How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

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dan
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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby dan » Sat Sep 10, 2011 11:25 am

jonsimoneau wrote:Dan, if the buck does not show, how do you know that it did not just get up and walk the other way without you being able to see him?


Depends on the terrain and the situation... But in most cases I am set up close enough to hear or see him. In a lot of my set ups there is only one way out of the bedding area...
The exception would be woodland set ups where you need to be farther back. But most often, my scouting at the food sources / water etc. gives me a pretty good indicator which way he is going.


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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:54 pm

To carry on the conversation to my level (not trying to hijack thread).

Lets say your not yet a full fledged mature buck hunter (like me) and only have 2,3 or 4-bucks on your radar screen... Even noting that My bucks are + 2 1/2 years and older, so it should be a little easier to kill (yah-right :) ) and not the majestic beasts in the +4 1/2 year range and older...

Well I like to hunt every chance I get, and this could be up to 4 or 5 times in a week.
I do have a couple dozen "other" spots to hunt, but NO known shootable bucks on many of these (at least that I can find)...

1) Should I stay home after 1 or 2 sits in each location and wait the 30-days?
2) Wait for the moon chart to wink at me ;) for these locations to be hunted (I'm trying to maximise the chances - right)?
3) Sit back a ways and observe movement trying to gain additional info?(remember it's NH and mostly woods - so seeing 50-60 yards is the norm - no fields here).
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby dan » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:22 am

Ed,
You should hunt as much as possible if you want success... As far as hunting your known bucks, I don't know how many buck bedding areas you have for each of those bucks, but how ever many it is, I would certainly only hunt each ( if it were me ) a maximum of once in a month, probably a lot less than that...
There are other ways to hunt than sitting in a staging area next to a bed. One of my favorite is to throw the stand and sticks on my back and walk a transition line setting up where ever the thick side looks like good buck bedding. If you don't have real good transitions where you hunt, try scouting on foot with the stand on your back until you think you have found a spot of cover that could hold a big buck bed and set up... Follow the deer back from food till it starts looking like bedding and set up...
Or how about grabbing a topo and figuring out where bedding should be based on elevations?
I have taken nice bucks with all of those tactics, not just bed patrol.
I would never try to infer that you should "always" be set up over a buck bed... However, I do think bedding should be considered in every set up...
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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Sun Sep 11, 2011 1:40 am

dan wrote:Ed,
You should hunt as much as possible if you want success... As far as hunting your known bucks, I don't know how many buck bedding areas you have for each of those bucks, but how ever many it is, I would certainly only hunt each ( if it were me ) a maximum of once in a month, probably a lot less than that...
There are other ways to hunt than sitting in a staging area next to a bed. One of my favorite is to throw the stand and sticks on my back and walk a transition line setting up where ever the thick side looks like good buck bedding. If you don't have real good transitions where you hunt, try scouting on foot with the stand on your back until you think you have found a spot of cover that could hold a big buck bed and set up... Follow the deer back from food till it starts looking like bedding and set up...
Or how about grabbing a topo and figuring out where bedding should be based on elevations?
I have taken nice bucks with all of those tactics, not just bed patrol.
I would never try to infer that you should "always" be set up over a buck bed... However, I do think bedding should be considered in every set up...


Makes sense and great answers / tactics - thanks Dan!
I guess I was thinking a little to literal verses combating forward to the next best thing...
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby Stanley » Sun Sep 11, 2011 2:34 am

Edcyclopedia wrote:To carry on the conversation to my level (not trying to hijack thread).

Lets say your not yet a full fledged mature buck hunter (like me) and only have 2,3 or 4-bucks on your radar screen... Even noting that My bucks are + 2 1/2 years and older, so it should be a little easier to kill (yah-right :) ) and not the majestic beasts in the +4 1/2 year range and older...

Well I like to hunt every chance I get, and this could be up to 4 or 5 times in a week.
I do have a couple dozen "other" spots to hunt, but NO known shootable bucks on many of these (at least that I can find)...

1) Should I stay home after 1 or 2 sits in each location and wait the 30-days?
2) Wait for the moon chart to wink at me ;) for these locations to be hunted (I'm trying to maximise the chances - right)?
3) Sit back a ways and observe movement trying to gain additional info?(remember it's NH and mostly woods - so seeing 50-60 yards is the norm - no fields here).

I used to hunt every minute and every day of the archery season. I did learn you have to be in productive spots. Sitting in a junk spot and staying out of your best spots is going to be non productive. You have to be in your best spots and pass up on the junk spots. Have enough good spots set up so you aren't out there just sitting.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: How many times do you hunt ONE bed ?

Unread postby NatureBoy » Sun Sep 11, 2011 2:12 pm

Edcyclopedia wrote:To carry on the conversation to my level (not trying to hijack thread).

Lets say your not yet a full fledged mature buck hunter (like me) and only have 2,3 or 4-bucks on your radar screen... Even noting that My bucks are + 2 1/2 years and older, so it should be a little easier to kill (yah-right :) ) and not the majestic beasts in the +4 1/2 year range and older...

Well I like to hunt every chance I get, and this could be up to 4 or 5 times in a week.
I do have a couple dozen "other" spots to hunt, but NO known shootable bucks on many of these (at least that I can find)...

1) Should I stay home after 1 or 2 sits in each location and wait the 30-days?
2) Wait for the moon chart to wink at me ;) for these locations to be hunted (I'm trying to maximise the chances - right)?
3) Sit back a ways and observe movement trying to gain additional info?(remember it's NH and mostly woods - so seeing 50-60 yards is the norm - no fields here).

I'm right there with you Ed. Great questions. Loved the response Dan! Super practical.
Scout, scout, scout, hunt


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