Odd bedding areas for mature bucks...

[Czabs]

So far in my bed finding adventures I have only found 1 bed in an "overlooked" location. I am absolutely ecstatic to find out who's using it and when I can hunt it!

[Stanley]

Great thread.

[Swampthing]

Now this wouldn't be considered primary bedding at all. But the largest buck I have ever seen hunting was a approximate 180 ". It was during our opening weekend gun hunt. He was bedded in the middle of a 160 acre plowed field. No trees, no bushes, no grass, NOTHING for cover. Just the tiny depression he was laying in. I bet there were a hundred vehicles that drove past him that weekend. But I spotted him somehow. Amazing sight to see.

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[headgear]

So far in my bed finding adventures I have only found 1 bed in an "overlooked" location. I am absolutely ecstatic to find out who's using it and when I can hunt it!

I finally found one myself, little point of brush out into a bog right next to the parking lot, the buck has a pond between himself and the hunters and probably watches them all hit the woods. Its kind of wide open out there but he has a couple of escape routes if needed. The other hunters seem to follow his rub line in the opposite direction, I would have too had I not known better and headed the other way.

[Swampthing]

Years ago i read an article in North American Whitetail i beleive. And a guy had been trying to figure out a local monster non-typical . He ended up spotting him bedded in the middle of a field of soybeans. The beans just barely concealed him. Just the antler tips poking out above . And he bedded there for many days. He waited for the right conditions and crawled in there and killed him right in his bed . It was a very cool story. I wish i could come across that article again .

[PLB]

Now this wouldn't be considered primary bedding at all. But the largest buck I have ever seen hunting was a approximate 180 ". It was during our opening weekend gun hunt. He was bedded in the middle of a 160 acre plowed field. No trees, no bushes, no grass, NOTHING for cover. Just the tiny depression he was laying in. I bet there were a hundred vehicles that drove past him that weekend. But I spotted him somehow. Amazing sight to see.

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That's just a smart, old buck right there imo!!!

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[dan]

bump

[Timmy]

This year during gun hunting me and a couple friends were going out to drive a couple smaller patches of cattails on the public. He layout of his land is perfect for doing drives and im sure it gets hit with hunters every day. We never jumped a deer i the cattails but as we were walking across an open field of knee high grass back to the truck we jumped a 170" buck bedded with a doe! I never would have thought a deer would be bedded here. And we had to get literally 10 yards away from them before they got up!

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[RaisedByWolves]

Absolutely couldn't agree more. The game has changed for us guys that like to DIY. The more I hunt and scout, the more I focus on these types of spots. Most of my best beds are all close to a road, crops and water and are overlooked by other guys. Gotta think outside the box like Dan said. Spots that you might get laughed at for hunting.

[Bigb]

Wow, those are some crazy pictures. I've always overlooked the old barns on the land I hunt, may have to give them a second look next time I'm out scouting!

[Crazinamatese]

I been searching for a big buck on some MFL property this last couple of months. So far, I found some huge rubs on thick trees and two beds within 100 yards of the highway. One of the beds is at the end of a steep ridge (point), overlooking the road where hunters have been parking to access the land. There is a marsh across the road with thick canary grass and red brush. From looking at the sign and the terrain, I think this certain buck has a condensed core area, and he survives thru our mistakes.

[MOBIGBUCKS]

One year while I was gun hunting out in Kansas, I decided to hunt this farm that was mostly a giant pasture with rolling hills. This place was 640 acres with very little cover. It was fairly overlooked by most of the people who had permission to hunt there. It was overlooked by me until one day in particular...I remember being about a mile from any gravel road and I remember coming up on a patch of honeylocust brush. In addition, the farmer had bulldozed these trees into a big pile on the upper end of this patch of brush. I remember saying this looks pretty good; all of a sudden the wind switched and atleast 20 deer come running out of this patch of brush. One of which was a buck in the 150 to 160 range! I was like wow

I continued my hunt on another bigger chunk of woods to the south of that location and never seen much else that morning. On the way back to the truck that morning, I decided to go over to my little patch of brush on that hill again. I was thinking maybe there might be something else that didn't get up the first time I came by there....I stood at the top of this little hill and looked down on the edges of the brush wondering if I should walk in there. From my point of view, I couldn't see much so I jumped up on one of those honeylocust trees and peered down into the thick stuff. All of a sudden, I heard sticks crashing and something running from me about 10 yards away One of the biggest whitetails I have ever seen in my life had got up not 10 yards from me!!! That giant buck ran right on the edge of this thick patch of brush until he hit a canal and stayed low while he was running away (All of the deer from earlier in the morning ran up on the hills and exposed themselves to be shot. This buck had played this game before...) I'll never forget that experience or buck for the rest of my life. He was a true B/C probably mid 180s if I had to guess.

Later that spring, I went back to scout that little obscure piece of brush out in the middle of the pasture. I found his bed and sat in it for 20-30 minutes. It was funny because that old buck had not only smelled me come in to that area, he could also see where I was standing. Even when all of the other deer got up and ran off he stayed confidently in his bed. However, I must have got a little to close for comfort the second time I visited that brush patch...

I learned a lot from this deer and it kinda opened my eyes up to obscure bedding spots. From now on these are the spots I look for first when I scout a piece of ground

If you look in the Buck Bed pics thread you can see a pic of his bed and his view from the bed. It's like the second or third pick with the thick growing locust trees in the background.

[xpauliber]

The spot where I took my 180's 15 pointer was a bed under a bent over willow limb out in an otherwise open pasture with just that lone tree... Everyone else just walked right by heading to the woods...

After finding his bed, were you able to glass it from a distance and see if he was using it?

[dan]

The spot where I took my 180's 15 pointer was a bed under a bent over willow limb out in an otherwise open pasture with just that lone tree... Everyone else just walked right by heading to the woods...

After finding his bed, were you able to glass it from a distance and see if he was using it?

Yes. But he had to stand for me to see him

[dan]

Great story and example.

One year while I was gun hunting out in Kansas, I decided to hunt this farm that was mostly a giant pasture with rolling hills. This place was 640 acres with very little cover. It was fairly overlooked by most of the people who had permission to hunt there. It was overlooked by me until one day in particular...I remember being about a mile from any gravel road and I remember coming up on a patch of honeylocust brush. In addition, the farmer had bulldozed these trees into a big pile on the upper end of this patch of brush. I remember saying this looks pretty good; all of a sudden the wind switched and atleast 20 deer come running out of this patch of brush. One of which was a buck in the 150 to 160 range! I was like wow

I continued my hunt on another bigger chunk of woods to the south of that location and never seen much else that morning. On the way back to the truck that morning, I decided to go over to my little patch of brush on that hill again. I was thinking maybe there might be something else that didn't get up the first time I came by there....I stood at the top of this little hill and looked down on the edges of the brush wondering if I should walk in there. From my point of view, I couldn't see much so I jumped up on one of those honeylocust trees and peered down into the thick stuff. All of a sudden, I heard sticks crashing and something running from me about 10 yards away One of the biggest whitetails I have ever seen in my life had got up not 10 yards from me!!! That giant buck ran right on the edge of this thick patch of brush until he hit a canal and stayed low while he was running away (All of the deer from earlier in the morning ran up on the hills and exposed themselves to be shot. This buck had played this game before...) I'll never forget that experience or buck for the rest of my life. He was a true B/C probably mid 180s if I had to guess.

Later that spring, I went back to scout that little obscure piece of brush out in the middle of the pasture. I found his bed and sat in it for 20-30 minutes. It was funny because that old buck had not only smelled me come in to that area, he could also see where I was standing. Even when all of the other deer got up and ran off he stayed confidently in his bed. However, I must have got a little to close for comfort the second time I visited that brush patch...

I learned a lot from this deer and it kinda opened my eyes up to obscure bedding spots. From now on these are the spots I look for first when I scout a piece of ground

If you look in the Buck Bed pics thread you can see a pic of his bed and his view from the bed. It's like the second or third pick with the thick growing locust trees in the background.