Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

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adrenalin
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Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:19 pm

So this might sound kind of crazy but I think I found a shed that is 20-30 years old maybe more! A week ago I scouted a new marsh and right away found some good bedding areas. About a half hour in I found a good primary bed out in the cattails. It was under a small tree with a little redbrush around it and completely surrounded by water. After standing in it I noticed a shed from last year burried in the cattails and frozen in the water so chipped it out and it would be a decent buck for public land about 120" with both sides. So pretty cool already. I scouted the rest of the day and found a bunch of other real good beds and marked some trees to hunt from. So yesterday I went back to take a closer look and fine tune my setups from last weekend. I was tracing back from the bed I found the shed in towards the area I was going to setup my tree several times. Whenn I stopped to take a look around from standing in the bed I thought, man this is such a good area it could hold a few more bucks. So I started looking deeper in the cattails and noticed a bush/ small tree about 30 yards further out kind of hard to see. So I walked over to it and was confirmed it was another primary bed only about 5 foot diameter at the base of this bush surrounded by water and cattails. As I was looking at the tree I noticed an old weathered stick coming up out of the ground right at the base of the tree. What the heck? That looks like a tine! Holy crap theres 2 more!! It is a shed, burried with only half the tines exposed and covered in marsh grass. So as I pulled the grass and sticks away I could see it was buried under about 4 inches of dirt! As I pulled it out the end of the main beam crumbled and broke apart. I could see that the tree roots had actually grown over the end of the main beam. So how long does it take for 3-4 inches of dirt to form from decay and tree roots to grow over the shed, not to mention rot the antler?? The base of the tree was about 10" diameter so who knows, but one thing is for sure, bucks were bedding there back then and still today. I will post a bunch of pictures but not sure how well they turned out on my phone. This one is the tree and bed.
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adrenalin
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:21 pm

This is how the antler looked buried in the grass
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adrenalin
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:23 pm

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adrenalin
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:25 pm

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adrenalin
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:26 pm

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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:28 pm

This is the shed from last weekend.
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:39 pm

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A couple other bed shots
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All of these beds looked to be primary beds used during the fall and still now. All in great locations. I had a heck of a time finding huntable trees near by for most. 1/2 them will be ground setups in the cattails. Sorry for all the posts but I think I have the picture thing figured out now!

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Dewey
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:04 pm

I can't even imagine how many sheds are swallowed up in the muck and are preserved for a years and years in cattail marshes. Not many mice and squirells out there to chew them up either.

Good job finding those! Takes a good eye to spot them in marsh grass.

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PK_
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby PK_ » Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:15 pm

That is pretty cool.
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby admiral04 » Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:16 pm

Awesome find

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Jackson Marsh
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:20 pm

Awesome finds! Cool stuff!

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purebowhunting
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby purebowhunting » Tue Apr 09, 2013 2:32 pm

Thats sweet! Congrats on the unique find!

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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby blizzardhunter » Tue Apr 09, 2013 3:30 pm

Thats a really cool find.
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby Stanley » Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:52 pm

Great find.
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Re: Proof that bucks use the same beds year after year!

Unread postby dan » Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:50 pm

Looks like you got a great spot there! Every now and then I will find one of those real old sheds out in the swamp... Makes you wonder how old they are.


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