First Scouting Trip Report- Is this a doe bedding area?

[mtmaggard]

Today was my first scouting trip looking specifically for beds. I am hunting in Southern Indiana in what i would consider hill country. We have some snow on the ground and I actually didnt get to cover as much ground as I wanted since we have some bad weather coming this afternoon.

Anyways, I was super excited to find my first bed on a point roughly 1/3 down from the top of a ridge. There is just enough snow on the ground to make it stand out. I looked around a bit and saw a couple different groups of deer droppings. Then quickly noticed another bed ~15 yards away. Then about 10-15 yards below the 2nd bed I found a 3rd. And very close to it I found a 4th. Safe to assume this is a doe bedding area?

I had a treestand I had to remove clear on the other side of the ridge and half way down the hill. So as I make my way up the ridge from this area im assuming is doe bedding I find a lone bed in a smallish briar thicket about ~80 yards above these beds. Potential buck bed?

Continuing my way up to the top of the ridge I decide to drop down the other side and try to walk along the 1/3 part of other side as I make my way to the treestand that I need to get. I notice much less deer tracks on this part of the ridge. Finally get down far enough on the ridge that I find tracks that lead me to a lone bed sitting on a point. This bed was set up in a spot exactly as Dan points out for potential buck bedding areas.

I then track back towards the stand I need to get and about ~100 yards from this bed I find another lone bed sitting on a small boulder/point. This bed gave the deer a great view. Can see a far way in nearly every direction from this specific bed.

I really cant wait to get back out there and do more scouting. I didnt even cover half this big ridge area that I mainly hunt. I think the snow makes it 10x easier to find beds than it would have been with no snow (im very new to this). The videos and forums here really have taught me a lot in a short period of time.

[dan]

Sounds like a good day scouting... The lone beds are likely buck beds... The group of beds could be doe bedding or buck bedding. I would have to see it to know for sure based on your description.

[mtmaggard]

Thanks for the response Dan. I wish I would have taken some pictures to post. The only other thing I could add that may help is that the deer tracks in the snow appeared smallish to me. I should say I am no expert in scouting or determining buck tracks vs doe tracks.

[dan]

Thanks for the response Dan. I wish I would have taken some pictures to post. The only other thing I could add that may help is that the deer tracks in the snow appeared smallish to me. I should say I am no expert in scouting or determining buck tracks vs doe tracks.

Sometimes does and small bucks bed in the same general area as target bucks. Doe beds are generally not in a specific perfect spot like a mature buck tends to bed at. Does often don't worry as much about wind direction and rather bed in a circle with each doe looking a different direction.
Seriously though, keep your head on straight and think about your goals... If the spot currently only has doe and/or small buck tracks, it might be a place to monitor in the future, but if your goal is to shoot a mature buck, it might as well have no beds, cause its distracting you from seeking out mature buck beds....
The only thing doe beds are good for is for rut hunting. Unless that is your target animal.

In order to hunt and kill big bucks, you need to get into the mindset that you are only looking for big bucks. They act like a totally different species from the younger ones. Stay focused on the goal.

[mtmaggard]

I went out again today. The red dots show rough spots of beds I found. The red dots on the lower right side of the pic were found last week that I said im not sure if they are doe or buck bedding. I found a bunch of beds today showed with the small red dots in the middle. Most of these were never a single bed, often at least 2 or more beds very close to each other.

The blue dots represent the 2 single beds I found last week that I am pretty confident are buck beds. I still need to scout the upper rectangle fwiw.

As I followed the tracks along this hillside (shown with small red dots) today I found a couple beds but once I came up on a small cedar patch the frequency of beds increased. There were a couple that sat right above a drainage/cut that could see up the other hillside as well as have a view of the logging road that runs at the top of the ridge. I wouldnt be shocked to know that the deer in this area have patterned us since our main access point is that logging road.

Here are some pics of beds I found today that seemed to be in groups. It is making me think it is mainly a doe bedding area but I could be wrong. Might be time to move on to new areas.

[dan]

look like classic doe beds... Bucks would not likely bed in the open like that. Bucks would put a fallen tree behind them, a rock, or thick cover, and have the wind blow from the obstacle they are bedded against... The beds shown in this pic are in the open, and in circle formation where each deer watches a different direction. Those are likely doe beds. I drew bucks where bucks would be if bucks bedded in this picture.

[mtmaggard]

Cool. Thanks Dan.