yearly repeat bedding

[Seeker529]

Last year i observed from a stand a massive buck bedding in a over grown ditch in a middle of the field... no way to access him without being seen or winded so i decided to go in super early and put a stand directly over that bed.. Big mistake on my part since i am not experienced enough to sneak in and get setup undetected and blew him clear out of the county.. So i am wondering if that buck survived will he be in the exact same bed at the same time of year? Should I break down and buy and put a cell camera in this spot?

[Lockdown]

IMHO as long as crop rotation doesn’t change his pattern, it’s quite likely he’ll back back. The cell cam IN the bedding is a bit of a gamble. To me the better option is observing from a distance. Trail cams often don’t tell you the whole story...

[backstraps]

If the bedding you located is primary... I don't think you blew him out at all. He may have came back that same day...next day, a week after? BUT, good secure bedding isnt chosen randomly by a buck. You can kill that buck and the next buck will replace and use that same bed. SO on and so on. UNTIL that bed finally becomes tainted by human or predator intrusion over and over

As for putting a cell cam on the bed...you intruded and he smelled you once....you take a cam back, he WILL smell you again...you decide one day to go get the cam out...he WILL smell you again..... so the real question is, do you want to try and blow him out of the county?

Those beds are best studied hard when you locate them. Try and determine, the when, why and how he is using that bed.
When you find the bed, if its during leaf cover see how close you can get without him detecting you.....then when leaves are off and the woods are bare, most likely you wont get that close to set up. THEN when season is in and the when why and how conditions line up, go setup close to the bed.

Having notes of A LOT of these beds prior to opener is ideal.

[Seeker529]

If I do a observation sit how far away should you be setup before they get uncomfortable,100,200,300 yards? Being a over grown ditch thats only 50 yards big in the middle of the field how do you hunt that?

[headgear]

You might have to slip in on the ground, watch out for those evening thermals, might be worth a visit this spring in the evening to throw some milkweed and see how the wind thermals move it around. Then formulate a plan around them and the bed/beds you find. There can be swirling wind in these areas too so you might have to hang back a little. As mentioned an observations from a ways out, I think 300 is maybe ok but if you can see further the better but I don't do a ton of observations sits in the bigwoods so hopefully others can chime in.

[Lockdown]

As far as observation distance goes, I’ve got lots of spots where I’m in the 1/4 to 1/2 mile range. Get as far away as you can while still being able to see what you need to see. The only time I’m observing dangerously close to bedding is when I have no other option. I’m still in the process of figuring out the whole “how close is too close” situation. At the moment I’m not comfortable being closer than 300 yards from bedding. I try not to leave scent wherever he is spending time in daylight. That goes for summer and in season observing.

I think it’s crucial to get in there this spring and scout it to death. Know where every bed is in that ravine. Even beds that aren’t his are important... no need to bump something and send them all packing if there’s multiple deer. Pay attention to every detail... direction beds are facing, etc

Like Headgear said bring some milkweed with you and see what the wind is doing.

[backstraps]

Echoing off Lockdown and Headgear

Milkweed in the off season to see how the wind reacts with the thermals is a great tactic. However if you apply this tactic, try and do both with foliage and without. Leaves and vegetation will cause wind to react and "flow" differently.

I agree with Lockdown on the distance advice. I try and stay back as far as possible and still be able to glass what I need to see. same thing with ground scent during spring/summer scouting.

Once I gather intel from an area, I let it rest until I move in for the hunt