The Bedding Wheel

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funderburk
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The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby funderburk » Wed Feb 27, 2019 1:13 am

Last year, I learned the importance of finding the actual beds. What I didn't take into account (at least as much as I should have) was where they were headed after they got out of bed. I heard a podcast that mentioned, in passing, how good it was to think about bedding like the center of a wheel and their post-bedding destinations being the spokes coming out from the center. His point was that everything revolves around bedding. I feel like I've heard someone else say that before... 8-)

So, help me visualize and understand post-bedding destinations better. The buck's bed is the center. What are the spokes? And to take it a step further, link a spoke to a specific part of the year. For example, here in the east one spoke could be persimmons during September. Give me your thoughts and observations! I think this could turn out to be a pretty insightful and practical thread.


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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby rfickes87 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:11 am

funderburk wrote:Last year, I learned the importance of finding the actual beds. What I didn't take into account (at least as much as I should have) was where they were headed after they got out of bed. I heard a podcast that mentioned, in passing, how good it was to think about bedding like the center of a wheel and their post-bedding destinations being the spokes coming out from the center. His point was that everything revolves around bedding. I feel like I've heard someone else say that before... 8-)

So, help me visualize and understand post-bedding destinations better. The buck's bed is the center. What are the spokes? And to take it a step further, link a spoke to a specific part of the year. For example, here in the east one spoke could be persimmons during September. Give me your thoughts and observations! I think this could turn out to be a pretty insightful and practical thread.


what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.
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funderburk
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby funderburk » Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:34 am

what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.[/quote]

Good catch on what type of terrain. That is certainly a crucial part of the wheel. Also, I hear ya on dropping low. Seems that being low would give them the best scent advantage as the thermals collect.

As far as it being anyone’s guess, maybe I phrased my question wrong. I’m asking generally what it is that we observe across the board. For example, food, water, doe bedding, beat scent or sight advantage, etc.

Thanks for the connection to flinginarrows! I’ll reach out to him for sure.
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby UofLbowhunter » Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:54 pm

Thats a multi answer question, the ultimate answer is where ever the buck wants to go! The time of season can help give you an guess to that question, For example if you have a big buck bed on a north facing point, a crop field of beans to the east, white oak flat to the south and doe bedding to the west , to me the the time of season could help narrow that down some. If its early season and beans are green and the beans fields are full of deer, it would be a good guess he would head that way. A little later on in the season beans are dry, oaks are starting to drop and you hit a few cooler days the the oaks would be a good option. Move on into the season, its done frosted, leaves are falling and love is in the air well you can guess he is gonna be heading to some doe bedding. Now that you have the lay out, only boots on the ground can determine the final result. Exit trails are usally the best trails or the easier to find , that can give away his favored route. I agree alot of the time they will probaly go down hill like rfickers87 said, but some crop fields are on tops of hill and the bucks like to enter the fields in the low spots and use thermals there to, so they may not always go down hill, thats just depending on terrian. Here where i live the majority of hill tops are not big enough to have ag on them but there is some. I can also say i have noticed on ridge tops,oaks tend to drop earlier than one near the bottom so they may not always drop staright down but the majority of the time i think they would! :twocents-mytwocents:

Also i think the spoke on the wheel theroy is best described in marsh terrian !
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby flinginairos » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:52 am

funderburk wrote:what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.


Good catch on what type of terrain. That is certainly a crucial part of the wheel. Also, I hear ya on dropping low. Seems that being low would give them the best scent advantage as the thermals collect.

As far as it being anyone’s guess, maybe I phrased my question wrong. I’m asking generally what it is that we observe across the board. For example, food, water, doe bedding, beat scent or sight advantage, etc.

Thanks for the connection to flinginarrows! I’ll reach out to him for sure.[/quote]

Here ya go ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKe4g5PNC0

When trying to figure out the "spokes on a wheel" I think you'll often find 2-3 directions they like to travel and sometimes less depending on the terrain. This buck was bedded below a cliff wall and he could basically go two directions. You need to figure out all the likely travel routes and then start using other clues to tip you off on which one he will most likely use at the time you plan to hunt him. This buck was actually pretty easy because he was using the same exit trail almost every day (trail camera confirmed this) and he was leaving a rub line for a solid 200 yards out of his bed.
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:56 pm

I’ve heard this phrase before but don’t necessarily agree with it for most of the beds I’ve hunted. The exception being a year round primary bedding area.

90% of the beds I hunt are seasonal, or primary to a certain part of the season: early, pre-rut, rut, or late. For these I’m narrowing down what time of year they’re being used and figuring out the probable destination. However, if I’m inside 80-100 yards, it’s typically just 1 or 2 trails I’m focusing on from there. Trick is picking the right one. Usually trying to pick the one that’s lending a buck the ability to scent check an area just outside of his staging area.
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby funderburk » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:42 pm

flinginairos wrote:
funderburk wrote:what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.


Good catch on what type of terrain. That is certainly a crucial part of the wheel. Also, I hear ya on dropping low. Seems that being low would give them the best scent advantage as the thermals collect.

As far as it being anyone’s guess, maybe I phrased my question wrong. I’m asking generally what it is that we observe across the board. For example, food, water, doe bedding, beat scent or sight advantage, etc.

Thanks for the connection to flinginarrows! I’ll reach out to him for sure.


Here ya go ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKe4g5PNC0

When trying to figure out the "spokes on a wheel" I think you'll often find 2-3 directions they like to travel and sometimes less depending on the terrain. This buck was bedded below a cliff wall and he could basically go two directions. You need to figure out all the likely travel routes and then start using other clues to tip you off on which one he will most likely use at the time you plan to hunt him. This buck was actually pretty easy because he was using the same exit trail almost every day (trail camera confirmed this) and he was leaving a rub line for a solid 200 yards out of his bed.[/quote]

That video is excellent! Gets me excited for Oct. 1st 8-)
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby funderburk » Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:50 pm

flinginairos wrote:
funderburk wrote:what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.


Good catch on what type of terrain. That is certainly a crucial part of the wheel. Also, I hear ya on dropping low. Seems that being low would give them the best scent advantage as the thermals collect.

As far as it being anyone’s guess, maybe I phrased my question wrong. I’m asking generally what it is that we observe across the board. For example, food, water, doe bedding, beat scent or sight advantage, etc.

Thanks for the connection to flinginarrows! I’ll reach out to him for sure.


Here ya go ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKe4g5PNC0

When trying to figure out the "spokes on a wheel" I think you'll often find 2-3 directions they like to travel and sometimes less depending on the terrain. This buck was bedded below a cliff wall and he could basically go two directions. You need to figure out all the likely travel routes and then start using other clues to tip you off on which one he will most likely use at the time you plan to hunt him. This buck was actually pretty easy because he was using the same exit trail almost every day (trail camera confirmed this) and he was leaving a rub line for a solid 200 yards out of his bed.[/quote]

Coming in from the creek, how did you manage to beat the thermals so well?
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Re: The Bedding Wheel

Unread postby flinginairos » Fri Mar 01, 2019 1:16 am

funderburk wrote:
flinginairos wrote:
funderburk wrote:what terrain?

i'm in the hills. i'm guessing you are too? If so... That buck can get up and go anywhere he wants. Without knowing you're exact setting no one can really answer your question, but only guess. I can tell you from my experience the bucks are often headed downhill, either for water or drop down low to smell those low cool thermal pools. I'd be awfully thirsty if i were a buck that was bedded all day and once getting a drink could smell everything in the area from down low. PM flinginarrows or search his old posts. He has an AWESOME self filmed video of shooting a nice buck that just left its bed up high on a ridge and he's set up down low.


Good catch on what type of terrain. That is certainly a crucial part of the wheel. Also, I hear ya on dropping low. Seems that being low would give them the best scent advantage as the thermals collect.

As far as it being anyone’s guess, maybe I phrased my question wrong. I’m asking generally what it is that we observe across the board. For example, food, water, doe bedding, beat scent or sight advantage, etc.

Thanks for the connection to flinginarrows! I’ll reach out to him for sure.


Here ya go ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKe4g5PNC0

When trying to figure out the "spokes on a wheel" I think you'll often find 2-3 directions they like to travel and sometimes less depending on the terrain. This buck was bedded below a cliff wall and he could basically go two directions. You need to figure out all the likely travel routes and then start using other clues to tip you off on which one he will most likely use at the time you plan to hunt him. This buck was actually pretty easy because he was using the same exit trail almost every day (trail camera confirmed this) and he was leaving a rub line for a solid 200 yards out of his bed.


Coming in from the creek, how did you manage to beat the thermals so well?[/quote]

I came in from the side enough that the thermals going up the hill wasn't making it to him. There was a pretty steady wind that day and that really helped. If it had been calm it may have been an issue.


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