September bedding in hill country

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Wild public
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September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Wild public » Sun Jul 08, 2018 1:24 pm

Ok beasty boys,,, our season opens sept 1st in Kentucky. I found a lot of good bedding areas being used in December last year..they were on thick points ,,the rest of the woods were fairly open that time of year,,I put cameras out a few days ago (no where near the bedding areas)and was surprised to see how thick the under growth was..no where as thick as those points ,I’m sure ,,but a lot different than December. My question is do you guys think the bedding will be as defined on the points ,or will there be even more satellite bedding near those points? Also in hill country do you see a lot of seasonal bedding in September? I’m sure it varies. I don’t think this area gets much pressure before October,and I didn’t see any human sign last year near the bedding. One spot is 500-600 yards away from nearest field. Another one further .. any thoughts appreciated...another observation that may play into it is it looks like acorn drop will be late this year. Thx


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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Jdw » Sun Jul 08, 2018 2:00 pm

Around here the bucks seem to be bedded closer to the fields in late summer and transition out of consistent feeding patterns in the fields, at least before dark, sometime in early September.

If the place you found is the best bedding in the area I suspect they will still be using it but they may feel safe closer to the fields since they have not been hunted in several months.
But it does not take many hunters scouting, setting stands and cameras and they get the memo quick.
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 09, 2018 12:20 am

There is certainly more bedding area options in September. However, the older bucks will still stick to key terrain features.
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby First Sit » Mon Jul 09, 2018 1:46 am

dan wrote:There is certainly more bedding area options in September. However, the older bucks will still stick to key terrain features.


In areas with a combination of hill country and farm country during hunting season do you see mature bucks typically favoring the hill country bedding areas over the farm type bedding?
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby dan » Mon Jul 09, 2018 3:25 am

First Sit wrote:
dan wrote:There is certainly more bedding area options in September. However, the older bucks will still stick to key terrain features.


In areas with a combination of hill country and farm country during hunting season do you see mature bucks typically favoring the hill country bedding areas over the farm type bedding?

That really depends on a lot of factors like pressure, amount of cover, what food sources are key aty the exact time your hunting, etc. But, over all, generally I would say farm cause of thick cover, foo, and lots of edge
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby backstraps » Mon Jul 09, 2018 11:40 am

Ive noticed many hill country bedding from Dec to Sept will change due to the winds.

Dec generally offers a lot of Northern winds and in Sept most of my winds are SW and West
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby <DK> » Mon Jul 09, 2018 11:51 am

Locate the secluded water sources they like to use, acorns and cool temp/shaded areas. Manytimes these go together. Iv found they can bed on the lower 1/3 early if there is a creek at the bottom. Leaf drop, weather changes, pre rut and pressure starts to take effect they move up higher to traditional spots. The best bedding areas will hold deer all year...
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Kybowhunter » Mon Jul 09, 2018 1:40 pm

Generally the only place I see seasonal bedding where im at in kentucky is farm land. In the mountains/hill country I hunt the beds that I find stay active year around. The deer do seem to shift around when we have poor or spotty acorns. But in hill country a good buck bed isnt there by chance and if the wind is right for it and a mature buck is in the area thats where I would place my bet.
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Wild public » Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:21 pm

I appreciate everyone’s feedback..sounds like the spots I’ve found should still hold the mature deer ..I just hope any satellite bedding doesn’t mess me up ,but from all the info I’ve found it’s seems like you got to take your chance to get to that best spot. Super excited about this season..this bed hunting is a game changer for me on public land. I could go on and on ...but will just say thx for everyone willing to share info
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Chief O-at-ka » Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:48 pm

Wild public wrote:I appreciate everyone’s feedback..sounds like the spots I’ve found should still hold the mature deer ..I just hope any satellite bedding doesn’t mess me up ,but from all the info I’ve found it’s seems like you got to take your chance to get to that best spot. Super excited about this season..this bed hunting is a game changer for me on public land. I could go on and on ...but will just say thx for everyone willing to share info


I will be in KY for the opener, and am hoping to have one patterned on a consistent wind by that time. I'm interested to see if consistent summer winds and feeding patterns allow me to work some past beds I am familiar with. Praying EHD doesn't hit as hard as it did last year... lost my largest target buck to it.
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Re: September bedding in hill country

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Fri Aug 03, 2018 5:31 am

<DK> wrote:Locate the secluded water sources they like to use, acorns and cool temp/shaded areas. Manytimes these go together. Iv found they can bed on the lower 1/3 early if there is a creek at the bottom. Leaf drop, weather changes, pre rut and pressure starts to take effect they move up higher to traditional spots. The best bedding areas will hold deer all year...


X2

Farm/Hill Country pieces I hunt in Ky I see the same especially if there’s private ag bordering the public on the high points. Most guys hunting early September are thinking ag and setting up to intercept them. They’re also scouting/ leaving scent near the ag the 2 weeks leading up to the season (not observation stands). My favorite setup in September is setting up for wind based bedding on a backside secondary ridge, where I know there’s bedding on the closest ridge to typical access trails. If I don’t get a mid afternoon bump I’ll drop down to a creek side travel corridor. Have 1 setup that’s a thermal hub about 1/2 mile down from my backside creek entrance. From an observation stand I’ve watched bucks bed on the upper 1/3, drop down to the thermal hub, then walk 1/2 mile along the creek scent checking 4 major drainages before heading left or right to hit private ag. The upper 1/3 beds are within 100 yards of ag. The big guys aren’t in a hurry and there’s plenty of browse and some acorns along the way. 1/2-1 mile trail to ag, rather than the direct 100 yards around the ridge.

That’s the difference I see with pressure. Public or Private. If not for Observation stands I would have assumed this was only a pre-rut/rut setup.


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