I might have found THE bed.

[Scoutking07]

I've been doing a lot of "Beast" style scouting and hunting the past two years and have found many good buck beds, but most seemed like places that were wind dependent. And in big woods hunting it seems that these can be fickle places to hunt because the winds switches so often that when a buck bedded he may have chosen this spot because of how it was blowing just before light or when he bedded then its blowing different come evening when its time to hunt it. Its just the way it goes, but this past weekend I was scouting a new spot in an area I have been looking at for the last few months and I found one of the largest beds I've ever found and its the first "any wind" bed I've seen. The bed is at the crest of a very steep ridge/ knoll that is bordered by a few other large ridges, a swamp to the NW that has a good funnel between it and another larger swamp to the south. The bed had no defined curve showing which way the buck laid because from the tip of this knoll, the buck can visually see the entire valley all around him and point himself downwind of any wind direction the wind might be coming from. There are two large scrapes in the funnel between the two swamps about 150 below his bed with some large rubs. I'm very excited to hunt this area. I hung a camera aimed across one of the big scrapes and across the tightest part of the funnel to see what wind direction, if any in particular, he is using to cross the funnel. Here is the bed, kinda of hard to see with some leaves coming down but it is worked deep into the ground.

[cedarsavage]

Cool find. Sounds like a similar terrain to some of my places. If you feel comfortable doing it, would you mind posting a topo of how he beds?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[DrHogFan]

Cool find. Sounds like a similar terrain to some of my places. If you feel comfortable doing it, would you mind posting a topo of how he beds?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

I second that motion

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Scoutking07]

Ok here is a topo and an aerial map of the location. Judging by the rubs and scrapes from past years, it seems to me that the buck is working to the East through the pinch between potholes/ marshes. How would any of you go about hunting this set up? The red dot is where I was thinking of hunting which is the low spot between the marshes, that is where all of the buck sign and trails pinch down. I was thinking about hunting it on a North, West or Northwest wind. Any suggestions/ observations would be appreciated. Yellow dot is the bed.

[DrHogFan]

Ok here is a topo and an aerial map of the location. Judging by the rubs and scrapes from past years, it seems to me that the buck is working to the East through the pinch between potholes/ marshes. How would any of you go about hunting this set up? The red dot is where I was thinking of hunting which is the low spot between the marshes, that is where all of the buck sign and trails pinch down. I was thinking about hunting it on a North, West or Northwest wind. Any suggestions/ observations would be appreciated. Yellow dot is the bed.

Disclaimer: Please critique or correct my opinion on this so I may learn from this as well.

I don't mean this as a smart aleck response in any means at all, but really whatever wind has that buck bedded there would be the best wind to hunt there. If he beds there under any wind then I would just guess maybe a west, southwest wind that could have him bedded on the northern face of that finger. If you can play that off wind it may allow you to slip in close and kill him when he comes around the end on the finger. That's just how I read it from the maps. I'm interested to see what Dan or some of the proven Beasts would hunt it.

[TNstalker]

If it is west wind point could be any wind but east.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Scoutking07]

The reason I thought that this bed could be ideal for the buck is due to the fact that the knob on the finger you see in the topo is quite steep and is the only bed I've found that a deer can truly see danger coming from below in every direction. This would allow the buck to bed with his back to the wind, no matter which direction it is blowing from, and still keep his visual advantage. Maybe it's a stupid idea, who knows. I just know that many of the beds I've found have a distinct advantage during one specific wind where a buck beds near that military crest and catches the wind over his back while watching below. This bed seemed different to me, and judging from the depth of the bed imprint seems used very often which led me to believe this bed was optimal on more than one wind. Who knows. I'm learning too. Thoughts from experienced bed hunters are more than welcome. Thanks

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Twenty Up]

Keep in mind he could have other beds in the vicinity, so be patient and wait for that West wind and some favorable conditions if possible.
From what I've seen the mature bucks tend to "cluster bed".. They seem to seek out areas where they have advantages for a series of winds in a particular area (wind changes clockwise, generally) So a S or SW wind favorable bed may be in close proximity to a West wind bed, given the terrain, security, food, etc.. are there.

Seems like you've got a good pin on him, good luck!

[Twenty Up]

I'll add how recently were you in his bed to take these pictures?