Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

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Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby trob_205 » Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:06 pm

Did some scouting today on the other side of the farm that I havnt hunter yet. Mostly because other people hunt over there and nothing made that more obvious than treestands all over in there. All the perfect bedding features you could ask for. Tons of trails but Only tracks and bedding I find is doe and petite tracks. Anyway to the good stuff.

I found some mature buck beds in an adjacent thick fense row (about 20 yards wide). Of course it is on the predominant down wind side of the field to the above doe bedding. Last year the farm was all beans. This upcoming season it will be corn. For all you seasoned farm country guys do you see the fence row bedding get better, worse, or indifferent with corn?

Best description of the beds and area was a group of beds from one side to the other. Lots of light to mild rubs on trees all about waist to belly botton high to the center (from this years and past years). Matted down beds with a decent amount of hair in them. One bed had one of the rubs right in it. I killed a mature buck off this property this year and couldn’t tell you for sure it wasn’t some of his beds. But I also kicked up a handful of deer out of there and there was def a antlerless deer in that group that was just bigger and thicker in every sense of a deers profile. I got the binos in it just as it ran into the timber so I couldnt confirm it was a shed buck but my best guess it was (no sheds found either).


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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby matt1336 » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:13 pm

Fence lines are gold especially if they are on a hill. If they are on a hill and offer a good look at hunter/human access there will be bucks bedded there, IMO despite of crop rotation. Kinda easy pickns...at least as easy as hunting mature buck get if you can surprise them with a .308 in the neck but not easy with the bow.
I hunted a big buck that loved himself some fence line views. It was a corn year. Literally one hop to the west and he was gone for good. Talk about frustration. We put too much pressure on him during gun season and I never saw him again.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby dan » Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:27 pm

Usually better with corn, and you get them to follow the fenceline more often with standing corn rather than just getting up walking into the beans.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby Ridgerunner7 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:29 am

They love big thick fence rows and 20 yards is a really good size one. They will bed in them when it’s beans and corn. I usually see mature bucks using them when there is at least one side of the hedgerow in corn, As opposed to two bean fields. I usually find them in some sort of structure along the fence row, a bushy tree, an old rock pile, a change in thicker vegetation, the lone big tree, an downed tree creating back cover, etc. They also like to bed off the tip of the fence row especially if there is a low spot where the farmer could not plant due to wetness. It can create a substantial thicket with extra vegetation. They face the beans when it’s corn/beans bisected typically at one of the spots I mentioned but they move really late. In the corn/beans setup they often just bump right out into the beans in front of them making a kill set up really difficult plus they have the visual advantage where they can watch their food source all day long. Corn/corn bisected is better for early travel and setup. I usually catch them heading towards the woodlots along the fence row just before darkness. The big boys rarely reach the woods where the other hunters are before dark.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:55 am

Ridgerunner7 wrote:They love big thick fence rows and 20 yards is a really good size one. They will bed in them when it’s beans and corn. I usually see mature bucks using them when there is at least one side of the hedgerow in corn, As opposed to two bean fields. I usually find them in some sort of structure along the fence row, a bushy tree, an old rock pile, a change in thicker vegetation, the lone big tree, an downed tree creating back cover, etc. They also like to bed off the tip of the fence row especially if there is a low spot where the farmer could not plant due to wetness. It can create a substantial thicket with extra vegetation. They face the beans when it’s corn/beans bisected typically at one of the spots I mentioned but they move really late. In the corn/beans setup they often just bump right out into the beans in front of them making a kill set up really difficult plus they have the visual advantage where they can watch their food source all day long. Corn/corn bisected is better for early travel and setup. I usually catch them heading towards the woodlots along the fence row just before darkness. The big boys rarely reach the woods where the other hunters are before dark.


Spot on! I will add that a good CRP field on the fence line can also give them the needed security like corn does. When Andy says something, I double star it and write it down. His point on structure and low spots/points I have seen in both farm/crop and cattle pasture environments.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby trob_205 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:53 am

Thanks guys. Great info. Only reason I question whether or not corn might be worse is because it’s bullet proof when there’s beans. It’s the lowest spot in between two fields and he can see from fense line to fense line in both fields. He’s untouchable when he can use his sight in that area. Especially with the sattilite bedding closer to the main parking. You would never get close enough and I would assume he will always go toward the neighbors wood lot when getting up. Here’s what I’m taking about.

Image

The red circled fense row is the one I’m speaking of. Red rectangle is the property line. In reality pretty much the whole thing has beds but the first one I have marked was the first sign of decent rubs. Probably 2.5-3.5. But then father towards the east I found the good stuff. After thinking about it it’s almost like a pecking order. The buck sign got bigger the father I went east. The setup is tough and it’s a small enough chunk I’d rather not bump him out and have him be on the neighbors. Even tho I’m pretty sure that deer watched me walking in 75-80% of my sits after finding his beds. It might even be a ground assault on those beds with corn there and me being a RH shooter. I have a better shot when there’s corn up. Well have to wait until fall to see how it pans out lol.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 8:57 am

I've never noticed much bedding in fence rows in my area outside the rut. During the rut I have jumped more good bucks bedded with there sweetheart in fence rows than anywhere else. My fence rows are mainly just windbreaks of mature cedars. I often use them for entry purposes and without fail I jump one or two every year while I got my guard down. These spots are not predictable like ones mentioned above. Suspect cause the doe actually does the picking and the buck just beds close by. Never jumped any out of the same spot twice.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Mar 14, 2019 9:51 am

DaveT1963 wrote:
Ridgerunner7 wrote:They love big thick fence rows and 20 yards is a really good size one. They will bed in them when it’s beans and corn. I usually see mature bucks using them when there is at least one side of the hedgerow in corn, As opposed to two bean fields. I usually find them in some sort of structure along the fence row, a bushy tree, an old rock pile, a change in thicker vegetation, the lone big tree, an downed tree creating back cover, etc. They also like to bed off the tip of the fence row especially if there is a low spot where the farmer could not plant due to wetness. It can create a substantial thicket with extra vegetation. They face the beans when it’s corn/beans bisected typically at one of the spots I mentioned but they move really late. In the corn/beans setup they often just bump right out into the beans in front of them making a kill set up really difficult plus they have the visual advantage where they can watch their food source all day long. Corn/corn bisected is better for early travel and setup. I usually catch them heading towards the woodlots along the fence row just before darkness. The big boys rarely reach the woods where the other hunters are before dark.


Spot on! I will add that a good CRP field on the fence line can also give them the needed security like corn does. When Andy says something, I double star it and write it down. His point on structure and low spots/points I have seen in both farm/crop and cattle pasture environments.


x2 to both posters
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:12 am

trob_205 wrote:Thanks guys. Great info. Only reason I question whether or not corn might be worse is because it’s bullet proof when there’s beans. It’s the lowest spot in between two fields and he can see from fense line to fense line in both fields. He’s untouchable when he can use his sight in that area. Especially with the sattilite bedding closer to the main parking. You would never get close enough and I would assume he will always go toward the neighbors wood lot when getting up. Here’s what I’m taking about.

Image

The red circled fense row is the one I’m speaking of. Red rectangle is the property line. In reality pretty much the whole thing has beds but the first one I have marked was the first sign of decent rubs. Probably 2.5-3.5. But then father towards the east I found the good stuff. After thinking about it it’s almost like a pecking order. The buck sign got bigger the father I went east. The setup is tough and it’s a small enough chunk I’d rather not bump him out and have him be on the neighbors. Even tho I’m pretty sure that deer watched me walking in 75-80% of my sits after finding his beds. It might even be a ground assault on those beds with corn there and me being a RH shooter. I have a better shot when there’s corn up. Well have to wait until fall to see how it pans out lol.


I’ve hunted farm land my whole life. IMHO the only time beans trump corn is when they’re green, and even then when I see a big buck in a bean field, more often than not they’re feeding in it within 50 yards of standing corn. If there’s no corn nearby there’s thick security cover/bedding like a grove or marsh. Once in a while I’ll see a big one seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but I wouldn’t call it common.

(Side note- standing beans are a tremendous draw late season, we just don’t see it that often since they get combined before corn)

I fully agree with Dan’s comment, too. Deer love to follow those corn edges. In your situation they make an excellent travel corridor. With corn on both sides they can move freely without being seen.

Corn offers one MAJOR thing that beans can’t provide. SECURITY. I fully understand your perspective on beans making that finger of trees bulletproof visibility wise. It sounds like they’ll use that bedding whether there’s beans or corn, which is huge. However, in my mind, corn makes that spot bullet proof for the simple fact that he can escape undetected. Not only that, he can get up and feed undetected. What more could he want ;)
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby trob_205 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 11:47 am

Boogieman1 wrote:I've never noticed much bedding in fence rows in my area outside the rut. During the rut I have jumped more good bucks bedded with there sweetheart in fence rows than anywhere else. My fence rows are mainly just windbreaks of mature cedars. I often use them for entry purposes and without fail I jump one or two every year while I got my guard down. These spots are not predictable like ones mentioned above. Suspect cause the doe actually does the picking and the buck just beds close by. Never jumped any out of the same spot twice.

Very true. I’ve grown up with hunting a lot of fense rows before our greedy farmers took them out. If I’d of only know then what I know now. Some always held deer better than others.
Lockdown wrote:
trob_205 wrote:Thanks guys. Great info. Only reason I question whether or not corn might be worse is because it’s bullet proof when there’s beans. It’s the lowest spot in between two fields and he can see from fense line to fense line in both fields. He’s untouchable when he can use his sight in that area. Especially with the sattilite bedding closer to the main parking. You would never get close enough and I would assume he will always go toward the neighbors wood lot when getting up. Here’s what I’m taking about.

Image

The red circled fense row is the one I’m speaking of. Red rectangle is the property line. In reality pretty much the whole thing has beds but the first one I have marked was the first sign of decent rubs. Probably 2.5-3.5. But then father towards the east I found the good stuff. After thinking about it it’s almost like a pecking order. The buck sign got bigger the father I went east. The setup is tough and it’s a small enough chunk I’d rather not bump him out and have him be on the neighbors. Even tho I’m pretty sure that deer watched me walking in 75-80% of my sits after finding his beds. It might even be a ground assault on those beds with corn there and me being a RH shooter. I have a better shot when there’s corn up. Well have to wait until fall to see how it pans out lol.


I’ve hunted farm land my whole life. IMHO the only time beans trump corn is when they’re green, and even then when I see a big buck in a bean field, more often than not they’re feeding in it within 50 yards of standing corn. If there’s no corn nearby there’s thick security cover/bedding like a grove or marsh. Once in a while I’ll see a big one seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but I wouldn’t call it common.

(Side note- standing beans are a tremendous draw late season, we just don’t see it that often since they get combined before corn)

I fully agree with Dan’s comment, too. Deer love to follow those corn edges. In your situation they make an excellent travel corridor. With corn on both sides they can move freely without being seen.

Corn offers one MAJOR thing that beans can’t provide. SECURITY. I fully understand your perspective on beans making that finger of trees bulletproof visibility wise. It sounds like they’ll use that bedding whether there’s beans or corn, which is huge. However, in my mind, corn makes that spot bullet proof for the simple fact that he can escape undetected. Not only that, he can get up and feed undetected. What more could he want ;)

That puts it very much into prospective! Thank you

And thanks to everyone else! No where on the earth like this place. Just to have the SUCCESSFUL hunters so willing to help is something like no other!
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby bigredneck61088 » Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:52 pm

I have also been interested in this topic...

The one farm I got permission for last year I found a nice fence row littered with sign that nobody hunts/overlooked spot on farm. It was a bean year this season and this year will be a corn year so I plan on slipping in early season and hunting hot sign, there is a few power towers they don’t plant and with that and the fence row may be the early season ticket. I could not find any beds while looking for sheds but they may be gone from early season with all the rain and snow this year
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby Lockdown » Thu Mar 14, 2019 3:18 pm

bigredneck61088 wrote:I have also been interested in this topic...

The one farm I got permission for last year I found a nice fence row littered with sign that nobody hunts/overlooked spot on farm. It was a bean year this season and this year will be a corn year so I plan on slipping in early season and hunting hot sign, there is a few power towers they don’t plant and with that and the fence row may be the early season ticket. I could not find any beds while looking for sheds but they may be gone from early season with all the rain and snow this year


You also have to keep in mind that bucks will also bed in the corn. IMHO the higher hunter pressure is, the more likely they do just that. Around here we have lots of property lines with very narrow grass fence lines. Narrow means a foot or two wide at times. They get traveled often by all deer. So when bucks come up on these clumps of trees and brush, they are their first opportunity for rubbing and will likely get thrashed if they're feeling frisky or want to stage.

The buck I killed in 2010 (late October) came out of standing corn, fed along the edge to an old rock pile in a fence line with a bunch of brush that had grown up. He proceeded to scrape and I grunted him in after that. There is *always a scrape or two there along with a few rubs. I was set up in a couple acre woodlot and he actually headed the other way until I grunted at him.

There are a couple beds in that clump, but they don't look like anything special. And I've never actually watched a deer use that clump for bedding. I could see how an inexperienced Beast would walk up on it and think they found the goods, but there's more to it than that. If you're going after a big one I'd at least like to find big buck sign to go along with it. Either big beds, big tracks, big poop, big rubs, etc.

If you're not sure how good it is, run cameras on travel corridors nearby for a year and see what you find. You could also observe it, or give it a couple invasive in season scouts. Obviously you can't get too intrusive or their little safe haven isn't safe anymore.
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Re: Fence Row Bedding and crop rotations

Unread postby bigredneck61088 » Fri Mar 15, 2019 9:53 am

Lockdown wrote:
bigredneck61088 wrote:I have also been interested in this topic...

The one farm I got permission for last year I found a nice fence row littered with sign that nobody hunts/overlooked spot on farm. It was a bean year this season and this year will be a corn year so I plan on slipping in early season and hunting hot sign, there is a few power towers they don’t plant and with that and the fence row may be the early season ticket. I could not find any beds while looking for sheds but they may be gone from early season with all the rain and snow this year


You also have to keep in mind that bucks will also bed in the corn. IMHO the higher hunter pressure is, the more likely they do just that. Around here we have lots of property lines with very narrow grass fence lines. Narrow means a foot or two wide at times. They get traveled often by all deer. So when bucks come up on these clumps of trees and brush, they are their first opportunity for rubbing and will likely get thrashed if they're feeling frisky or want to stage.

The buck I killed in 2010 (late October) came out of standing corn, fed along the edge to an old rock pile in a fence line with a bunch of brush that had grown up. He proceeded to scrape and I grunted him in after that. There is *always a scrape or two there along with a few rubs. I was set up in a couple acre woodlot and he actually headed the other way until I grunted at him.

There are a couple beds in that clump, but they don't look like anything special. And I've never actually watched a deer use that clump for bedding. I could see how an inexperienced Beast would walk up on it and think they found the goods, but there's more to it than that. If you're going after a big one I'd at least like to find big buck sign to go along with it. Either big beds, big tracks, big poop, big rubs, etc.

If you're not sure how good it is, run cameras on travel corridors nearby for a year and see what you find. You could also observe it, or give it a couple invasive in season scouts. Obviously you can't get too intrusive or their little safe haven isn't safe anymore.



Thanks for the heads up, yep I agree with also bedding in the corn... and if it is a wet year again this year I will have corn into the rut like I did on another farm, leaning towards an observation sit or two, and then moving in. This area of the farm will be pretty much done when the crops come out, but is observable from a distance. I did find several high rubs on the finger along with atleast one big set of tracks.

I hate running cams on this farm because when I got permission it was agreed that the family that hunts can check them too, and they don’t hunt like we do.... so one daylight pic will result in a blown area if they check it, they don’t play the wind etc, this farm holds good deer, but you have to play other hunters and be ultra careful on entry/exit, along with a million ladder stands.


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