Kraftd wrote:What other kind of food is close? Can you predict with any confidence where he may be feeding for the opener if the beans are dried up?
It seems like you know the other bedding fairly well and are prepped. It also seems like his current bedding may be based largely on summer pressure (or lack thereof) and the the beans.
Taking those things as fact, I'd keep observing and hold out hope that there is any chance he stays on the beans for a night or two into the season. My experience is they yellow quick, so you should have a good idea a week or so out. If he doesn't show for a couple of weeks or falls off the pattern, I'd thinking about going in the week before opener and trying to bump him to the known more secure bedding, then ambush him there on the opener. Kind of a long shot, but sounds like it is in this bedding area without prep. When you're in there that week you can scout and set what you need, just in case he is tolerant of the intrusion, which he may be. If the sign is right, sit it opener and see what happens, then plan on sitting the other bedding Sunday night. Obviously all pending weather forecast as it gets closer.
Does your experience suggest he could stay in this bedding area once the pressure starts and beans die back?
Also, it does seem like in your neck of the woods, you either have super thick or wide open a little more, with some open woods thrown in. We have plenty of super thick stuff in our marshes too, but seems like a little more edge and transition than you have to work with.
There is corn within a mile to the north and within a mile to the East. Lots of oaks 1-2 miles South. Oaks might make it seem like he would head over there, but the bucks in 2016 didn’t
the neighbors have food plots too, but I don’t know what they are. But I can see them on the aerials
Regarding your sit back and observe more comments, I was thinking along those same lines. I will probably recruit Dad to do some observing as well. (Might even put him on the buck
)So I should know if he’s still there right before season. And if I can verify his track I should be able to find it in the beans on opener.
This is definitely not the most secure bedding on the property. And I do not consider it primary. At all. I know once pheasant season opens (mid Oct) this area will get hit. Me and Tyler got caught in the middle of a pheasant push here a few years ago, much deeper than this bedding is.
I was looking online last night, and there look like a little sight line I might be able to utilize Saturday. If I can get more intel on where he’s laying, that bodes well for going in blind. Not just him, satellite deer too. If I observe and he doesn’t show, I might go in with a flash light and see what I can find