have realized that we have kicked up a lot of good bucks over the years at the bottom of ravines and small streams and creeks. We didn't realize this till about midway through the season.

The time frame that we would kick up bucks is September thru about mid October. But that's also when we are out in the woods hunting. So this could also be summer bedding to.

So I did many in season scouting trips to see if I could come up some sort of understanding.

Once the leaves drop they seem to not bed their. I'm not saying that they don't bed their after the leaves drop but its really wide open after the leaves are gone and a lot of the grass has fallen down.

I put up a map that I have not been to but can show a lot of what I'm finding.

The yellow is were I seem to find bedding. The blue areas are thick tag alder swamps. Almost all of the bedding has a corlation to the swamps nearby.

Image

Now what I noticed is that they bed by feeder draws next to thicker brush with taller grass. It has flowing water in the bottoms. Lots of browsing on the grass and weeds around the bedding. With rubs either in the brush or up on the tops.

My guess is that a lot of times in the afternoon it gets super calm in the big woods and the thermals kick in pulling almost all of the areas scent down to the spot that they bed. Kinda like a bowl.

The bedding is a great area to evade wolfs and coyotes. A lot of the draws and tops of the ravines lead to the tag alders swamps.

Image

This image below is a close up by the power line. Most of the bedding that I have found is around the green areas.
They will bed in it and around the edges of the brush. And some times I'll find beds were the grass is almost five to six foot tall.

Image

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this or if this has been talked about. But the trouble that I seem to have is trying to figure out how to hunt this type of bedding.

I've been thinking that I could set up in the grass from the down steam side and hope that the buck will walk the bottom browsing the grass and weeds in the bottoms and I assume the thermals should flow the same direction as the water in the afternoon.


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stash59
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby stash59 » Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:05 pm

To me it looks similar to what SingingBridge posted on beaver dam bedding especially in wolf country.

You may want to search for that thread.
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby mauser06 » Sun Jan 29, 2017 5:45 pm

I had a buck DOI g something similar one year. My buddy mentioned while he was farming he saw a good buck there. I didn't think I much of it...

Then my coon dog treed right there and I looked around and sure enough a few well used buck beds. Rubs in the beds.

Why?? The spot seemed stupid...But it's nearly bullet proof till pressure picks up...And perfect for a lazy buck..I also thought maybe it stayed cooler and was pretty secure being somewhat thick..

It's the point of a small finger of trees and also a bit of a wet weather ditch with a few little seeps that are always wet. Multifloral rose and brush...Great oak trees...A tractor path runs the fence line and crops on the other side of the finger..It's small..10-15yds. He could monitor the tractor path where 99% of danger would come from. Thermals coming up the ditch and he could also monitor the big ditch. Wind blowing off the fields over his back.


One of those spots that just seems silly but when you break it down, it's great. A hunter couldn't get near him. Park the truck where hunters normally do and that's 100-150yds away. He lays tight or dips out...


Once the vegitation died off it didn't seem to be getting used. It was a bed I couldn't hunt. No way to get close and he didn't have to go anywhere for anything. A few steps and he was in the fields. He could lay in the bed and reach acorns and water..Cool and shady..Secure.


After that I've found that is how many of my mature bucks get mature around here. Small secure spots overlooking open areas...Often in view or in sound of where hunters typically park. I've found a few I can and have had successful hunts but it's tough.



Not sure if your situation is similar or not...And the wolves...We don't have here..
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby JoeRE » Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:15 am

Interesting observations. So am I correct that if this is early season bedding, human hunting pressure isn't much of a factor in causing bucks to bed in those low areas? On the other hand the deer probably feel the hunting pressure from wolves and bears a lot.

Sounds like food is one reason that makes sense for the summer and early fall. With foliage on the trees the best food is out in those open areas no doubt.

Seems to be related to the thermal hub concept too, with bucks bedding down low where they can scent check the surrounding area for danger before getting up and leaving at night. However, most of the day you will have rising thermals, don't switch more than an hour or two before dark. Not sure how that ties in.

Are the beds you find usually wind specific, or get use regardless of wind direction? My guess would be the ones in the tall grass see use regardless of wind?

What are the escape routes from these beds - into the tag alders?
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby mheichelbech » Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:26 am

Sounds like a great situation for 1 hunter to bump the buck to another hunter. Flip for it!
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby mheichelbech » Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:28 am

Or you could bump the buck, get on stand near the bed and hope he comes back.
"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
Findian
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby Findian » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:13 am

mheichelbech wrote:Sounds like a great situation for 1 hunter to bump the buck to another hunter. Flip for it!



That's exactly what me and my brother are planing to try this coming up season.
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby Findian » Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:24 am

Yes I'm believing this is a place that they like to bed early season. I've not yet tried to hunt any of them yet but I'm going to try this coming up season.

Yes there are wind specific bed by the points and in the tall grass they appear to be a large circle, which I assume mean not wind specific bed.

I put up a area that I found that will show wind specific and non wind specific in about a 200 yard area.

Green area the bedding is northerly, orange is southernly winds. Yellow is beds that are larger and more worn down and are more and likely not wind specific.

Image
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby headgear » Mon Jan 30, 2017 12:22 pm

Looks like great bedding to me, ravines mean swirling winds and they also mean thermals. With the thermals they will smell the ravine above, if the winds are swirling they can often smell a much larger area but it all depends on the exact wind current. With swirling winds they are not always able to pin you down but as long as they can smell danger that still makes it work. The swamps and creek make a great barrier. It might not be large enough or thick enough to work once the leaves are down but just know that and take advantage of the bedding when you know they are there.
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Re: Ravine/small stream/creek bottom bedding

Unread postby Findian » Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:04 pm

The funny thing is all of my 2015 fall in season and 2016 spring scouting I tried to apply hill county to locate buck beds and scouted both side of this area and only came across a few beds.

I've already been trying to get access trails figured out for a few. In the pic above I found this mini drainage into the area that is coved in moss I cleared out all the limbs and debris to walk in on a northernly wind. The grass right where the mini drainage comes out is about as 4 ft tall and there is thick balsam next to. At first I thought about sitting on the edge of the open grass but after thinking about I realized their was a nice big old balsam Ten yards in the mini drainage. I cleared that tree out for my stand I'm going to go back and pre hang a stand. So when the season start I can slip in and observe the northernly wind based beds the three large ones in the middle and see some of the southerly wind based beds. And maybe get a shoot opportunity.

I also like to note that I'm finding most of this in a 20-50 ft deep and 20-100 yards wide. When the snow melts I'm going to try and see if I can find more in different variations.


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