I found the beds, now what

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Matthewkatz
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I found the beds, now what

Unread postby Matthewkatz » Sun Jul 19, 2020 3:03 am

This past spring I scouted my little heart out on this piece of public right next to a lake. What makes it nice is its only accessible by boat unless you want to hike 6 miles from the nearest access point. I found the skull of a 150 inch deer which is massive for my area and I found the biggest rubs and scrapes i've ever seen. I walked every deer trail and found as many beds as I could and marked what I think are buck beds, basically the beds with the best features. The predominate winds are South, North, and occasionally west. The most buck sign I found is around the old powerline strip and I found beds so I assume they are buck beds. I walked all the trails I could find. The "golden" trail is what I assume the bucks use to exit their beds. There is ag fields 1 mile to the east but I dont know if they travel that far for food. How should I go about setting up in this area? the deer don't like the draws and rarely use them so I assume I could walk and then belly crawl up the draw until im on top of the ridge and in that funnel you can see on the map.
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Coalcracker
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Re: I found the beds, now what

Unread postby Coalcracker » Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:28 pm

Nice illustration. I'm hunting a similar hard funnel (body of water) but unfortunately water access is not permitted. I had to find another way in but its not necessarily the "ideal" spot. Maybe it is and I just don't know it yet.

Anyway, using the water for entry I wouldn't penetrate far at all. Hunt the trails which parallel the lake when thermals are dropping or the wind is pushing toward the water. Bucks should be cruising the paralleling trail to scent check the ridges above them for safe travel, to access bedding and scent check for hot does. The powerline is another edge/funnel that also connects with your hard edge funnel (lake). And, you have quite a few terrain points running down toward the water. If they are steep and then flatten out some near the water, there should be a well worn deer trail going through that pinch. Otherwise, if your considering a bed hunt, I would identify the most heavily used big buck bed on the east side of the area and hunt close as possible to the bed and between the food source.

I wouldn't hunt it with a South wind. Doesn't mean you can't, obviously you can, but I'm not sure what would be the best access and stand location. Maybe someone else can help you with that scenario.
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Matthewkatz
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Re: I found the beds, now what

Unread postby Matthewkatz » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:34 am

The trail that parallels the lake is right in between the lake and a really steep hill. I think where the Two major trails funnel at the bottom of that point would be great for a rut hunt.


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