What’s so hard to understand?!

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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby funderburk » Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:50 am

BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.


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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby BBH1980 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:00 am

funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.



I have all of them. Watched each one like 5 times lol. I think I am finding general areas and condensed beds. Or grouped beds. May be looking to hard but where I am the majority of older buck are 2.5 to 3.5. There doesn't seem to be a lot of truly mature buck. They are here for sure but no competition makes it even harder cause these bedding areas aren't rubbed up. Plus based in a few other people I've spoke with the younger buck aren't as consistent when it comes to bedding. They also may not have perfected their... In other words they may not be wind to back.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby SidewayZ » Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:34 am

BBH1980 wrote:
funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.



I have all of them. Watched each one like 5 times lol. I think I am finding general areas and condensed beds. Or grouped beds. May be looking to hard but where I am the majority of older buck are 2.5 to 3.5. There doesn't seem to be a lot of truly mature buck. They are here for sure but no competition makes it even harder cause these bedding areas aren't rubbed up. Plus based in a few other people I've spoke with the younger buck aren't as consistent when it comes to bedding. They also may not have perfected their... In other words they may not be wind to back.


I am in the Northeast as well. Many of the beds I find are subtle.
Eventually you will have confidence that you found a buck bed without a lot of sign around because many northeast spots don't have a lot of competition for beds. We also have an insane amount of pressure and coyote pressure so bucks are moving a lot and not always using the same exact bed. Beds are not worn or easy to notice, but the beast tactics still hold true. On top of that we have a lot of rolling hills type terrain so wind is always shifting.

Look for specific terrain spots that are a little more fluffy for hills and for wooded or swap areas try to find a piece that has distinct edges, points and bowls and it should help you find beds easier.

If your finding doe beds. Bucks beds cant be all that fair off, should be something within 100yds of doe beds.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby thepennsylvanian » Wed Feb 27, 2019 8:51 pm

funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.

I do as well, hill country and farm country. Clearly I'm missing the big picture, because for years before THB there would be times I wouldn't see a buck the entire year let alone a mature buck. I have learned to use terrain and cover finding funnels to take a few bucks this past season but i hope to get deeper into this and fond bedding and hopefully get to where I can begin targeting bucks... I found a big buck last year in the summer, but I didn't know where he was bedding so I didn't really know how to go about hunting him.... I ended up screwing it up because I went in unprepared......
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby funderburk » Wed Feb 27, 2019 9:27 pm

thepennsylvanian wrote:
funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.

I do as well, hill country and farm country. Clearly I'm missing the big picture, because for years before THB there would be times I wouldn't see a buck the entire year let alone a mature buck. I have learned to use terrain and cover finding funnels to take a few bucks this past season but i hope to get deeper into this and fond bedding and hopefully get to where I can begin targeting bucks... I found a big buck last year in the summer, but I didn't know where he was bedding so I didn't really know how to go about hunting him.... I ended up screwing it up because I went in unprepared......


I hate you're having such a hard time, but that's what this thread was meant to help remedy! I'd encourage you to reach out to JoeRE. The guy knows hill country. Also, it might be time to determine if you need to move on to another property. I've gotten pretty decent at finding beds and bedding areas, and I've noticed I'm most efficient and log more huntable spots when I can confidently say to myself, "Hey dude, this place is no good" and actually have the will-power to move on to another parcel. No matter how "good" a property looks, if it ain't got mature bucks, I ain't wasting time there. Although, one time I left a parcel because of a lack of "sexy sign" (rubs, scrapes) and a buddy ended up putting eyes on a 130" tank. :o But hey, that was before the beast changed my life :lol:

Point being: Look for the right environment. If your property doesn't have what a mature buck needs, he ain't gonna be hanging out there. Is there anything that's giving him an advantage to survive? If you were being chased, would you hide on your property? If so, where? If not, move on brother.

Maybe that helps a little..? Hope things start turning around for ya!
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby oldrank » Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:00 pm

Set your own realistic goals and expectations. Keep it real and have fun.

Listen to the details when our Beast mentors speak.

Slow down.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby funderburk » Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:21 pm

oldrank wrote:Set your own realistic goals and expectations. Keep it real and have fun.

Listen to the details when our Beast mentors speak.

Slow down.


Amen.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby BBH1980 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:11 am

SidewayZ wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.



I have all of them. Watched each one like 5 times lol. I think I am finding general areas and condensed beds. Or grouped beds. May be looking to hard but where I am the majority of older buck are 2.5 to 3.5. There doesn't seem to be a lot of truly mature buck. They are here for sure but no competition makes it even harder cause these bedding areas aren't rubbed up. Plus based in a few other people I've spoke with the younger buck aren't as consistent when it comes to bedding. They also may not have perfected their... In other words they may not be wind to back.


I am in the Northeast as well. Many of the beds I find are subtle.
Eventually you will have confidence that you found a buck bed without a lot of sign around because many northeast spots don't have a lot of competition for beds. We also have an insane amount of pressure and coyote pressure so bucks are moving a lot and not always using the same exact bed. Beds are not worn or easy to notice, but the beast tactics still hold true. On top of that we have a lot of rolling hills type terrain so wind is always shifting.

Look for specific terrain spots that are a little more fluffy for hills and for wooded or swap areas try to find a piece that has distinct edges, points and bowls and it should help you find beds easier.

If your finding doe beds. Bucks beds cant be all that fair off, should be something within 100yds of doe beds.



This helps and makes sense. I am definitely finding bedding where it should be, it is subtle for sure. But often times it's in groups and not worn in, on the wrong wind also, so I assumed it's doe bedding. There are rubs in the area also but again I was thinking marked up doe bedding. What I am looking for is that group of beds that you can tell are a wind shift 1 animal and worn in, so I may be looking for to much. Also I just found the beast 6 months ago and haven't hunted that way yet. I can tell you since then I have nearly 35 miles on my scouting boots. I have my areas marked and figured the only way to know is to observation sit it and/or hunt it. The coyotes make sense. I scouted a small marsh yesterday as well. Found a couple hairs no defined beds but I always find coyote tracks in that area. I found a swamp that I haven't scouted yet. Waiting for the snow to melt. Might be a dumb question but what do you mean by fluffy ?
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby BBH1980 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:15 am

oldrank wrote:Set your own realistic goals and expectations. Keep it real and have fun.

Listen to the details when our Beast mentors speak.

Slow down.


I'm def having a blast with it. I have used Eberhart tactics for the last 10 years and have killed a buck every year since. All 2.5 year olds and one 3.5 year old 11 point. Since finding the beast things have made a lot more sense as to what I was seeing deer do in the woods. It's time to step up to mature buck. The DVDs have also given me the confidence to start scouting and hunting public land. So this coming year will be my first beast hunting. Should be interesting lol
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:20 am

IME/IMO deer bed more consistently in ag country. Research illustrates that whenever beans, corn, alfalfa are present they will be at the very top of the whitetail's food preference list (check with your state or universities as many biologist have studied and categorized food preferences for game animals). Since corn and bean crops are pretty consistent and do not typically "dry up" the deer tend to bed in the same locations. Ag crops are usually far more reliable and consistent then natural browse. and outside acorns, no other food source is as sustaining to them. This is especially true post rut/winter up north where it can be a life/death situation. When a deer is in the middle of big timber or other areas where they rely almost 100% on natural browse, they will move and bed where browse is or becomes available. These natural browse sources are very inconsistent as far as yield and availability - thus the deer feed, and subsequently bed, in different areas a lot more frequently.


So finding beds in ag country will be far easier as they get used far more frequently unless pressure moves them. I seldom find a bed, worn completely down to the ground in non ag areas with a possible exception that sometimes terrain (i.e. hill county or wide open prairies) will also congregate bedding into more defined/specific spots. That is just my conclusion over 40+ years bowhunting both environments in multiple states.

I also want to add that not all environments are equal. I know in Ohio and some other northern states I frequently find bucks bedded in CRP field with no trees. They will rarely if ever do this in TX because of the sun/heat. There are no absolutes, and assumptions, even when made by the experts, are usually defined to a specific locality or environment. What works for one person may or may not work where you hunt. However, the common rules of food, water and security always apply.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:32 am

Here is a link to one such study as I mentioned above. A lot of graduate colleges that specialize in Ag/Biology will have similar studies. https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwd ... 0_1017.pdf
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby BBH1980 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:29 am

DaveT1963 wrote:Here is a link to one such study as I mentioned above. A lot of graduate colleges that specialize in Ag/Biology will have similar studies. https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwd ... 0_1017.pdf



Thanks for the info. What I'm up against is rolling abandoned farm that still gets hayed. Some crops but not as many as other ag areas. Lots of old crab apple orchards, isolated oak, and dogwood that they destroy. Also they are drilling for gas here and the companies have done an awesome job at planting wildlife mix in the pipelines that run for miles. Where I am finding bedding is watching access, close to homes, and close to these drilling rigs. In the hills I have very steep terrain at 40-60% grades that has acorn flats or benches. Biggest thing is the pressure which is incredible even on private. We have 21 hunters per square mile when you take licensed hunters divided by the land mass. Much of that isn't even hunted because it's so steep on public. Now in the hills the bedding is near the top. I can literally see the sign start at a certain elevation. I guess my biggest issue is knowing if I'm looking at buck bedding or marked up doe bedding, I am def finding the beds but they sometimes dont make sense. But again I haven't hunted this way yet just scouted so I may be making this harder than what it really is. I'm gonna have to pay my dues and just hunt what I think are the best spots or observe them and see what happens lol.
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:31 am

BBH1980 wrote:
DaveT1963 wrote:Here is a link to one such study as I mentioned above. A lot of graduate colleges that specialize in Ag/Biology will have similar studies. https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwd ... 0_1017.pdf



Thanks for the info. What I'm up against is rolling abandoned farm that still gets hayed. Some crops but not as many as other ag areas. Lots of old crab apple orchards, isolated oak, and dogwood that they destroy. Also they are drilling for gas here and the companies have done an awesome job at planting wildlife mix in the pipelines that run for miles. Where I am finding bedding is watching access, close to homes, and close to these drilling rigs. In the hills I have very steep terrain at 40-60% grades that has acorn flats or benches. Biggest thing is the pressure which is incredible even on private. We have 21 hunters per square mile when you take licensed hunters divided by the land mass. Much of that isn't even hunted because it's so steep on public. Now in the hills the bedding is near the top. I can literally see the sign start at a certain elevation. I guess my biggest issue is knowing if I'm looking at buck bedding or marked up doe bedding, I am def finding the beds but they sometimes dont make sense. But again I haven't hunted this way yet just scouted so I may be making this harder than what it really is. I'm gonna have to pay my dues and just hunt what I think are the best spots or observe them and see what happens lol.


I'd start right here and look for benches on points. It doesn't take much so they do not always show up on topos
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby BBH1980 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 2:38 am

DaveT1963 wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
DaveT1963 wrote:Here is a link to one such study as I mentioned above. A lot of graduate colleges that specialize in Ag/Biology will have similar studies. https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwd ... 0_1017.pdf



Thanks for the info. What I'm up against is rolling abandoned farm that still gets hayed. Some crops but not as many as other ag areas. Lots of old crab apple orchards, isolated oak, and dogwood that they destroy. Also they are drilling for gas here and the companies have done an awesome job at planting wildlife mix in the pipelines that run for miles. Where I am finding bedding is watching access, close to homes, and close to these drilling rigs. In the hills I have very steep terrain at 40-60% grades that has acorn flats or benches. Biggest thing is the pressure which is incredible even on private. We have 21 hunters per square mile when you take licensed hunters divided by the land mass. Much of that isn't even hunted because it's so steep on public. Now in the hills the bedding is near the top. I can literally see the sign start at a certain elevation. I guess my biggest issue is knowing if I'm looking at buck bedding or marked up doe bedding, I am def finding the beds but they sometimes dont make sense. But again I haven't hunted this way yet just scouted so I may be making this harder than what it really is. I'm gonna have to pay my dues and just hunt what I think are the best spots or observe them and see what happens lol.


I'd start right here and look for benches on points. It doesn't take much so they do not always show up on topos


I've recently noticed this also. Every obvious point has a stand on it lol. So I think your spot on. The less noticeable knobs on steeper leeward ridges may be the answer
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Re: What’s so hard to understand?!

Unread postby thepennsylvanian » Thu Feb 28, 2019 3:05 am

funderburk wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:
funderburk wrote:
BBH1980 wrote:
thepennsylvanian wrote:I'm in swpa but I hunt the and quite a bit too. I've started to see bigger bucks just in the year that I've found thb but I'm really struggling to find beds. I'm still going to be behind this year as well, as I'll have little to no winter scouting. The terrain I'm in is rolling hills/ steep WV hills on the panhandle, with a little farm country sprinkled in. Things I have a few areas narrowed down, but can't find the actual beds, I have found doe bedding, as in 5/6 beds in a circle-ish pattern, I just don't know how to translate any of those into usable recon for a buck bed......


Northeast here. And yeah having same things. Plenty of doe beds but bucks are an issue for me.


Do either of you have any of Dan's DVDs? That's what flipped the switch for me.

I do as well, hill country and farm country. Clearly I'm missing the big picture, because for years before THB there would be times I wouldn't see a buck the entire year let alone a mature buck. I have learned to use terrain and cover finding funnels to take a few bucks this past season but i hope to get deeper into this and fond bedding and hopefully get to where I can begin targeting bucks... I found a big buck last year in the summer, but I didn't know where he was bedding so I didn't really know how to go about hunting him.... I ended up screwing it up because I went in unprepared......


I hate you're having such a hard time, but that's what this thread was meant to help remedy! I'd encourage you to reach out to JoeRE. The guy knows hill country. Also, it might be time to determine if you need to move on to another property. I've gotten pretty decent at finding beds and bedding areas, and I've noticed I'm most efficient and log more huntable spots when I can confidently say to myself, "Hey dude, this place is no good" and actually have the will-power to move on to another parcel. No matter how "good" a property looks, if it ain't got mature bucks, I ain't wasting time there. Although, one time I left a parcel because of a lack of "sexy sign" (rubs, scrapes) and a buddy ended up putting eyes on a 130" tank. :o But hey, that was before the beast changed my life :lol:

Point being: Look for the right environment. If your property doesn't have what a mature buck needs, he ain't gonna be hanging out there. Is there anything that's giving him an advantage to survive? If you were being chased, would you hide on your property? If so, where? If not, move on brother.

Maybe that helps a little..? Hope things start turning around for ya!

See that's the thing. I'm sticking to one property, I actually utilize 14 completely different properties. I'm really just missing the marl I think. I have trouble relating the terrains effect on deer movement when I'm scouting, because I see deer in places I would expect to not see them and vice versa. I realize there are no hard rules, but I just get confused sometimes when I feel I have a good area then it turns a bust when I get on the ground. Places that on a map look like there should be a bed yet I can't find it .........
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