Jim Ward's buck beds

[dreaming bucks]

Jim got back to me after I emailed him about seeing pictures of some of the beds he's made, and later a buck shows up and uses it.... I will attach pics he sent me, but he says this little 1 1/2 showed up 19 days later after he built the bed.... He claims the 1 1/2's get kicked away from their Mom, and are looking for a new home, or bed in this case...... He said his site will be updated shortly with new pictures of this system...... www.whitetailacademy.com

[Stanley]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like it did work.

[Black Squirrel]

Thanks for the update, cool.

[dreaming bucks]

I guess I always thought you wanted the canopy to be directly over the top of the deer bed, meaning the leafy branchy part of the tree, so that it would cover the deer a little more, or hide them better.... but according to those pictures, it looks like the main part of the canopy is well out in front of them.... interesting.

[headgear]

I hope they finally show some pics with some mature deer, sure a buck using it is cool but I don't think those are the results we are all looking for.

[dreaming bucks]

Well like I said to start with, what he told me is, you will usually only get young bucks use the new beds because they get kicked out by Momma, so they are looking for a new place called home. I think the idea is, this young buck will continue to use this bed and someday down the road in 3 or 4 years, will be your mature buck.... He kind of made it sound like it's hard to draw mature bucks to these new beds because they already have their beds established for a few years... At least that's the way I am taking it anyway...

[kenn1320]

Silly me I was staring trying to find a bedded deer in the first pic.

Look at the big picture guys, you can have no bucks bedding on your place, or a bunch of young bucks that if given a secure place to bed will eventually get older with a bit of luck. Now when they get older, they are bedding on your land. Or lets say you have a big one bedding on your land. What better way to get him up and moving around, then to have a hand full of younger bucks scattered across your property. Now he is wondering what the buck over by the apple tree is doing. Is he with a doe? What about the buck over by that small plot you put in, what is he doing? All these bucks on your property are going to be marking scrapes/rubs with their scent. The next one will check it out and mark over that one and so on and so on. This can create a lot of movement on your property. Come spring you scout your land and check all locate all the beds on your land. Come next season you arent bumping as many deer, cause you know where most of the beds are. You will still get does randomly bedding, just happens sometimes. Remember there is "no pixie dust" as Dan says, this is just another tool to up your odds. If the bucks arent bedding on your land, good luck getting close to them during day light hours.

[dreaming bucks]

Good points Kenn ! I'm going to try it next spring, all I'm out, is my time.

[ Post made via Android ]

[headgear]

I valid point guys, I guess it's worth a shot to see if they stick around. On the other hand what are the odds of these younger bucks heading off your property for more secure bedding as they get older? Like Dan says, mature bucks like to bed in specific areas for a reason. If you are providing just ok bedding I would think the big guys are going to gravitate to the most secure places anyway and you might end up stuck with young bucks year after year.

I don't want to sound like it won't work but I do have my doubts on how constistently you could keep mature bucks on these beds.

[Haus86]

That's cool stuff. Thanks for the update.

[dreaming bucks]

I agree, you can't just go sticking them anywhere, but I think if you follow some of the guidelines that Dan has talked about, to where mature bucks bed, you will have a better chance.... I'm thinking off of points, one side or the other 1/3 of the way down is just one example. Maybe a bed on each side of that point for different wind direction, etc.....

[ Post made via Android ]

[kenn1320]

I don't want to sound like it won't work but I do have my doubts on how constistantly you could keep mature bucks on these beds.

Here is how I look at it, your view may or may not be different. Lets say you have no bedding on your land. You have 3 options as I see it.
1. Improve your habitat with various cuttings/plantings creating beds or desirable bedding conditions.
2. Wait a hundred years till your property structure changes to something deer want, or pray for a tornado/storm to do the work for you.
3. Keep hunting the land and complain there aren't any big bucks bedding on your land.

These are wild animals and you cannot make them do things they don't want to do. However there's a reason they are bedding on your land or your neighbors land. Your goal should be to make your land more attractive then the land the big bucks currently are using.

[dreaming bucks]

Here is a link to the youtube video of him making the bed.....

http://youtu.be/W1yzWwtd2e8

[GRFox]

Cool!

[gjs4]

Another property guy.... Lapratt, northjeff, Ward and ??????

Knowing that Kenn and I did the Lapratt thing- there is so much that can be done to one's groudn to improve it. But the part that is always missed online imo is assement of your ground intra and inter ...... no need to make beds if you have it and if you have 10000 beds they only deer when they need/want to be there.

I am the damn Penzoil of deerhunting snake oil....... finally getting it nwo though....learn from everyone out there who has the pics to prove it...... but know youre goals, find your deficiencies and the rest is cake....

for what it is worth...i may be one of the biggest TL fans out there......I havent done squat with my ground in 2 years beyond stand maintenance due to some crazy home stuff......and i see more mature bucks each yr..including now...