Finding beds easily now what?

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GoInLight
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby GoInLight » Fri Mar 10, 2017 11:43 pm

Josh_S wrote: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.





This is the guy I want to hunt with.


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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Jed33 » Sat Mar 11, 2017 1:50 am

mainebowhunter wrote:
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.


I actually love being in the woods for any reason, scouting, hunting, foraging, or just hiking. I constantly find myself looking at or pointing out scrapes, rubs, tracks, turkey scratches, various trees and why they are important to the ecosystem to my wife and kids while we are in the woods. My biggest issue is connecting all the dots to make it come together, I do not fully understand what the sign is telling me. I feel like I'm on a huge learning curve compared to what I consider a good hunter should know.

If someone didn't enjoy being out there so much I could imagine how they could be be too overwhelmed to even try. Hopefully for me someday it will all come together.
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Wannabelikedan
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Wannabelikedan » Wed Mar 22, 2017 5:31 pm

GoInLight wrote: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.




Im from southern Oklahoma and can relate to a lot of the same struggles other southern hunters have with nailing down big buck bedding. One of those obstacles I have not seen mentioned is feral hogs. Deer do not tolerate close quarters with them and thick, nasty cover is just as inviting to a group of hogs as it can be to a mature buck. Personally I've seen many times deer movement directly related to nearby hog movement. The only difference in buck bedding vs hog bedding is maybe the visual aspect. Hogs have poor vision and would rather be in the thicket where the buck would have the thicket to their back and lighter cover to their front. Ive noticed more mature bucks relating to areas without heavy feral hog pressure but even those areas are always subject to a hog or hog group moving through or into the area. My question to any others that can relate to this is where are you finding the best or better big buck bedding terrain wise? Typically I've found hogs relate to water which discourages me from thinking marshlands are more favorable terrain for big buck bedding in the south. Also, would anyone else think that bucks would be less inclined to have primary bedding in the south due to hog pressure stacked on top of hunter pressure?
Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible.... Learning is making it possible for yourself.
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JAK
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby JAK » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:19 pm

dan wrote:
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....

Hey Dan I've found a hand full of beds one really active one I'm really confident about and a few that I know are buck beds just don't have much confidence is this something to that you just hunt them to rule them out and over the years you find a bunch of good beds?
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby rfickes87 » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:38 pm

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.


Dan you just described me exactly. Everyday on my lunch break i sit and Google map for the whole 30 minutes. My screen background on my computer at work is the big boys ive named and still stare at and wonder if they're still alive and where they might be at. When i get out of work i walk outside and the wind hits me and i immediately think of which bed they are in bc of where the wind is from.

I've got a fiance and a 4 year old boy. We went on a 4 wheeler ride thru the woods over the weekend to look for some tree branches so she can make center pieces for the tables at our wedding coming up. I got into some thick brush and she yells "where'd you go? What r u doing in there?" "I said i found some deer beds!" (So much hair on the ground they must be shedding their coats) but anyway she was laughing at me bc she knows about my addiction.

I just hope over the next few years i can get away from the 100 inch bucks and put a few big ones down. Ive been an average hunter all my life. At 30 now i want to get serious and raise the bar. I've put so much into it the last 18 months since joining the beast. You've single handedly made scouting fun for me. I know exactly what to look for and where to find it now. Makes it so rewarding now. Taking my boy along and teaching him now is such a bonus.
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby rfickes87 » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:46 pm

In regards to my last post...

Image

Just before i took this picture i was explaining to him what this was. His eyes got so big. He said "Wow!" Then he found one a few yards away and he was so proud he found his own. He yelled "Dad look another rub!" It was a great day last weekend. At 4 years old he's got that passion too!
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby dan » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:51 pm

JAK wrote:
dan wrote:
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....

Hey Dan I've found a hand full of beds one really active one I'm really confident about and a few that I know are buck beds just don't have much confidence is this something to that you just hunt them to rule them out and over the years you find a bunch of good beds?
Throw a few hunts at them and see what happens is generally what I do... One early season, one ruttish, and one late... Sometimes the ones that look great don't pan out, and sometimes the bad one rocks, or just at a certain time of year..
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby dan » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:56 pm

rfickes87 wrote:
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.


Dan you just described me exactly. Everyday on my lunch break i sit and Google map for the whole 30 minutes. My screen background on my computer at work is the big boys ive named and still stare at and wonder if they're still alive and where they might be at. When i get out of work i walk outside and the wind hits me and i immediately think of which bed they are in bc of where the wind is from.

I've got a fiance and a 4 year old boy. We went on a 4 wheeler ride thru the woods over the weekend to look for some tree branches so she can make center pieces for the tables at our wedding coming up. I got into some thick brush and she yells "where'd you go? What r u doing in there?" "I said i found some deer beds!" (So much hair on the ground they must be shedding their coats) but anyway she was laughing at me bc she knows about my addiction.

I just hope over the next few years i can get away from the 100 inch bucks and put a few big ones down. Ive been an average hunter all my life. At 30 now i want to get serious and raise the bar. I've put so much into it the last 18 months since joining the beast. You've single handedly made scouting fun for me. I know exactly what to look for and where to find it now. Makes it so rewarding now. Taking my boy along and teaching him now is such a bonus.
Just keep pushing.. Your due for a giant.
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pewpewpew
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby pewpewpew » Tue Mar 28, 2017 3:38 am

rfickes87 wrote:In regards to my last post...

Image

Just before i took this picture i was explaining to him what this was. His eyes got so big. He said "Wow!" Then he found one a few yards away and he was so proud he found his own. He yelled "Dad look another rub!" It was a great day last weekend. At 4 years old he's got that passion too!


In not sure what kind of tree that is, but I'd say 50% if the rubs in my area are on that species.
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rfickes87
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby rfickes87 » Tue Mar 28, 2017 4:07 am

I THINK its called a striped maple? Hard to find any that are not rubbed. I never put much stock in finding these rubs because they're everywhere.
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby pewpewpew » Tue Mar 28, 2017 6:09 am

rfickes87 wrote:I THINK its called a striped maple? Hard to find any that are not rubbed. I never put much stock in finding these rubs because they're everywhere.



Agreed. I'm amazed at how few bucks can rub so many trees. I've found so many that they've become meaningless.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby dan » Tue Mar 28, 2017 6:54 am

pewpewpew wrote:
rfickes87 wrote:I THINK its called a striped maple? Hard to find any that are not rubbed. I never put much stock in finding these rubs because they're everywhere.



Agreed. I'm amazed at how few bucks can rub so many trees. I've found so many that they've become meaningless.

Popular trees in the marshes grow in patches... Every buck that walks past a popular tree rubs it. Guys see all the rubs and set up on top of them all the time. But in reality here are no more bucks going past those trees than anywhere else in the marsh, its just they always stop and rub those.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby SE_trad_hunter » Wed Mar 29, 2017 1:50 pm

Lockdown is killing it in here. This whole thread is great inspiration for any new beast member. Great group here, glad I found you guys. Yall have talked me into a crazy idea I've got to get at a bed that I would've never considered before. This bed is dang near impossible to get to without busting him out, or at least bumping does out that bed near it. Only about a 25 yd window to shoot on his exit trail before he hits a thicket, gonna have to wade a muddy ditch for several hundred yards and do an army crawl, but I'm gonna try it.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:43 pm

SCGator wrote:Lockdown is killing it in here. This whole thread is great inspiration for any new beast member. Great group here, glad I found you guys. Yall have talked me into a crazy idea I've got to get at a bed that I would've never considered before. This bed is dang near impossible to get to without busting him out, or at least bumping does out that bed near it. Only about a 25 yd window to shoot on his exit trail before he hits a thicket, gonna have to wade a muddy ditch for several hundred yards and do an army crawl, but I'm gonna try it.


That's awesome man! That's the stuff I like to hear. Sounds like the approach on that bedding area might be a rough one mentally, especially if you have to crawl. One piece of advice, wait for PERFECT conditions. That'll ensure confidence in your ability to pull it off is as high as possible. Nothing worse than trying to sneak thinking "man I could use more wind!!"... "This would be a lot easier without these mosquitoes!" Or something similar.

You can do it. Like Dan says all the time, you just have to believe that you can do it.
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Re: Finding beds easily now what?

Unread postby WMAn » Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:59 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.


My uncle, who taught me a lot about deer hunting, used to say, "Scouting is fun. Hunting is work."

He liked to scout as much or more than he liked to hunt. It got to the point where I think the main reason he kept hunting was to see if he what he believed based on scouting was actually correct.


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