Order of operations

[Zephyrus]

If all of these were magically present on one property - without overthinking everything, would the order of preferred bedding go as follows?

Marsh
Swamp
Hill
Farm

I'm at a toss up over hill/farm, if the marsh/swamp is available.

Something I've been thinking about as I look at new properties...

I've heard dan say once that big bucks will be up high on the hill unless there is swamp beneath, then they will be there - or something to that effect.

What do you think?

[Ghost Hunter]

Depends on pressure.

[JakeB]

I don’t think you can just say they prefer one over the other. Sooo many other factors that go into it. In unpressured ground they very well could be bedding right next to the crops. If there’s guys hammering the fields they could push back into the hills, if that’s getting hunted they can move back into the swamps and marshes. If everything gets hunted they will either not be there or they will be in smaller overlooked areas wherever that may be.

Around my home deer literally live their entire lives in huge swamps. Some places I’ve been too once you get in the water you can’t even buy a deer track.

Without the human intervention, I would say they will bed as close to the food as they can while still feeling safe.

When I’m looking at new places to hunt I start with terrain that I like to hunt and feel comfortable hunting. The deer will be where they are.

Not sure I really answered your question or not.

[Zephyrus]

Not sure I really answered your question or not.

It all helps

[MNarrow]

So there's the answer........Roku bedding trumps all!!!

[Lockdown]

Depends on pressure.

x2

Pressure dictates everything.

If it’s very low pressure, I’d bet they’ll bed in the farm and hills wherever food is. High pressure they’ll be back in the nastiest parts of the marsh and swamp.

[PAbowhunter10]

Depends on pressure.

x2

Pressure dictates everything.

If it’s very low pressure, I’d bet they’ll bed in the farm and hills wherever food is. High pressure they’ll be back in the nastiest parts of the marsh and swamp.

X3

If a swamp or marsh is more pressured than a piece of private ag with some hardwoods, the deer (specifically the more mature deer) will prefer the ag piece and vice versa. If there is anything I learned this year about hunting a lot of public and some misc. private.... pressure will trump everything. As for food, Deer will adapt and eat just about anything they can find, as long as they can feel safe in an area they are living and not smell human odor. This especially holds true as the season progresses and many of the food sources that were available in the fall are now depleted.
Hunters in PA are always dumbfounded when a huge buck just magically shows up early one season and they say, “I have never seen this buck in my life, I don’t know where he came from”. Well more than likely that buck has been somewhere in that general area all his life. He was just smart enough to reside in places that humans don’t go, or rotate locations throughout the course of the year based on pressure and hunting season. People also need to realize that the really mature bucks aren’t stupid enough to get on there feet and move far during daylight hours. I’d say the only time they do is in areas that have little to no pressure (which is almost impossible to find in the areas I hunt) or it’s the rut. But even then it’s very limited. So hunters need to realize that any scent that they lay down during the day, is being investigated by mature bucks at night. And based off there finding during the night time hours, a buck might shift his home range or adjust his bedding based of that newly discovered pressure. They don’t get old being stupid. I know some guys may say, “deer are only animals how smart can they be” but the really mature bucks in pressured areas are not your average whitetail deer. It really is something special when you harvest a mature deer in a pressured area, no matter what the rack size.

[<DK>]

With zero pressure and assuming all bedding areas are equally great...

Id choose Farm bc of the close proximity they can bed to the best food.

In the end, I think that would be deer specific and time of the season. One specific buck may prefer the swamp security, the next buck prefers a nice CRP field. I do think a large, tall CRP field is probably one the top places bucks are drawn to.