Finding beds easily now what?

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tgreeno
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby tgreeno » Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:57 am

Lockdown & Dan
Awesome insight and information guys! My only goal this bow hunting season, is to figure out (to the best of my ability) what bedding areas I've scouted, are going to be worth spending my time hunting. So I don't waste my time hunting unproductive areas.

Dan, You are right on. Following a huge buck track in the marsh thru the snow helped my locate my #1 primary bedding area last year!


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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby dan » Fri Mar 10, 2017 5:32 am

I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.

You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...

I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Lockdown » Fri Mar 10, 2017 6:42 am

H2archer wrote:I didn't find the beds on the points like I thought I would. eventually I started noticing, about 1/4 of the way down off the point there weren't any "worn down to dirt, full of hair" beds but there were several more lightly used beds at that elevation around the point. at first I thought these were doe beds but I found a couple of very large tracks and scat... then it hit me. there is a buck using this but depending on the wind he is shifting his bed around that point to be able to fully use it to his advantage.


I see the same behavior around points in cattails, oxbows, islands, etc.

They move around until the wind is as favorable for them as it can possibly be. If I get time maybe I'll mark some aerials. Let's say there's a point in the cattails that's half moon shaped. It runs north and South with the crescent to the West if that makes sense. As long as cover is suitable, the optimum wind to put him on the southern tip would be a NW or maybe NNW wind. Nothing can walk down that point without him smelling it first.

If there's a NE wind I would expect him to bed more Toward the western crest so he can pick up anything moving down that point. If he stayed way down on the southern tip theoretically a hunter/coyote could get to him without him knowing, as all he can smell are the cattails NE of him.

A situation like this would warrant more, less frequently used beds because he is moving around the same way they do in the hill scenario that H2 described.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby mainebowhunter » Fri Mar 10, 2017 7:27 am

dan wrote:I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.

You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...

I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.



And that is the reason why more guys do not scout. I really think they just do not enjoy it. And they do not understand what they are looking at when they do scout. The woods is your biggest teacher. Getting out and doing it over and over and over again.

In the end, as has been said before, this is supposed to be fun.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Wetfoot » Fri Mar 10, 2017 8:29 am

dan wrote:I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.

You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...

I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.

This is true of anything in life. Grab onto the things you are passionate about in life and hold on. :D :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby tgreeno » Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:07 am

dan wrote:I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.

You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...

I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.


Luckily for me, I love to scout! I wore my brother-in-law out before the end of Feb. Hopefully it results into some good encounters with a few mature bucks this year!
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby checkerfred » Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:18 am

dan wrote:I think peoples progression will vary on two things... #1 how much time they put in. #2 Whether or not they view it as work, or enjoyment.

You gotta enjoy scouting, and enjoy figuring out the bucks. Its more important than you probably think. If your forcing yourself to scout, rather than really wanting to scout, its going to make an impact on your scouting. For sure...

I am always scouting, and always thinking about scouting. ALWAYS... Especially when the Boss man is barking orders at me and yelling "are you listening to me?" wHEN I GO ON VACATION, EVERYTIME WE STOP FOR A REST AT A WAYSIDE, OR A PARK, I WANT TO WALK OVER AND CHECK OUT TERRAIN FEATURES I SEE AND SCOUT THEM... Go fishing and end up boating over to some marshy area and check out the bucks... Go mushroom hunting and end up checking out a leeward ridge... Even where I can't ever legally hunt. Im looking at buck bedding so much, that it sticks... Its really a passion thing, and you either got it, or you don't. If you don't look forward to scouting it will likely be a long hard journey.


Lots of good posts here from everyone. Glad to see I'm not the only one that feels like this and that I'm on the right track. I'm waxing on and off :D

We face lots of different obstacles here in the south. Hardy ever any snow. Me and Divergent were actually talking about this when we went scouting yesterday. If we had snow it would make things easier.

I do love scouting but we have such a short window of good weather. I hate when it gets hot and have to deal with snakes, mosquitos, and ticks. But still love it. Some days I don't feel like going though and don't. I hate exercise like running or something but love the exercise I get from being in the woods. Even though hunting blind can be fun sometimes I'm starting to feel like I would rather scout until I know I have a location worth hunting.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby cbigbear » Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:30 pm

Short window - come on we normally get 2 solid weeks of decent skeeter free weather every yr!!!!!

I personally enjoy scouting more than hunting, but that 2 1/2 drive sucks all the time.

This thread got me to thinking about a post I made several yrs ago "what comes first the buck or the bed". This has still proved to be the biggest hurdle for me finding a quality buck to target. I've had success finding beds & even some success hunting beds. But the majority of sighting have been immature bucks. It's just really tough to find mature bucks on limited time.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby checkerfred » Fri Mar 10, 2017 2:59 pm

cbigbear wrote:Short window - come on we normally get 2 solid weeks of decent skeeter free weather every yr!!!!!

I personally enjoy scouting more than hunting, but that 2 1/2 drive sucks all the time.

This thread got me to thinking about a post I made several yrs ago "what comes first the buck or the bed". This has still proved to be the biggest hurdle for me finding a quality buck to target. I've had success finding beds & even some success hunting beds. But the majority of sighting have been immature bucks. It's just really tough to find mature bucks on limited time.


Haha where'd you see 2 weeks of skeeter free this year? I can't remember having more that a few days of cold weather. I pulled ticks off me during Jan and feb this year!
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby cbigbear » Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:22 pm

I didn't mean a solid 2 weeks just a day or 2 here & there spread between Oct - Feb. I believe we hit a record low for frost this yr. I bet no more than 15 or so mornings.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby KLEMZ » Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:39 pm

checkerfred wrote:We face lots of different obstacles here in the south. Hardy ever any snow. Me and Divergent were actually talking about this when we went scouting yesterday. If we had snow it would make things easier.


I live in Wisconsin (where it actually snowed today!). I can assure you that snow is not as important as you southern guys think it must be (for scouting). I personally have found EVERY SINGLE one of my mature buck bedding areas during periods of clear ground (no snow). Mostly in the early spring before leaf growth, but I have found plenty of good spots in July also. The thing with snow is that it hides all the fall sign until spring thaw, which then reveals old, weathered sign. This winter we have had almost no snow and I have had a very productive winter of scouting because there was no snow! I would think you are at an advantage down south because the sign after hunting season is sitting there all fresh looking and not matted and weathered by 2 months of snow coverage.

Certainly, trackers depend on the rut and snow coverage to track down a buck, but that is just a fraction of northern hunting. Also, an early snow fall may give hints to active deer areas during season, which is certainly a short window of opportunity. And it is possible to follow big tracks in the winter snow back to a bedding area used year round, but usually the fresh sign you find in the snow during winter has no bearing at all on where the deer are during hunting season. A blanket of snow all winter long serves to get in the way more than help.

I do feel for you southern hunters when I think of hunting when it's 95 degrees, mosquitto's in december, gators and snakes and hogs!
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Divergent » Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:58 pm

I enjoy the scouting more than the hunting too. My granddaddy was always amazed when we would take long trips. He said I'd never take a nap because I was afraid of missing something. I have that same feeling when I'm in the woods scouting. I enjoy finding out what's over the next hill.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby H2archer » Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:01 pm

cbigbear wrote:
I personally enjoy scouting more than hunting.


Same here. I definitely enjoy the process more than anything. I spent the majority of my youth in the woods and hills and have been taking any opportunity to spend time in nature since long before I started hunting. Now I have an excuse to go wander around in the woods alone and my wife doesn't thing its quite as strange :shock:
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Josh_S » Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:29 pm

Glad I'm not the only weirdo who enjoys scouting so much! It's gotten so bad that the group I hunt out of state with prefers me to drive separate on our scouting trips. They call and tell me they're in the parking lot to pick me up...I say "ok I guess I'll turn around but I have to go around a swamp, follow a creek bottom, and cross 3 ridges. See you in about an hour." I'm covered in burrs, ticks, and mud, they look like they just got back from Starbucks.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby GoInLight » Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:39 pm

I'm from Alabama, so the conditions and terrain are a little different here than up north.I wasn't really sure if the tactics you guys talk about would work here, I mean everything is a thick nasty cut over or grown up pine thicket. We do have two swamps on our place, so I decided I'd start with those and see what I found. I've been out twice and bumped a dandy buck out of his bed and found another worn down bed with tons of hair in it.

When I got down in those beds and looked around, when I slowed down and thought, why are you here big boy?? It's like a light came on. These two beds were in two bullet proof spots!

My hunting will never be the same, I've ordered all the dvds and I'm soaking up all the info on here I can get. I feel like I'm on the verge of consistent success. Anyways I guess I said all that because I appreciate the openness and the help you guys bring.

Dan i know it's a long haul, but us southern boys sure could use some help down here.


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