Buck bedding exiting near roads.
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Buck bedding exiting near roads.
I was out scouting all day yesterday found where a buck is using multiple bedding spots in a 100 yard area probably has 40 beds non are worn to dirt or appear used more then the next. It has rubs in the area but not directly in the beds.
His exit in afternoon appears to go alongside the road within 30 yards of the road. So it just feels like stange to set a stand 30 yards off a road.
Have you guys had success hunting within 30 yards of a road?
His exit in afternoon appears to go alongside the road within 30 yards of the road. So it just feels like stange to set a stand 30 yards off a road.
Have you guys had success hunting within 30 yards of a road?
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Sounds like a good spot to hunt to me... I have spots where they bed in thick cover near the road and then cross to ag fields at dark. They often stage close to the beds and shooting is usually in the last minutes of shooting light, especially for big bucks. The road acts as a barrier and is usually the edge of how far they move in daylight.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Thanks Dan across the road gets hunted alot but i have never seen a hunter in this area not sure why.
The nearest Ag fields are a few propertys over probably half a mile to the east. The trail follows the road for about 80 yards then goes onto private property so i can't follow it futher then that.
The nearest Ag fields are a few propertys over probably half a mile to the east. The trail follows the road for about 80 yards then goes onto private property so i can't follow it futher then that.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Biggest buck I ever had in my sights was 48 yards off the corner of two roads, I think the key was nobody hunts there. It was rut but I'm not sure that had anything to do with it.
- Bonecrusher101
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
I've killed does out of 2 different spots that were 100 yards or less from the gravel access road on public. One spot I could look over my shoulder and see my truck. This spot had giant swamp oaks dropping acorns and cut corn 200-300 yards away. I guessed deer would feed on acorns before moving to the corn after dark.
Both spots I could watch and hear other hunters drive by. The other spot I had road in 3 different directions around me. I watched 2 does in a thicket in front of me when a hunter drove by in front of me. He bumped the does strait to me and I killed one of them. That was midday and it was thick enough to see all day movement. I gutted and took the doe out then got back in there that evening and missed an opportunity at a decent buck. Both of these were early season bow kills.
I joked to myself and said, that the hunter driving by me was probably going All the way to the back! The majority of hunter sign I see is near the back, all the way to the river, or concentrated around the dead ends of public land access roads. You can't out walk your fellow public land hunters but you can watch him drive by you.
This may not pertain to your buck bedding but this is just what I've experienced. Both the spots were thick staging areas with white oaks nearby. I have revisited both these spots during different bow seasons and they haven't produced again.
Spots near the road are nice for guys that don't have much time, looking for an easy drag out, and are great for meat hunters. I like to either hunt overlooked spots that no one else would be interested in or try to get in somewhere with hard access by boat, waders etc.
The hot spots or bedding areas, I have found near the road or near parking areas seem to burn out faster imo. Both of these spots were first time hunts and I didn't hesitate to kill a doe. Both spots I had never previously set foot on before going in there stand on back setting up and making a kill. Maybe they are seasonal beds because of preferred food sources, I'm still investigating and learning.
I admit I felt a bit foolish with my setups at first and without seeing the fresh deer sign And following my gut I would have moved on. Hunting near the road makes me feel a bit cheesy sometimes but making kills strengthens confidence.
Both spots I could watch and hear other hunters drive by. The other spot I had road in 3 different directions around me. I watched 2 does in a thicket in front of me when a hunter drove by in front of me. He bumped the does strait to me and I killed one of them. That was midday and it was thick enough to see all day movement. I gutted and took the doe out then got back in there that evening and missed an opportunity at a decent buck. Both of these were early season bow kills.
I joked to myself and said, that the hunter driving by me was probably going All the way to the back! The majority of hunter sign I see is near the back, all the way to the river, or concentrated around the dead ends of public land access roads. You can't out walk your fellow public land hunters but you can watch him drive by you.
This may not pertain to your buck bedding but this is just what I've experienced. Both the spots were thick staging areas with white oaks nearby. I have revisited both these spots during different bow seasons and they haven't produced again.
Spots near the road are nice for guys that don't have much time, looking for an easy drag out, and are great for meat hunters. I like to either hunt overlooked spots that no one else would be interested in or try to get in somewhere with hard access by boat, waders etc.
The hot spots or bedding areas, I have found near the road or near parking areas seem to burn out faster imo. Both of these spots were first time hunts and I didn't hesitate to kill a doe. Both spots I had never previously set foot on before going in there stand on back setting up and making a kill. Maybe they are seasonal beds because of preferred food sources, I'm still investigating and learning.
I admit I felt a bit foolish with my setups at first and without seeing the fresh deer sign And following my gut I would have moved on. Hunting near the road makes me feel a bit cheesy sometimes but making kills strengthens confidence.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Tennhunter3 wrote: So it just feels like strange to set a stand 30 yards off a road.
If that is where the buck is then I think it would be strange to setup anywhere else
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
If that is where the buck is then I think it would be strange to setup anywhere else [/quote]
I love the way u just put that
I love the way u just put that
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- Jhand
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
I know of one spot by me where off the road there is a drop off that goes down to a creek. Off the road it gets pretty thick. The creek is maybe 30yards off the creek and a few years ago I stumbled across some big tracks crossing the creek and leading to a scrape just on the opposite side. I couldn't cross the creek since the creek was the property line. Had a lone wolf climber at the time so I setup in one of the few trees I could and it was just across the creek from the scrape. When I was sitting in the stand I was about eye level with the cars on the road about 30yards away. Felt weird being that close to the road but I knew I was in the right place. Buck came out right at last light checked the scrape and I shot him at 7yards. He ran about 150yards and laid down in his bed. Was probably the 2nd shortest drag I've had other then the very first deer I shot. Other then that spot I know of one more with buck activity right off a road. The only thing the two spot's have in common are thick cover and low hunting pressure.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Jhand wrote:I know of one spot by me where off the road there is a drop off that goes down to a creek. Off the road it gets pretty thick. The creek is maybe 30yards off the creek and a few years ago I stumbled across some big tracks crossing the creek and leading to a scrape just on the opposite side. I couldn't cross the creek since the creek was the property line. Had a lone wolf climber at the time so I setup in one of the few trees I could and it was just across the creek from the scrape. When I was sitting in the stand I was about eye level with the cars on the road about 30yards away. Felt weird being that close to the road but I knew I was in the right place. Buck came out right at last light checked the scrape and I shot him at 7yards. He ran about 150yards and laid down in his bed. Was probably the 2nd shortest drag I've had other then the very first deer I shot. Other then that spot I know of one more with buck activity right off a road. The only thing the two spot's have in common are thick cover and low hunting pressure.
I think this is a key to overlooked areas! Thick and low pressure! I think no huntable tree's makes most of people refuse to hunt there also. I have two spots like this, I'm hunting off the ground this year! Don't be afraid to hunt from the ground!
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
just found such area this spring,buck is traveling along and bedding a strip of woods right next to a busy paved rd that runs between 2 towns,going to put the noise of the trucks and cars to my advantage on entering and exiting the area.lots of rubs in that strip and alot of scrapes also.found a doe that looked like she was hit coming across the road.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Bonecrusher101 wrote:You can't out walk your fellow public land hunters but you can watch him drive by you.
Very well said. My experiences on the public lands I hunt are really swinging this way, especially where there is any kind of gas/maintenance road, gated or not. Someone will either A) have a key or know the guy with the key to the gate, B) take an ATV around the gate to go hang their stand, C) ride a bike, or D) simply be willing to walk. I'm starting to feel like I'm taking myself out of the game by trying to out walk the other guy. I can count 5 separate times when I've been way back in and found either hang on or ladder stands. Distance isn't cutting it anymore, there almost has to be a really severe barrier to deter folks (deep creek, high wall, super steep hill, large pieces of very thick brush, etc.). It's really challenged me to look at parcels differently and I've been putting this paradigm shift into my scouting.
In my scouting I have found several promising spots related to buck bedding that don't require a lot of effort to get to. One set is probably 75 yards off the paved road and utilizes the thermal hub concept. I have another spot on the public that is sandwiched between two roads open to automobiles. It has produced sightings every time I've sat it over the last two years, including a 130"+ 8 pointer. In the recent past I wouldn't have ever considered these locations because of proximity to paved/maintenance roads or potential parking areas.
I still have my more difficult to get to spots and I'll still keep tabs on them and hunt them, but I know that it's nowhere near a gimme that they'll be un-pressured.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
dan wrote:Sounds like a good spot to hunt to me... I have spots where they bed in thick cover near the road and then cross to ag fields at dark. They often stage close to the beds and shooting is usually in the last minutes of shooting light, especially for big bucks. The road acts as a barrier and is usually the edge of how far they move in daylight.
Bedded with wind to back facing road? I'm trying to visualize access in this scenario.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
Josh_S wrote:dan wrote:Sounds like a good spot to hunt to me... I have spots where they bed in thick cover near the road and then cross to ag fields at dark. They often stage close to the beds and shooting is usually in the last minutes of shooting light, especially for big bucks. The road acts as a barrier and is usually the edge of how far they move in daylight.
Bedded with wind to back facing road? I'm trying to visualize access in this scenario.
Certainly bedded facing down wind. Not all cases have the wind blowing to the road. In most cases they are bedding that close, there is vary thick cover allowing a person to sneak in close undetected. I have a couple spots where you can shoot to the beds from the stand, and there is no choice cause of the bed location and killable tree. Some are so thick ground hunting ain't an option, but niether is getting high and your just high enough to shoot over the brush.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
I think he is looking downwind to the east with wind over his back beds are about half way down the hill. The buck trail is 1 3rd down the ridge.
To hunt this i would have to park 300 yards to the north enter and walk east then south and slip into a tree undetected. So to kill the buck he would walk south to north. I guess just hope he walks the northern trail.
His morning trail comes from south fields to north and j hooks up the hill to his bedding area. Alot of beds in this small area though.
Problem is fields are too the south so getting into the area south of his bed is private no way to sneak in there.
I cant enter from east road or south private property. Its tough access.
To hunt this i would have to park 300 yards to the north enter and walk east then south and slip into a tree undetected. So to kill the buck he would walk south to north. I guess just hope he walks the northern trail.
His morning trail comes from south fields to north and j hooks up the hill to his bedding area. Alot of beds in this small area though.
Problem is fields are too the south so getting into the area south of his bed is private no way to sneak in there.
I cant enter from east road or south private property. Its tough access.
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Re: Buck bedding exiting near roads.
This is following right along with the parking lot I hunt. I walk from one parking area 1.2 miles to another parking area super early. get set and don't move a muscle. It is a meat factory once the white oaks start dropping. I can almost guarantee once the last couple truck can be heard driving to different areas the does are gonna start moving in and feeding between all the trucks parked on the white oak acorns. Only a couple of times have I not gotten a doe. And although I havn't gotten any mature bucks there I have seen them out of bow range scent check downwind crossing the big field when the wind is right.
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