Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby KLEMZ » Wed Feb 03, 2021 1:38 pm

Cchez, I am intrigued by your idea. I remember Dan talking about Andre intentionally bumping big bucks in order to see them and to verify things before trying to hunt them. Bumping bedded bucks in the big woods takes this strategy to a new level...so many places to hide. But the payoff with critical information against that buck would be huge!

Just thinking out loud here (because I have never tried this, but I do spend a lot of time hunting the north woods). If I were to try this bumping thing....


-only bump areas I have determined through previous scouting to be buck bedding areas. Not suspected bedding via cyber scouting.

-only sneak in to those bedding areas on a cross wind

-try to time my bumps with days I can be stealthy enough to possibly get close enough to get a visual on the buck (windy, rainy). You must be able to see the buck, otherwise what's the point?


One more comment on north woods buck bedding areas. I believe mature bucks in the north woods are more "homebody's" than the hunting industry portrays. From what I have experienced, a mature big woods buck will stick close to a core bedding area, but when he dies, that area may be empty for a while. Each individual animal seems to have his own little place in the woods (based on who knows what?). You must keep scouting those areas to find when the next buck is gonna call it home. One thing is for certain though, all mature buck bedding areas have the proper terrain features for the buck to feel completely secure.


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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby Lockdown » Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:36 pm

Cchez wrote:Thanks for all the replies everyone, glad to hear im not looney toons by thinking of trying this more. Now that we've established that, let's say i want to jump on a spot i've bumped a good buck. Do you think it would be too soon to try hunting that bedding the same the same week when i get the same wind? Hard to say how these bucks will react being that they probably have a lot of bedding areas with the large tracts of timber im hunting. I guess i probably just wont know until i try it out. At the very least ill have gained the intel that a buck is in the area, and maybe need to have plans a,b,c, etc. and hunt him in a different spot within the area.


I would get back in there ASAP and try to kill him. Next day if possible.

And yes I think soft bumping bedding is a great idea. Nothing will teach you more than visual confirmation. Being aggressive is the way to go... IMHO many people are way too cautious.

I would suggest that when you’re approaching suspected bedding, you REALLY need to slow down and analyze sign. Don’t just bump it and see what runs out then head to the next one. :naughty: Make your best guess as to what’s in there. Nothing? Does and fawns? 2 yr old buck? Mature buck?!?

I even do this when I’m checking cameras. It helps improve my woodsmanship. You might surprise yourself at how quickly you can learn to predict what is or isn’t home. After all, once you build an inventory of bedding areas due to soft bumping, you still need to be able to accurately read big buck sign (or lack thereof) so you know which one to hunt on any given day.

Learn to read tracks. They’re the one piece of sign deer leave behind everywhere they go.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:47 pm

brancher147 wrote:
Cchez wrote:Thanks for all the replies everyone, glad to hear im not looney toons by thinking of trying this more. Now that we've established that, let's say i want to jump on a spot i've bumped a good buck. Do you think it would be too soon to try hunting that bedding the same the same week when i get the same wind? Hard to say how these bucks will react being that they probably have a lot of bedding areas with the large tracts of timber im hunting. I guess i probably just wont know until i try it out. At the very least ill have gained the intel that a buck is in the area, and maybe need to have plans a,b,c, etc. and hunt him in a different spot within the area.


If it was a light bump and he didn’t get your wind I would be back in there asap with the right conditions.
A more common scenario I run into is bumping a buck or seeing a buck in a general bedding area. I think the chance of coming back and seeing that exact buck are slim but there’s just as good of a chance a different buck comes through.
In more hill country type areas I have come back and seen the same buck but not so much in the big woods. Seeing the same big woods buck more than once has been pretty rare for me.


Same experience for me in big woods of Ohio. The past 2 years I've keyed in more on where I've bumped doe bedding, especially bedding near clear cuts where I'm pretty confident those food and cover sources will hold them there.

Soaked cameras down wind of these areas last year. Seems like the buck bedding is more sporadic, but a couple of the doe bedding areas set up great for 10/20-11/15. Very difficult to get on bucks before that time frame. Really big country with unlimited food and cover.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby Wolfie417 » Thu Feb 04, 2021 3:48 am

I've done it quite a few times in missouri already. I've never actually killed the exact buck I bumped but I've found most of my best areas this way.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby BorealBushMN » Thu Feb 04, 2021 3:59 am

I think the best way to do this is to just plan to hunt the animal right then and there. See if you can softly bump him up and get a shot, or pursue him after you let him settle back down. Odds of him using that area again are pretty slim I would think. He may not go too far, but probably far enough that you won't know where.

However, if it looks like a well used bedding area, then the thought of backing out and trying another day would be something I'd consider, but I rarely have found such a bedding area in the big woods up here. Seems they find a good spot in the location they are at that day and use it and move on. I think it's all very dependent on multitude of factors.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby headgear » Thu Feb 04, 2021 4:43 am

BorealBushMN wrote:I think the best way to do this is to just plan to hunt the animal right then and there. See if you can softly bump him up and get a shot, or pursue him after you let him settle back down. Odds of him using that area again are pretty slim I would think. He may not go too far, but probably far enough that you won't know where.


I've done this so many times on accident that I started doing it on purpose, however there are about a dozen encounters where it would have been stupid easy with a rifle, one for sure bump where he came back and I shot him a couple of hours later. Pretty sure G3 or another guy also did this just to know where the bucks were bedding, there is a method to the madness. However I think it is more for the education and learning about buck bedding than to harvest a bunch of deer this way, at least with archery gear. I am pretty sure we can all pick one off this way but it is not easy, still it always makes for an exciting hunt and those bump and dumps can be all kinds of fun.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby Cchez » Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:43 am

Thanks for all the comments everyone, certainly has given me a lot of help and some more ideas going forward.

Seems like there's a lot of different opinions on how a buck will react to being bumped off a bed like will he come back, will he move a long ways or just a little ways off but stay in the general area, etc. I guess a guy just never really knows unless he tries it, with every deer being different.

The biggest thing i have noticed about the bedding in my area is that it all seems to be seasonal. None of them seem to be worn down to the dirt or worn in a large circle indicating heavy use on different winds. I also seldom find bedding that has much for sign around or in it. I think that has a lot do with the lack of competition and the low densities. Which is one of the reasons i wanted to try this in the first place. I have a really hard time finding bucks before october up here unless im getting them on camera on a food plot on one of the private lands i hunt. If can just at least gain some info on which areas are being used at certain times, thats gonna be a win for me going forward.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby G-Patt » Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:12 am

Cchez wrote:The biggest thing i have noticed about the bedding in my area is that it all seems to be seasonal. None of them seem to be worn down to the dirt or worn in a large circle indicating heavy use on different winds. I also seldom find bedding that has much for sign around or in it. I think that has a lot do with the lack of competition and the low densities. Which is one of the reasons i wanted to try this in the first place. I have a really hard time finding bucks before october up here unless im getting them on camera on a food plot on one of the private lands i hunt. If can just at least gain some info on which areas are being used at certain times, thats gonna be a win for me going forward.

I have the same experience in big woods Ohio too. Want to set up the hunt shortly after the bump, ideally that evening, next morning or next evening. The earlier comment about doe bedding is right on point and shouldn't be overlooked. Doe bedding for some reason doesn't seem to get the same attention as buck bedding, but it can be a gold mine if you find a couple perennial areas where the does like to bed during pre-rut and rut.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby <DK> » Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:35 am

Absolutely. Theres one I bumped hard that I would really like to see again. Otherwise iv killed 3 or 4 bumping them them first and coming back to the exact spot.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby Djp32 » Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:04 am

I still have a hard time finding this to be productive. I am very intrigued and actually plan on attempting it. I understand how to take your time and walk slow but then that leaves me with a minimal amount of bedding areas to check in a day and if its windy and wet then the deer has a better chance of escaping with out me knowing it because I can’t hear him. I understand theres lots of woodsman ship involved but you just simply can’t see far enough or keep the wind in your favor long enough in the step big woods hill country. Great topic and love to hear different people’s experiences!!
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby 1STRANGEWILDERNESS » Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:21 am

Djp32 wrote:I still have a hard time finding this to be productive. I am very intrigued and actually plan on attempting it. I understand how to take your time and walk slow but then that leaves me with a minimal amount of bedding areas to check in a day and if its windy and wet then the deer has a better chance of escaping with out me knowing it because I can’t hear him. I understand theres lots of woodsman ship involved but you just simply can’t see far enough or keep the wind in your favor long enough in the step big woods hill country. Great topic and love to hear different people’s experiences!!


In these huge flat swamplands we have up here it can be very low visibility. Cedar, spruce, tag alders and buckthorn mixed in. I have bumped lots of deer I didn’t see but I generally bump more on the edges where it’s kind of feathering from conifers to say popples or hardwoods. Not like I ever do get a real good look though.

I have enough ground where my experience on it will not send me off on a mission like this too often. There is that phase just after the chasing begins where idk if they are locked down or the does are just staying in heavy cover but I’ll find I’m in a ghost town. Then I think absolutely I’m gonna push and not hesitate.

I have a friend who hunted some pretty big timber out in Missouri. He would go during rut, walk till he bumped deer and then setup. Pretty simple approach but he was the most successful hunter in that group every year. I used to laugh at him for his method..
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby headgear » Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:18 pm

Cchez wrote:
Seems like there's a lot of different opinions on how a buck will react to being bumped off a bed like will he come back, will he move a long ways or just a little ways off but stay in the general area, etc. I guess a guy just never really knows unless he tries it, with every deer being different.



I think that is because every jump or encounter is very different, did they see you, did they smell you, did they jump and stop or walk off or high tail it and run? All things that need to be assessed and use to make a decision what to do next. I've had one come back and maybe one that wasn't quite a shooter, maybe 12-15 attempts after a bump. However if I bump them and I don't think they are coming back I will try and make a big loop and setup where I think they might head to so there are alternatives no matter what they do. Always a way to try and get on them no matter what.
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Re: Intentional Big Woods Bumping?

Unread postby headgear » Thu Feb 04, 2021 5:22 pm

Djp32 wrote:I still have a hard time finding this to be productive. I am very intrigued and actually plan on attempting it. I understand how to take your time and walk slow but then that leaves me with a minimal amount of bedding areas to check in a day and if its windy and wet then the deer has a better chance of escaping with out me knowing it because I can’t hear him. I understand theres lots of woodsman ship involved but you just simply can’t see far enough or keep the wind in your favor long enough in the step big woods hill country. Great topic and love to hear different people’s experiences!!


Sometimes it is just a learning experience, sometimes you get them the same day, sometimes you get them the next day or week based off the intel of the bump. Lots of options, think more along the lines of how can I get them vs just saying they are gone forever. A lot of times even when they run hard it might only be a few hundred yards and they will slow up and watch their back trail.


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