Best ways to locate buck beds
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Best ways to locate buck beds
What are your major successful ways for finding buck beds? Some properties I hunt, they have been easy to locate and where expected, some not so much.
My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
- oldrank
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
I will usually first cyber scout an area. I cyber scout almost daily. After I feel that I have found an area that may hold bedding I go check it out. With all the knowledge I find on here it has made it a very cut and dry process.
There are also beds I find that are hidden in little spots that are not so easily found on a map. These terrain style beds are usually tucked in a thick area. Grape vine tangles or grown over fields or small hidden chunks of cover. Most have a elevation advantage..even if its just a piled up hump of dirt. These ones seem to be very overlooked n I love finding them. I feel I am getting better n while scouting Im getting to where I think " oh that looks bucky" then check em out n find a bed. Always cool to find these beds..they feel like little gems.
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There are also beds I find that are hidden in little spots that are not so easily found on a map. These terrain style beds are usually tucked in a thick area. Grape vine tangles or grown over fields or small hidden chunks of cover. Most have a elevation advantage..even if its just a piled up hump of dirt. These ones seem to be very overlooked n I love finding them. I feel I am getting better n while scouting Im getting to where I think " oh that looks bucky" then check em out n find a bed. Always cool to find these beds..they feel like little gems.
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- Edcyclopedia
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
FOLLOW DAN!
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- Hawthorne
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
I have kicked more bucks out of autumn olive thickets than any other habitat in my area combined. If you find it on a hill or rise there will most always be a buck bed. There was a guy on the qdma forum who recommended landowners to plant. They reemed him a new one because it's invasive.
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- oldrank
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
Hawthorne wrote:I have kicked more bucks out of autumn olive thickets than any other habitat in my area combined. If you find it on a hill or rise there will most always be a buck bed. There was a guy on the qdma forum who recommended landowners to plant. They reemed him a new one because it's invasive.
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They love the Autumn olive. Tons of it around here. I have found alot of beds in it too. They love to set under it. It kinda makes a little cave for them the way it grows.
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- seazofcheeze
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
oldrank wrote:Hawthorne wrote:I have kicked more bucks out of autumn olive thickets than any other habitat in my area combined. If you find it on a hill or rise there will most always be a buck bed. There was a guy on the qdma forum who recommended landowners to plant. They reemed him a new one because it's invasive.
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They love the Autumn olive. Tons of it around here. I have found alot of beds in it too. They love to set under it. It kinda makes a little cave for them the way it grows.
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I've seen this as well. They will eat the leaves and berries too.
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
oldrank wrote:Hawthorne wrote:I have kicked more bucks out of autumn olive thickets than any other habitat in my area combined. If you find it on a hill or rise there will most always be a buck bed. There was a guy on the qdma forum who recommended landowners to plant. They reemed him a new one because it's invasive.
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They love the Autumn olive. Tons of it around here. I have found alot of beds in it too. They love to set under it. It kinda makes a little cave for them the way it grows.
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That stuff is all over an area I hunt and definitely bucks bedding in it...under it. Love that stuff.
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
mheichelbech wrote:What are your major successful ways for finding buck beds? Some properties I hunt, they have been easy to locate and where expected, some not so much.
My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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Public or private, transitions in cover and topography.
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- whitetailassasin
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
Singing Bridge wrote:mheichelbech wrote:What are your major successful ways for finding buck beds? Some properties I hunt, they have been easy to locate and where expected, some not so much.
My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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Public or private, transitions in cover and topography.
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I wondered the same thing, maybe if private and your having hard time finding the beds they might not be on that parcel
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- Lockdown
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
What has helped me find beds is LOTS of cyber scouting. Look at a property multiple times. I often do this days apart. Sometimes you notice things you overlooked before. I make my best guess at where the beds will be. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. And yes there are times when I don't find much at all. That's normal IMHO. Not every property has great bedding.
The important thing is to be thorough in the field. When you find a bed ask yourself why its there. You might have expected it to be there and already know why its there, but analyze everything anyway.
After I find beds I always go back home and cyber scout it some more and relate what I saw to what I see on the aerial. Doing this has helped me tremendously.
The more you cyber scout and put boots on the ground, the better you'll get at finding beds.
The important thing is to be thorough in the field. When you find a bed ask yourself why its there. You might have expected it to be there and already know why its there, but analyze everything anyway.
After I find beds I always go back home and cyber scout it some more and relate what I saw to what I see on the aerial. Doing this has helped me tremendously.
The more you cyber scout and put boots on the ground, the better you'll get at finding beds.
- PK_
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
I think the best way would be to train a bed dog.
We have deer dogs, blood dogs and shed dogs. So I know it could be done.
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We have deer dogs, blood dogs and shed dogs. So I know it could be done.
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Rich M wrote:Typically, hunting FL has been like getting a root canal
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
whitetailassasin wrote:Singing Bridge wrote:mheichelbech wrote:What are your major successful ways for finding buck beds? Some properties I hunt, they have been easy to locate and where expected, some not so much.
My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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Public or private, transitions in cover and topography.
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I wondered the same thing, maybe if private and your having hard time finding the beds they might not be on that parcel
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That can definitely be the case and when it is it is time to create bedding... If possible.
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- wmahunter
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
mheichelbech wrote:What are your major successful ways for finding buck beds? Some properties I hunt, they have been easy to locate and where expected, some not so much.
My most successful has been post season with a snow and following tracks or just walking around in areas where I would expect to find them...Lee side of a hill, thickest areas of small woodlots on agriculture, spots where a buck can see what he needs to see and smell what he needs to smell, that is looking at areas that if I were a buck seeking security (or does), where would I bed. Also following a trail until it peters out.
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Using a closed contour map (1 ft contours) is the fastest way I have found potential bed sights here in FL. Then boots on the ground verifies it.
Certain points and high sports on a topo I have realized are possible beds as well.
There was a topic on here about the topo "Bench". Out of 3 benches I checked out this weekend 2 were used beds and the last was not.
- headgear
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
The #1 thing I look for is places other hunters don't want to visit because of water or distance. Those are usually the easiest to find, after that I start looking for some of the overlooked spots close to parking, trails, roads but those are very dependent on the local layout, I don't seem to find too many of them but enough to keeping trying. After that it is just kind of gaining experience and knowing what to look for, places where a buck can use the wind and thermals or terrain where nothing is going to sneak up on him. You can get pretty good at it after a while and pick out a lot of beds from aerials. You absolutely still need to put boots on the ground because for every 10 or 20 spots that look good on aerials you might find 1 or 2 quality bedding areas. You will almost always find beds is locations you look for them but recognizing the best spots from the average spots so you don't want to waste too much time hunting can take some practice.
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Re: Best ways to locate buck beds
PK_ wrote:I think the best way would be to train a bed dog.
We have deer dogs, blood dogs and shed dogs. So I know it could be done.
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They even have porn dogs now!
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"One of the chief attractions of the life of the wilderness is its rugged and stalwart democracy; there every man stands for what he actually is and can show himself to be." — Theodore Roosevelt, 1893
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