Southern buck bedding

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tracy63vaughn
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Southern buck bedding

Unread postby tracy63vaughn » Thu Nov 02, 2017 9:33 am

Im sure this topic has been discussed but I cant seem to find exactly what Im looking for. I hunt in upstate SC. I have spent many hrs scouting this year leading up to the season. My goal was to find ONE mature buck bed. Swamps, thickets, grown up cutovers I searched it all. Definetly found beds but nothing that screamed mature buck beds. The land I scouted is public and around 3,000 acres. Its bow hunting only and seems to have a few bucks older that 4 every year. I know they are there but cant find them. Anyone have lots of experince hunting in the south? I feel like we have so much bedding cover bucks dont tend to stick to one often.


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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Thu Nov 02, 2017 10:41 am

I am also in the Upstate, I know of the area you're talking about. I hunt a little farther south. I am still learning as well, but from what I am seeing that even though there is so much bedding cover one buck I am watching is using the same bed consistently.
Curious to see what others say!
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby keepthefevercalls » Thu Nov 02, 2017 10:42 am

I am also in the Upstate, I know of the area you're talking about. I hunt a little farther south. I am still learning as well, but from what I am seeing that even though there is so much bedding cover one buck I am watching is using the same bed consistently.
Curious to see what others say!
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby Twenty Up » Thu Nov 02, 2017 12:02 pm

They bed the same as NY or Wisconsin etc. it's more difficult for us in my opinion because we don't have the marshes Dan and many others key in on. Work outside in and focus on edges, but most importantly study the tactical threads.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby headgear » Thu Nov 02, 2017 1:09 pm

If there is tons of cover everywhere look for wind advantages be it thermals, swirling wind, or traditional or not hill bedding. Sometimes a small knob is all they need to bed. There are going to spots they favor over the rest of them, sometimes it is a needle in a haystack situation but there are for sure preferred areas.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby jwilkstn » Thu Nov 02, 2017 1:53 pm

I hunt in southern middle TN. Hill and mountain bedding is mostly textbook from what I have seen. Flat land (some wet weather swamps but typically dry) here has me totally at a loss. The flat land wma I hunt is 30,000 acres and interspersed with various age timber harvests, some with planted pines and others with natural regeneration. I can find beds in any of the thick stuff, but haven't found the preferred mature buck bedding.

Are you hunting hills or flat land there in upstate SC?
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby Bogle » Thu Nov 02, 2017 3:09 pm

From what I have seen, bedding down here has similar features but is much more spread out. I typically hunt bedding areas not actual beds themselves. Find the best big buck areas and the best beds will more than likely be in those same areas. It's typically along some type of transition and often times where really thick stuff meets a more open area but not a field edge. I often find some type of dense swamp close by. Lastly, around pines I usually find the best areas right along the thick stuff just before the pines.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby jpsmith270 » Sun Nov 05, 2017 1:45 pm

The beds I have found have traditionally lined up with what is being taught on here from the many folks in the northern states and terrain. I am hunting big woods with different terrain. Some of the land is flat and other larger chunks is hill country. The timber ranges from big hardwood lots to mature pines, small pines, small fields, new cutovers, old cutovers, and everything in between.

I have focused most of my time on transitions and terrain features. One particular lot that I hunt is mainly flat, but the bucks are still using the small elevation changes to bed (points, knobs, etc). It may not look like much in person, but the elevation change is just enough for the buck to have an advantage and feel safe.

Even though you might not be able to find the obvious buck bed, you can still determine a bedding area through the use of cameras and map study and then hunt it based upon the "general" bedding area. Just allow your camera intel to complement your scouting and not the other way around.

The biggest thing that has helped me is to break down the bigger wood lots into smaller sections to concentrate on. I will break them up into 10 acre sections to scout, learn, and gather intel on. A friend reminds me often that it is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes years sometimes to learn an area.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby pewpewpew » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:43 am

I’ve put in a couple hundred hours of scouting in the last year. I’ve found many dozens of beds. I’ve found beds directly next to rubs. I have never found a worn down buck bed that I thought was being used on a daily basis.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby Buckshot20 » Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:51 am

I have a hard time with the worn down primary bed as well, but they tend to be in the same bedding areas and the concepts are the same. Good luck and remember everything ramps up around the rut
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby SE_trad_hunter » Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:43 am

Tracy, I'm in upstate SC as well and hunt WMA. I have a few cutovers that have me going in circles. I have found 2 beds that meet the textbook worn to the ground look after scouting over 100 miles. It's difficult, especially when you walk through an area and can find hundreds of beds if you have the time. I don't have your answer, as these rolling hills are tough. From what I've read here on the beast, it's not uncommon elsewhere to find areas that have lots of beds and the common tactic is to sit an observation stand. My issue with that is that it is so thick, you can't sit back and observe. I've been after a buck that's on WMA in the upstate that will go 130" and looks to be at least 4.5 yrs old. My best guess is to find the sign that a big one is in there, and aggressively go as close as you can into the area when the wind is right. I'm still learning too, so take it with a grain of salt.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby tracy63vaughn » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:36 am

Since the 2017 season has ended I have been scouting around 20hrs per week. I have found three beds that seem to get used over and over. Worn to the dirt and several big rubs around the bed. I didn't think it was possible to find beds like this in the upstate. Now that I have found them I'm racking my brain as to how the buck will exit the bed? I'm sure if he is bumped he will take an exit he feels will keep him safe. But on a normal day does he have a prefferd exit?
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby Divergent » Sun Apr 01, 2018 6:32 pm

Bogle wrote:From what I have seen, bedding down here has similar features but is much more spread out. I typically hunt bedding areas not actual beds themselves. Find the best big buck areas and the best beds will more than likely be in those same areas. It's typically along some type of transition and often times where really thick stuff meets a more open area but not a field edge. I often find some type of dense swamp close by. Lastly, around pines I usually find the best areas right along the thick stuff just before the pines.


Just like boggle said...They don’t use the same beds where I’m at either. My buddy and I have located 200+ beds, but they rarely get used on a consistent basis. Your best bet is to hunt a staging area or faint trails about 20-30 yards above the main trail. The bucks will bed up from these major trails and watch them. Those more faint trails seem to be the ones they use to enter and exit the bedding areas. Mark the areas where you find the earliest rubs in the season also. Those will be key to go back and visit the following spring when you scout. The higher elevation rubs is a good area to start looking for early season beds and ambush points.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Sun Apr 01, 2018 7:37 pm

In my area of the South I see a lil of everything. Seems at times a buck will bed anywhere he feels comfortable and knows he's safe. Yet, that bed may never be used again. I see the majority of bedding takes place along elevation lines like described in hill country bedding. They don't often use the exact same bed, but same cover along top 1/3 elevation.

The beds where multiple things come together that give the buck the upper hand show the most use in my area, but they are the most rare.
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Re: Southern buck bedding

Unread postby UofLbowhunter » Sun Apr 01, 2018 11:02 pm

SE_trad_hunter wrote:Tracy, I'm in upstate SC as well and hunt WMA. I have a few cutovers that have me going in circles. I have found 2 beds that meet the textbook worn to the ground look after scouting over 100 miles. It's difficult, especially when you walk through an area and can find hundreds of beds if you have the time. I don't have your answer, as these rolling hills are tough. From what I've read here on the beast, it's not uncommon elsewhere to find areas that have lots of beds and the common tactic is to sit an observation stand. My issue with that is that it is so thick, you can't sit back and observe. I've been after a buck that's on WMA in the upstate that will go 130" and looks to be at least 4.5 yrs old. My best guess is to find the sign that a big one is in there, and aggressively go as close as you can into the area when the wind is right. I'm still learning too, so take it with a grain of salt.


I think your key words that stuck to me was “ rolling hills” rolling hill ground is very hard to have a consistent one prime wore to dirt bed thats used daily. If you find the right threads, they talk about wind speed being the determining factor for bedding location. I think this is what throws alot of people off. Rolling hills are where a prime worn bed becomes a prime bedding area, and that area can be spread out with alot less consistently. As far as thick cut overs. There are areas that get used more than others. I dont know how big your cut overs are but to me smaller cuts like 50 or less acres or so bedding would be closer to the out side edges if they are super thick. Bigger areas like 4 or 500 acres+ spots i would think that there would have to be some type of vegetation transition or breaks or opens spots of some sorts that would be keyto finding bedding inside,with out scouting, aerials would be the only way to tell on things like that. This is just what i think , take it for whats its worth.
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