Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

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MedicineMan15
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Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby MedicineMan15 » Fri Oct 13, 2017 7:01 am

Hello Beasts,

Upon some aerial and on the ground scouting of an area in the driftless area of Wisconsin, I've seen some areas where bluffs (around 15-25' high) are located near the top of the hill, with some minor breaks in the bluffs creating funnels of deer traffic up to farm fields on top of the ridges.

I didn't think about it at the time I was scouting, but after watching "Hill country bedding", I saw a few images of bucks bedded with their backs to the rocky bluffs, looking down hill. My question, is how would a person hunt a deer bedded like this?

Also, do bucks cruise these areas similarly to how they would cruise the "wind tunnel" during pre-rut/rut time?

I'll try to post pictures to explain my question and setup. If you can recognize the area from the aerial photo, please keep the location to yourself (I'm zoomed in to try to avoid showcasing the whole area).

https://imgur.com/4bP189A

BROWN equals rocky bluffs (doesn't show up well on google earth)

https://imgur.com/2Y34kfx

RED equals rocky bluffs (same area, drawings are approximate)

https://imgur.com/JoZ1baJ

https://imgur.com/SGVvSi0

Thanks for any ideas


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huntinsonovagun
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby huntinsonovagun » Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:21 am

Tagging in on this one.

I’ve got a spot like this. SO FAR what I’m seeing is the deer are spending their time below the bluff like you have pictured... that’s where I’ve found several sheds and seen several deer (not necessarily big bucks)
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby huntinsonovagun » Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:25 am

Tagging in on this one.

I’ve got a spot like this. SO FAR what I’m seeing is the deer are spending their time below the bluff like you have pictured... that’s where I’ve found several sheds and seen several deer (not necessarily big bucks)
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Killtree
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby Killtree » Fri Oct 13, 2017 12:40 pm

I know of one buck bed in a place like that. I have been meaning to come in from the top for years and have never got around to it.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby cameron » Sat Jun 16, 2018 3:32 pm

I'd like to receive this topic if we could. I was recently scouting some land that I've hunted the past couple of years but was just hunting a funnel up top because I haven't found any specific beds there. I did jump a buck a couple years ago when scouting that seemed to be in a typical Hill country bedding location but even after jumping him I couldn't find his specific bed. So anyways, a couple of weeks ago I decided to scout the lower elevations and the bottom part of the property and low and behold I found multiple beds under a few different bluffs. There was tons of hair and fresh tracks so they seem to be getting used quite a bit. My question is for those of you that have found similar beds, how are these deer utilizing them? It seems like the winds would be hard to predict in the bottom let alone with a big wall of rock directing it.

Thanks.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby Haus86 » Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:35 pm

I’ve noticed the best buck beds in relation to rock outcroppings are usually with some sort of Southern exposure giving the strongest thermals all day long.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:53 pm

cameron wrote:I'd like to receive this topic if we could. I was recently scouting some land that I've hunted the past couple of years but was just hunting a funnel up top because I haven't found any specific beds there. I did jump a buck a couple years ago when scouting that seemed to be in a typical Hill country bedding location but even after jumping him I couldn't find his specific bed. So anyways, a couple of weeks ago I decided to scout the lower elevations and the bottom part of the property and low and behold I found multiple beds under a few different bluffs. There was tons of hair and fresh tracks so they seem to be getting used quite a bit. My question is for those of you that have found similar beds, how are these deer utilizing them? It seems like the winds would be hard to predict in the bottom let alone with a big wall of rock directing it.

Thanks.


I’ve hunted a lot of mountain terrain like this in East TN. The best success I’ve had is hunting in teams during gun season and wind bumping them. Never did know to try the bump and dump but it’d probably work. We could bump them again the next day a good percentage of the time.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby dan » Sun Jun 17, 2018 1:08 am

To answer the question "how do I kill him" a person should 1st ask "why is he bedded there?"

He beds there because he has a blockade stopping predators from a certain direction. and cause there are certain wind currents caused by the rocks. I would expect on a leeward wind the wind over the top of the rock to roll and tumble down to where the deer is to some degree, and I would expect thermals to rise to him and to also swirl around at the intersection of the rock wall...

So, how do you kill him?

The "wall" reduces the number of exits and in a lot of cases makes one difficult exit go away Straight up the hill into the wind.

The "wall" should reduce buck visibility from above and give you much easier access to side hill set ups at the same elevation for the buck leaving following the thermal tunnel and should allow for a closer set up.

The wall also makes it easier to push the deer to a 2nd waiting hunter, with less exits and escapes.

I have successfully snuck up on wall beds and with the right wind looked over to see who is bedded there. Bob Dobson once did that and shot a big buck right in its bed.

Lastly, you look at it like every bed... Look at the exits and figure out how close you can get, look at the wind and think about the thermals, and throw a stand at it and find out.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby brancher147 » Sun Jun 17, 2018 5:12 am

I actually seek out this type of terrain. It is possible to setup downhill of a buck bedded like this in the evening with falling thermals. And I have had good luck hunting the breaks in the cliffs as a funnel during the rut. Find a break that connects buck bedding and doe bedding. I unknowingly setup on a big buck last year in this exact situation. By the time I saw him I was already setup and figured it was worth a shot since I was there even though I knew my setup likely wouldn't work for where he was bedded. I was setup above him in the evening, and as soon as the thermals switched he was gone. If I had known he was there, I probably could have snuck above him and looked down on him, and maybe even got a shot...

It is just as likely that I see bucks bedded above cliffs and these are just as hard or maybe even harder to hunt. If you can get a just off wind you can catch them exiting parallel to the cliff, but that's real tough. I again try to find cliffs that connect doe bedding and buck bedding for these setups a lot.
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Re: Deer bedding against rock wall/bluff?

Unread postby Dave.Bechtel » Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:05 am

A property I hunt in Western Wisconsin has a pretty large rock face on the tip of the bluff. When walking up there, I found a massive bed directly below it. I have two stands set to where I think the deer will exit but the approach will be difficult. Weather conditions are going to have to be perfect to get near the stand without getting busted.
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