What do you see?

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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adrenalin
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What do you see?

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:19 am

What do you get out of these photos? What would your observations and thoughts be if you were scouting? Pictures taken around 25th of October.
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dan
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby dan » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:46 am

Its hard to give a complete answer without seeing "the whole picture" But it look like you have a picture of a buck bed. The old scarring from a rub on one of the trees near the bed tells me its a buck bed. Not being able to see whats around the bed its hard to say if the buck is using a wind direction for bedding, but he definitely is using thick cover/ noise as a factor.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Dec 28, 2010 1:35 pm

The wind factor is a real no brainer for this spot. A wind coming from up top down to the bed and swamp would be to his advantage. The bed is in the thick stuff on the edge of the swamp near a point. It's about 150-200 yards from a bunch of oak trees. What do you think about the buck using it during the summer and early fall being that their isn't any grass in it. The hardest part is going to be finding a tree to set up in and not getting winded. I could probably sneak to within 50-60 yards of it.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby dan » Tue Dec 28, 2010 1:56 pm

The hardest part is going to be finding a tree to set up in and not getting winded. I could probably sneak to within 50-60 yards of it.

I like to wait for a wind that gives the deer an advantage, or a false sense of security and sit where my wind doesn't hit the deer.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby adrenalin » Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:31 pm

Ya the part that I am the least confident with is how the wind can change directions once you get that close to the open swamp. Seems like when I think I got it right the wind is different once I get to the swamp.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby dan » Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:38 pm

adrenalin wrote:Ya the part that I am the least confident with is how the wind can change directions once you get that close to the open swamp. Seems like when I think I got it right the wind is different once I get to the swamp.

That is something I struggle with two... I find that I cannot trust the predictions or what the wind is doing a mile down the road and have to check the wind at the swamp if I think its going to be good... Its nice to have a few back up spots.
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Spysar
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby Spysar » Wed Dec 29, 2010 1:15 am

Looks like a bare spot to me. If it's a bed, it looks like an un used one. The leaves aren't flat, I don't see any hair, and there is some greens in it. I don't think I'd hunt over something that looks like that....
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby RaisedByWolves » Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:10 am

Spysar wrote:Looks like a bare spot to me. If it's a bed, it looks like an un used one. The leaves aren't flat, I don't see any hair, and there is some greens in it. I don't think I'd hunt over something that looks like that....

X2, where there droppings in or near it?
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby dan » Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:40 am

Ya agreed... But I am assuming its timing. Probably not being used at the moment. Any bed that is worn to the dirt is worth checking into later. When I find a bed like this, I spot check the ridge to see if there is buck activity before hunting it.
With this bed, its quite likely most active when there are acorns on the ridge.
It might also be that the picture of the bed is decieving. I have found it really diffacult to capture bed photo's. Although that rub tree is defenitly a couple seasons old.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby 3dog » Wed Dec 29, 2010 10:10 am

I'm with Spy, that animal's dead or not using that spot anymore. I see a lot of beds like that with old rubs around it, occasionally I'll find a little tick mark on a tree that says he's used it that season. But even still it's not a bed I'm putting time into.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby adrenalin » Wed Dec 29, 2010 12:03 pm

The bed was not used for a while when I found it.
But I do think it is used during the summer and early season when the acorns are falling. It's right on the edge of the wet stuff and the ground is a little soggy by the bed. So I wouldn't expect to see a bed worn to the dirt like on real dry ground. Their was still a real defined trail leaving it. I should have shown the branch on the left side of the bed picture, because it was rubbed this year and snapped off meaning a buck was their with hard antlers. I'm guessing because of the location hunter pressure makes him abandon it early in the season. How much time in a bed do you think it takes to really wear them down to bare ground? In the public swamp it's pretty hard to find spots where they are left alone all season, if they didn't have to move around it sure would be easier to kill them.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby dan » Wed Dec 29, 2010 1:15 pm

But I do think it is used during the summer and early season when the acorns are falling.

Exactly... Finding beds is the easy part. Understanding when and why they use a certain spot is what kills the buck.
There are several different kinds of beds. Those only used seasonally, like late season or early season near food sources, those that use heavy cover, those that are only used in certain winds, primary bedding areas that certain bucks prefer, pressure beds, etc...
To become really good at killing bucks based on bedding its key that you strive to understand why they are bedding at a spot. Its easy to say, thats an old bed, the bucks dead. But although I have on a rare occasion found beds I think only one buck used, I think thats rare. Beds are used over and over for generations. They pick a certain spot for certain reasons and other deer will use that same spot.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby martin peters » Wed Jan 05, 2011 9:38 am

If the bed is in a area with a past history of good bucks it would be something to keep an eye on. There are reasons why a buck bedded there at one time and as long as no big changes have taken place around it then it could hold another buck in the future.
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Re: What do you see?

Unread postby PLB » Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:23 pm

ya I agree, but I would spot check it late summer or early fall quick if the acorns are falling in those oaks just to make sure! Food sources change throughout the season. He is either at the taxidermist or bedding somewhere else now though!
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