How often does a buck use the same bed?
- rfickes87
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How often does a buck use the same bed?
Loaded question I know. Many variables here. My experience with running cameras on beds shows them using a bed about 1 in every 3-4 days that the wind is right. But this would have been on public and before the season started. Im disregarding the times the wind was wrong. Anyone ever see a bed get used every time the wind is correct? Can this be common if its a low pressure area that the buck feels safe? I would imagine this is possible in very remote areas or low pressure areas. Dan if you read this I think i heard you in a podcast say your 180" shotgun buck used his same bed every time he had the right wind?
Just curious what the frequency is that everyone is seeing? I keep finding buck beds but I have yet to find one that's heavily used. I keep digging deeper and deeper, cyber scouting and scouting in the field. I just wonder if such a bed actually exists that is used every time the wind is right, or almost every time.
Perhaps a bedding "area" in general can be used often but not always a single bed.
Also what's everyone's opinion on finding beds that are used year round? What I have found so far seems to be seasonal. Are year round beds typically more common or less common than seasonal beds?
Too many questions... Haha
Just curious what the frequency is that everyone is seeing? I keep finding buck beds but I have yet to find one that's heavily used. I keep digging deeper and deeper, cyber scouting and scouting in the field. I just wonder if such a bed actually exists that is used every time the wind is right, or almost every time.
Perhaps a bedding "area" in general can be used often but not always a single bed.
Also what's everyone's opinion on finding beds that are used year round? What I have found so far seems to be seasonal. Are year round beds typically more common or less common than seasonal beds?
Too many questions... Haha
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
- Stanley
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
I think realistically a bed is used by different bucks more often than repeat usage by the same buck. One reason I know this occurs is most of the big bucks I know of on a property are killed by other hunters. I saw three bucks this year that were over 160 inches. I killed one, the gun hunters killed one, and the other was killed by another bowhunter. These were the top end bucks on three different properties.
I think most areas are like this and more so in some areas. Now if your looking to find those three bucks in beds it isn't happening. But a good bed attracts other bucks.
I think most areas are like this and more so in some areas. Now if your looking to find those three bucks in beds it isn't happening. But a good bed attracts other bucks.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
That is real dependant on a lot of varibles... I have seen bucks use the same bed over and over for years, and I have seen bucks move daily. Its also dependant on the type of bed, such as a rut bed vs a primary bed vs a bed near a food source... One thing is certain, if you find a buck on a pattern and you know where he is bedded, you need to strike fast. They often do jump around a bit between areas.
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
rfickes87 wrote:Loaded question I know. Many variables here. My experience with running cameras on beds shows them using a bed about 1 in every 3-4 days that the wind is right. But this would have been on public and before the season started. Im disregarding the times the wind was wrong. Anyone ever see a bed get used every time the wind is correct? Can this be common if its a low pressure area that the buck feels safe? I would imagine this is possible in very remote areas or low pressure areas. Dan if you read this I think i heard you in a podcast say your 180" shotgun buck used his same bed every time he had the right wind?
Just curious what the frequency is that everyone is seeing? I keep finding buck beds but I have yet to find one that's heavily used. I keep digging deeper and deeper, cyber scouting and scouting in the field. I just wonder if such a bed actually exists that is used every time the wind is right, or almost every time.
Perhaps a bedding "area" in general can be used often but not always a single bed.
Also what's everyone's opinion on finding beds that are used year round? What I have found so far seems to be seasonal. Are year round beds typically more common or less common than seasonal beds?
Too many questions... Haha
My observations have been once the velvet comes off, bucks really start to move around, shift areas a lot. So if your season opens Oct 1, most times, all bets are off. Its why you either are hunting hot sign, information from an observation sit or historical data from past seasons.
Deer densities, hunting pressure, terrain features...all play a big part into bedding habits.
- strutnrut716
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
I'd be interested to hear from the southern beast members...Down south where they don't have snow and the wide changes in seasons. And see if they think bucks use the same beds year round down there. For example, up here (Wis) bedding in the dead cold and snow of winter is much closer to the food. I'm thinking they don't see that down there.
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
By the time fall rolls around the woods change, say Sept/Oct time-frame...
Food sources like acorns, beech nuts, apples & mast forage, etc. change too, say Oct/Nov time-frame... Not to mention leaves dropping and the woods becoming bare (less security)...
Mating and reproducing is on their minds com Nov/Dec, maybe sooner, maybe later...
My experience around my urban hunting is the deer pockets, as long as they are not pushed out, can be productive and the bucks will follow come rut...
Big Woods experience tells me they can hop over a hill or two in minutes and almost undetected (exception is snow) to escape pressure. They are more nomadic in nature and many appear to have 3-7 day loop to fulfill their survival and instinct needs...
Food sources like acorns, beech nuts, apples & mast forage, etc. change too, say Oct/Nov time-frame... Not to mention leaves dropping and the woods becoming bare (less security)...
Mating and reproducing is on their minds com Nov/Dec, maybe sooner, maybe later...
My experience around my urban hunting is the deer pockets, as long as they are not pushed out, can be productive and the bucks will follow come rut...
Big Woods experience tells me they can hop over a hill or two in minutes and almost undetected (exception is snow) to escape pressure. They are more nomadic in nature and many appear to have 3-7 day loop to fulfill their survival and instinct needs...
Expect the Unexpected when you least Expect it...
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
dan wrote:That is real dependant on a lot of varibles... I have seen bucks use the same bed over and over for years, and I have seen bucks move daily. Its also dependant on the type of bed, such as a rut bed vs a primary bed vs a bed near a food source... One thing is certain, if you find a buck on a pattern and you know where he is bedded, you need to strike fast. They often do jump around a bit between areas.
I find this to be 100% true. I am certain as the food source changes the buck beds can change. The older a buck gets the less they move out of their comfort zone. I've been watching an old 8.5 year old buck and he moves less every year. He is ornery and takes command of food sources and beds. Funny part is he is not interested in does much.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
- pewpewpew
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
Take this with a grain of salt, I'm just learning about beds...
I just had a camera up on three beds, with rubs on each side of the beds, over the course of three weeks. Over the course of three weeks, I captured only one doe bedding for about 2 hours, from maybe 10:00am to noon. I don't think this stuff is an exact science. In the hill country I'm scouting, there are only so many flat spots for a deer to bed on points. To me, finding them is very predictable. Knowing when/who is using them, is challenging.
I just had a camera up on three beds, with rubs on each side of the beds, over the course of three weeks. Over the course of three weeks, I captured only one doe bedding for about 2 hours, from maybe 10:00am to noon. I don't think this stuff is an exact science. In the hill country I'm scouting, there are only so many flat spots for a deer to bed on points. To me, finding them is very predictable. Knowing when/who is using them, is challenging.
- rfickes87
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
Thanks for all the info guys. I really appreciate it.
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
- rfickes87
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
Stanley wrote:dan wrote:That is real dependant on a lot of varibles... I have seen bucks use the same bed over and over for years, and I have seen bucks move daily. Its also dependant on the type of bed, such as a rut bed vs a primary bed vs a bed near a food source... One thing is certain, if you find a buck on a pattern and you know where he is bedded, you need to strike fast. They often do jump around a bit between areas.
I find this to be 100% true. I am certain as the food source changes the buck beds can change. The older a buck gets the less they move out of their comfort zone. I've been watching an old 8.5 year old buck and he moves less every year. He is ornery and takes command of food sources and beds. Funny part is he is not interested in does much.
You guys hit on some key points that I have already been bringing into question since I found this one buck bed last week. My questions in this post are eluding back to my other post I made the other day (link below)...
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39370
Some points I want to try and make here. So I'll try and summarize this all up the best I can...
Last summer I joined the beast. Learned so much about bedding, it was a whirl wind of info. So I went out early Sept and scouted and found beds right away. Along the leeward edge of an overground CRP green briar field. I had to swim thru the briars to get to the beds, I was all cut up that day haha ripped wholes in my clothes. Anyway, the cameras showed tons of great buck activity thru Sept. My confidence was sky high going into the season. I was picking out a spot on my wall to mount one of them, haha. Then the season started and I got skunked! I thought, maybe I was setting up all wrong during my hunts...maybe I did who knows???? But I do know several factors I'm sure played into what went wrong. But one thing is for certain is that I know now that those were just "summer" beds, for whatever reason they were only used in the summer. Food, Cover, Bachelor grouping, many factors on why. Also the DNR cut down alot of the brush in that field. There's another major factor. Loss of cover, Once the leaves fell, that area became wide open and the bucks left and retreated for thicker cover...
Now, fast forward to now. It's end of winter just about, still not spring quite yet. Currently, the deep hilly woods i hunt looks exactly as it will for "most" of the upcoming archery season. So my plan has been to go find as many good beds as I can now, (not in summer). I feel like this has got to be the best time to scout to prep for next season. That bed I found last weekend I think will be one of those beds we are talking about that'll last all year long. That bed I found I feel like is prime real estate property for the deer using it, they won't give it up. i could imagine maybe they'll leave for the summer because of an abundance of bedding but should surely return once fall comes and cover goes away again. It just doesn't seem like a bed that'll be subject to change seasonally. Like I was saying I'm just looking and scouting for beds that will not change based on seasons.
I think these areas will provide me with the best odds come hunting season. Not something I'll strike out and get skunked on like last year, ya know?
"Pressure and Time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time..."
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
Once the snow melts and before green-up is the best time to find beds. You need to be looking for the well used & worn beds in an ideal security area (also correct wind) with little to no human impact. These are going have the highest probability of having bucks in them the majority of the time.
If it was an exact science, we'd all have multiple booners hanging on our walls.
If it was an exact science, we'd all have multiple booners hanging on our walls.
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
I will say this...I hunt low pressure. Majority of bucks will always start to shift once the velvet peels. I call it the velvet shift. All my cams show very regular predicted movement until the velvet peels. I am not talking about soybean field deer either. Cams that are back in the timber.
It's why if you can get on good deer early in sept odds go way up in killing one. Many states do not open that early.
It's why if you can get on good deer early in sept odds go way up in killing one. Many states do not open that early.
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
The best thing you can do is learn all the primary bedding aREAS. Then when sign or a certain buck shows up in an area you got a pretty good idea of where he will be bedded. I have killed a lot of deer by finding good sign at or near a bedding area and setting up... I have also killed a few by glassing, shining, or getting a pic and then hunting all the bedding areas in that area till I kill him.
As far as when to scout... The best time is in season. If you tag out early, go scouting. Bedding areas repeat themselves. Some have big bucks for a week or two, and the rest of the season have dinks. You need to figure out the timing part of it.
As far as when to scout... The best time is in season. If you tag out early, go scouting. Bedding areas repeat themselves. Some have big bucks for a week or two, and the rest of the season have dinks. You need to figure out the timing part of it.
- checkerfred
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
dan wrote:The best thing you can do is learn all the primary bedding aREAS. Then when sign or a certain buck shows up in an area you got a pretty good idea of where he will be bedded. I have killed a lot of deer by finding good sign at or near a bedding area and setting up... I have also killed a few by glassing, shining, or getting a pic and then hunting all the bedding areas in that area till I kill him.
As far as when to scout... The best time is in season. If you tag out early, go scouting. Bedding areas repeat themselves. Some have big bucks for a week or two, and the rest of the season have dinks. You need to figure out the timing part of it.
So like in my case when I saw that good buck using that one particular area, will he likely be back around the same time next season?
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Re: How often does a buck use the same bed?
checkerfred wrote:dan wrote:The best thing you can do is learn all the primary bedding aREAS. Then when sign or a certain buck shows up in an area you got a pretty good idea of where he will be bedded. I have killed a lot of deer by finding good sign at or near a bedding area and setting up... I have also killed a few by glassing, shining, or getting a pic and then hunting all the bedding areas in that area till I kill him.
As far as when to scout... The best time is in season. If you tag out early, go scouting. Bedding areas repeat themselves. Some have big bucks for a week or two, and the rest of the season have dinks. You need to figure out the timing part of it.
So like in my case when I saw that good buck using that one particular area, will he likely be back around the same time next season?
Yep...
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