Finding beds easily now what?
- checkerfred
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Finding beds easily now what?
So now that I have been here a while, and have been applying what I've learned, I'm getting to the point where I can find beds pretty easily. I mean even faint beds are starting to jump out at me. I'm also getting to the point where I can figure out which ridge points they might prefer just by looking at maps, although I still get surprised many times just due to thing you can't see on maps.
My problem is I feel like I've only got half the battle won. I still need to know why a buck is there and when. After reading the thread about putting cans over beds and how just the slightest pressure can change them bedding there, it seems like this is impossible to figure out. I know it will probably come with time because I felt the same way with finding beds but are there any tips to help accelerate the process?
For instance I found a nice bed by a bluff. Quite a bit of hair and worn down to the dirt. I'd assume it's used a lot but no poop was found nearby. Usually if the bed is used that much I'll find poop in it or very close nearby. Then I found a bed in a creek bottom while walking it. It was on a fairly beat down trail and in amongsta very thick stand of mountain laurel. The point just behind the bed looked to be a bluff that might not have had a passage to the top. It looked bigger than a doe bed but I'm not certain it wasn't.
Anyway I always try to think why are they bedded here and where are they going. With our climate food is typically everywhere. I've seen deer eating on white oaks in late January. There is typically something green around unless we have a long run of bitter cold. So food is hard to predict. Same with does. In big woods they seem to move around a lot although I know some areas they typically like to congregate.
My problem is I feel like I've only got half the battle won. I still need to know why a buck is there and when. After reading the thread about putting cans over beds and how just the slightest pressure can change them bedding there, it seems like this is impossible to figure out. I know it will probably come with time because I felt the same way with finding beds but are there any tips to help accelerate the process?
For instance I found a nice bed by a bluff. Quite a bit of hair and worn down to the dirt. I'd assume it's used a lot but no poop was found nearby. Usually if the bed is used that much I'll find poop in it or very close nearby. Then I found a bed in a creek bottom while walking it. It was on a fairly beat down trail and in amongsta very thick stand of mountain laurel. The point just behind the bed looked to be a bluff that might not have had a passage to the top. It looked bigger than a doe bed but I'm not certain it wasn't.
Anyway I always try to think why are they bedded here and where are they going. With our climate food is typically everywhere. I've seen deer eating on white oaks in late January. There is typically something green around unless we have a long run of bitter cold. So food is hard to predict. Same with does. In big woods they seem to move around a lot although I know some areas they typically like to congregate.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
I remember you struggling to find beds and me saying stick with it and all the sudden you will see them everywhere and no where they will be just based on terrain... Now, Im going to say, you need to stick with it, throw some stands at these beds based on your best guesses and see what happens. You will get better and better at reading bedding areas by trial and error, and time. There is no magic quick answer.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
I'm glad you wrote that Dan. I've been getting a bit discouraged. Your hill country bedding needs to be released asap since we are in the middle of scouting season.
- Divergent
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
When you first started you might've said that's a thicket, so it might be bedding...The End. Then, you found the beast and you realized... That's a thicket on a SE facing slope near the military crest with a j hook trail, so it must be used on a NW wind. I should start looking for a blowdown, rock, clump of grass, or depression with matted down leaves in this area with sufficient back cover and the ability to see a fair distance in front. I'm on my second season of scouting with you. I think It's safe to say you understand bedding.
I think you need to step away from bedding momentarily and master another aspect of hunting. You could choose to study food sources or rubs etc. I know you have a fair amount of knowledge related to food.
I'd like to learn the different types of rubs. Some are clusters, some are sporadic, some are directional, some are high, some are low, some are in dense cover, some are in the open, some are near these falling thermal hubs, some are early season, some are rut related, some mark doe trails. Some of this is common sense, but I think there's a lot left to be learned from these beasts.
I think camera intel and deer studies are going to open our eyes to a lot in the near future.
I think you need to step away from bedding momentarily and master another aspect of hunting. You could choose to study food sources or rubs etc. I know you have a fair amount of knowledge related to food.
I'd like to learn the different types of rubs. Some are clusters, some are sporadic, some are directional, some are high, some are low, some are in dense cover, some are in the open, some are near these falling thermal hubs, some are early season, some are rut related, some mark doe trails. Some of this is common sense, but I think there's a lot left to be learned from these beasts.
I think camera intel and deer studies are going to open our eyes to a lot in the near future.
- hunter_mike
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
Here is what i have done and what i plan to do more of. Wait till the season starts and then as you hunt these spots, set a camera over a scrape or trail right in the staging area after your hunt. You can cover more than just one bed that way. Then check the camera at the end of the season. Hunt it the next year near the anniversary of when you got daylight pics (hopefully you got some). I have found that by doing that, my confidence level is extremely high when going in to hunt.
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
- tgreeno
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
I feel exactly the same as you. This is my 2nd scouting season since finding the beast and I'm finding beds much easier than I did last year. Some beds have an easy, why, where & when. And some beds, I'm just having to take my best guess on why they are there, Where they are heading & when is my best time to hunt it. I'm picking a killing tree based on my best hunch and my limited "beast" experience! It may take me a few more seasons of bed hunting to be confident enough to answer those questions for every set. I remember last year, I wasn't even confident the couple beds I found were being used at all. So i am definitely progressing, as it sounds like you are.
I think we are always progressing as hunters, just like we're progressing as "beasts".
I think we are always progressing as hunters, just like we're progressing as "beasts".
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It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, than to open it an remove all doubt
It's better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid, than to open it an remove all doubt
- checkerfred
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
Lots of good comments and ideas.
Thanks Dan. Yeah I know it will come with time. I'm just looking for something I might need to focus more on.
Divergent you are right. Although I still think bedding is king I do feel I need to branch out while still keeping bedding in mind.
Hunter_mike that's a good idea. It would keep pressure to a minimum and still give good intel for next year.
Tgreeno that sums it up for me. I'm almost always guessing. I know eventually it will click. When it does it will probably be like a light bulb turning on. But right now it's just a wild guess what they're doing when they leave their bed.
Let's face it, this stuff ain't easy which makes it more appealing to me but also it's easy to get frustrated too. I know the more I do it the better I'll get. I've already seen a big pattern in the swamps and a good pattern in hills as far as terrain goes.
Thanks Dan. Yeah I know it will come with time. I'm just looking for something I might need to focus more on.
Divergent you are right. Although I still think bedding is king I do feel I need to branch out while still keeping bedding in mind.
Hunter_mike that's a good idea. It would keep pressure to a minimum and still give good intel for next year.
Tgreeno that sums it up for me. I'm almost always guessing. I know eventually it will click. When it does it will probably be like a light bulb turning on. But right now it's just a wild guess what they're doing when they leave their bed.
Let's face it, this stuff ain't easy which makes it more appealing to me but also it's easy to get frustrated too. I know the more I do it the better I'll get. I've already seen a big pattern in the swamps and a good pattern in hills as far as terrain goes.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
This will be my third year of bowhunting , hunting of any kind for that matter..Beast from day 1..Lucky for me.
Like others have said finding beds becomes easy , at least in the terrain I hunt it is. Look at an aerial, walk out and find them..
My areas are heavy pressure pure and simple..Dan made a comment in another thread " the lesser deer fill the void". That void is typically were the hunting pressure is going to be as well..I scout the pressure first and foremost, then make educated assumptions on which location or locations will offer the most secure area for a buck to bed..Then I go out and find it, sometimes! This helps with maintaining my confidence tremendously..Make an educated guess then go out and confirm it..When to hunt it, how, why, these are all pieces of the puzzle. I think I am getting pretty good at gathering the pieces..Now its a a matter of continual trail and error to fit them together..This approach has really allowed me to eliminate 95% of any given public area..
Maybe some newer beasts like me can relate to this. Its hard to be "confident" when diagnosing a situation and coming to a conclusion on how to hunt it, when to hunt it etc..Heck its hard for me to post on threads like these. You just have to do it regardless of your experience level.Execute it..If your wrong, you learned..Thats a confidence booster just like going out and killing a deer is.
Regards
Chad
Like others have said finding beds becomes easy , at least in the terrain I hunt it is. Look at an aerial, walk out and find them..
My areas are heavy pressure pure and simple..Dan made a comment in another thread " the lesser deer fill the void". That void is typically were the hunting pressure is going to be as well..I scout the pressure first and foremost, then make educated assumptions on which location or locations will offer the most secure area for a buck to bed..Then I go out and find it, sometimes! This helps with maintaining my confidence tremendously..Make an educated guess then go out and confirm it..When to hunt it, how, why, these are all pieces of the puzzle. I think I am getting pretty good at gathering the pieces..Now its a a matter of continual trail and error to fit them together..This approach has really allowed me to eliminate 95% of any given public area..
Maybe some newer beasts like me can relate to this. Its hard to be "confident" when diagnosing a situation and coming to a conclusion on how to hunt it, when to hunt it etc..Heck its hard for me to post on threads like these. You just have to do it regardless of your experience level.Execute it..If your wrong, you learned..Thats a confidence booster just like going out and killing a deer is.
Regards
Chad
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
I think the next step for some of you to focus on is determining which beds are worth sitting, and which to walk past... That's a tough one for new bed hunters. For me, what Im looking for is that bed that is in a spot where no one goes, and has great escape, you or a coyote could not get near the bed undetected, it shows good use, l0ots of buck beds close to each other, and when you look at the beds you think, this is the perfect spot for the buck to hide...
Another key factor I talk about a lot, but don't think its getting thru to a lot of people is how important it is to concentrate on areas where no one goes, and eliminate areas of high pressure. In a lot of cases you have to eliminate a whole property and move on... You take a map and mark off all the places that get hunting traffic, and whats left should be 5 or 10% of the map. That's what you walk and scout. That's the good stuff. That's where you will find mr big.
Another key factor I talk about a lot, but don't think its getting thru to a lot of people is how important it is to concentrate on areas where no one goes, and eliminate areas of high pressure. In a lot of cases you have to eliminate a whole property and move on... You take a map and mark off all the places that get hunting traffic, and whats left should be 5 or 10% of the map. That's what you walk and scout. That's the good stuff. That's where you will find mr big.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
One little piece I would add to what's already been said is sometimes I've had to convince myself that I'm not crazy for hunting these areas. There's spots I've found that had great sign but are those types of spots that if any non beast hunter saw you setting up in these areas they would think you had a few screws loose. I've actually convinced myself that I am crazy by the time the season rolls around and then not sat them. That's definitely slowed down my progression from finding beds to killing big bucks in the past. Before I discovered this site/style of hunting I would've told you it's impossible to shoot a decent buck within 100 yds of the road/parking lot. So my advice would be don't make the same mistake I made, if everything's telling you a big buck is living somewhere, throw some stands at it during the season no matter how crazy you might think that spot is.
- Divergent
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
dan wrote:I think the next step for some of you to focus on is determining which beds are worth sitting, and which to walk past... That's a tough one for new bed hunters. For me, what Im looking for is that bed that is in a spot where no one goes, and has great escape, you or a coyote could not get near the bed undetected, it shows good use, l0ots of buck beds close to each other, and when you look at the beds you think, this is the perfect spot for the buck to hide...
Another key factor I talk about a lot, but don't think its getting thru to a lot of people is how important it is to concentrate on areas where no one goes, and eliminate areas of high pressure. In a lot of cases you have to eliminate a whole property and move on... You take a map and mark off all the places that get hunting traffic, and whats left should be 5 or 10% of the map. That's what you walk and scout. That's the good stuff. That's where you will find mr big.
I like this advice Dan. I've nailed down a lot of beds, but I'm now to the point where I need to prioritize them. How do you start breaking down a bed? Do you start with
1. Pressure?
2. Cover?
3. Food?
4. Access?
5. Sign?
Can you give us an example?
- RDubs44
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
I am in the same boat. I can find beds with relative ease especially in swamps.
I spent the afternoon sunday scouting a large tamarack swamp. It seemed every tamarack tree with a dry spot on it had a bed on it. It got to the point where there were so many beds in every direction I was became overwhelmed.
So after reading some of your guys comments...I got to thinking....
The only way to discern which would be the best locations I started to think about interior transition lines...for example...cluster of tamaracks among short swamp grass...lone tamaracks within an inside transition turn. Each of these beds had deer poop laying in the beds.
However, it appeared the trails travel in all directions?! So I am thinking direction of travel can only be towards local agriculture fields...a rubline interior transition I found...island of hardwoods.
Best way to know would be to stack the bedding when next fall hunting season comes in?
I did find it interesting while walking out along the roadside, I found couple set of wet buck tracks crossing the highway from the area I was scouting. Must be bedding alongside the highway.
I spent the afternoon sunday scouting a large tamarack swamp. It seemed every tamarack tree with a dry spot on it had a bed on it. It got to the point where there were so many beds in every direction I was became overwhelmed.
So after reading some of your guys comments...I got to thinking....
The only way to discern which would be the best locations I started to think about interior transition lines...for example...cluster of tamaracks among short swamp grass...lone tamaracks within an inside transition turn. Each of these beds had deer poop laying in the beds.
However, it appeared the trails travel in all directions?! So I am thinking direction of travel can only be towards local agriculture fields...a rubline interior transition I found...island of hardwoods.
Best way to know would be to stack the bedding when next fall hunting season comes in?
I did find it interesting while walking out along the roadside, I found couple set of wet buck tracks crossing the highway from the area I was scouting. Must be bedding alongside the highway.
- tgreeno
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
The advantage Dan and other experienced Beasts have is, they have a long history of hunting particular beds. I'm sure trial & error has showed what beds have been most productive over the years. And i'm sure those beds continue to be productive year after year.
I myself have many new beds & bedding areas I have yet to hunt. But I do have some that because of great cover, lack of pressure and just great positioning think will be great sets. Only time will tell if I am right!
But we all need to remember. Even Dan has limited success per bed sit in his sets. So for us "rookies" the percentage will be even worse.
I myself have many new beds & bedding areas I have yet to hunt. But I do have some that because of great cover, lack of pressure and just great positioning think will be great sets. Only time will tell if I am right!
But we all need to remember. Even Dan has limited success per bed sit in his sets. So for us "rookies" the percentage will be even worse.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
AvidHunter88 wrote:One little piece I would add to what's already been said is sometimes I've had to convince myself that I'm not crazy for hunting these areas. There's spots I've found that had great sign but are those types of spots that if any non beast hunter saw you setting up in these areas they would think you had a few screws loose. I've actually convinced myself that I am crazy by the time the season rolls around and then not sat them. That's definitely slowed down my progression from finding beds to killing big bucks in the past. Before I discovered this site/style of hunting I would've told you it's impossible to shoot a decent buck within 100 yds of the road/parking lot. So my advice would be don't make the same mistake I made, if everything's telling you a big buck is living somewhere, throw some stands at it during the season no matter how crazy you might think that spot is.
Yep...
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?
Divergent wrote:dan wrote:I think the next step for some of you to focus on is determining which beds are worth sitting, and which to walk past... That's a tough one for new bed hunters. For me, what Im looking for is that bed that is in a spot where no one goes, and has great escape, you or a coyote could not get near the bed undetected, it shows good use, l0ots of buck beds close to each other, and when you look at the beds you think, this is the perfect spot for the buck to hide...
Another key factor I talk about a lot, but don't think its getting thru to a lot of people is how important it is to concentrate on areas where no one goes, and eliminate areas of high pressure. In a lot of cases you have to eliminate a whole property and move on... You take a map and mark off all the places that get hunting traffic, and whats left should be 5 or 10% of the map. That's what you walk and scout. That's the good stuff. That's where you will find mr big.
I like this advice Dan. I've nailed down a lot of beds, but I'm now to the point where I need to prioritize them. How do you start breaking down a bed? Do you start with
1. Pressure?
2. Cover?
3. Food?
4. Access?
5. Sign?
Can you give us an example?
All of that would have some bearing... But really it boils down to wear I feel I have the best chance at killing a giant buck. No easy answer, every situation is different. Of your list, cover and sign would be important to me. A known big buck in the area, would be a big factor. A primary bedding area would probably be the biggest factor....
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