River bends in wooded areas

[PAHUNTER570]

Would bucks use river bends to bed in heavily forested areas like they do in farm country? A river cuts through a piece of public I've scouted once before but I never checked any of the bends or "S" turns on the river for bedding. Am I missing out on some potential buck bedding?

[tgreeno]

Yes you are. I would definitely look at inside corners with the right type of cover. Or elevated cut banks. Especially if it's on the opposite side of the river from the public access.

[PAHUNTER570]

Yes you are. I would definitely look at inside corners with the right type of cover. Or elevated cut banks. Especially if it's on the opposite side of the river from the public access.

Thanks! I gotta go back and check them out. One that really stands out to me is opposite of public access and everyone walks by it including myself. I'm really itching to get back now.

[Jonny]

Would bucks use river bends to bed in heavily forested areas like they do in farm country? A river cuts through a piece of public I've scouted once before but I never checked any of the bends or "S" turns on the river for bedding. Am I missing out on some potential buck bedding?

They definitely will bed on the points. I hunt a spot for gun season where I can see and shoot 3 points for about any wind. If you are in an area with good numbers, you will find beds.

Where I hunt, it's low density and I rely on pressure to put deer in the area. Wouldn't ever bow hunt it. If I did, I would sit an outside bend.

If it's river bottom, beware the winds and thermals. I have seen a north wind turn into a south wind down in the bottoms. Then you add thermals to the mix.

But definitely check it out. I think river and creeks are tremendously overlooked areas.

[dan]

It needs to have adequate cover, but yes. Absolutely. Think about why a buck beds in an oxbow. He can smell the entrance and has a water escape... They bed there cause its more secure than the rest of the forest.

[Nocturnal]

It needs to have adequate cover, but yes. Absolutely. Think about why a buck beds in an oxbow. He can smell the entrance and has a water escape... They bed there cause its more secure than the rest of the forest.

Which do you prefer morning or evening hunts in this situation? I found great bedding in one this year and tossed out some milkweed. I'd get busted setting up on him bedded. This spot I'll try a morning hunt but these spots seem real tricky.

[Stanley]

I think a deep water exit near the oxbows limits buck bedding. The big reason for this is a slow escape. The first thing a buck likes to do when detected, is get out of sight. Deep water is a slow escape. Shallow creeks are better suited for bucks bedding in oxbows. I always liked to set up in between oxbows in river bends. Much less likely to be detected for one.

The right cut bank can be dynamite and a perfect set up for the hunter. I mean your scent is blowing into the river and leave no ground scent if you come in from the river. If there ever was a perfect set up this would be it. I'm an old river rat and have killed quite few good bucks using this technique.

[dan]

It needs to have adequate cover, but yes. Absolutely. Think about why a buck beds in an oxbow. He can smell the entrance and has a water escape... They bed there cause its more secure than the rest of the forest.

Which do you prefer morning or evening hunts in this situation? I found great bedding in one this year and tossed out some milkweed. I'd get busted setting up on him bedded. This spot I'll try a morning hunt but these spots seem real tricky.

I prefer evenings, but mornings can be do-able.

[Josh_S]

Would bucks use river bends to bed in heavily forested areas like they do in farm country? A river cuts through a piece of public I've scouted once before but I never checked any of the bends or "S" turns on the river for bedding. Am I missing out on some potential buck bedding?

Absolutely get in there. Especially if inside the bend you see an obstacle like a log or rock to bed against, or if it is thick/brushy/swampy. In our state I've seen beds within S-bends in both hilly regions (think trout streams) and in slower streams (in flatter terrain). The slower streams in flatter terrain seem to have more vegetation and can be swampy in places, both providing better cover and escape routes for a buck to bed in my opinion. Around the mountain streams the buck may prefer to bed at a higher elevation due to rising thermals in his favor during daylight. Just my 2 cents. Either way, it is often overlooked and worth checking out. If theres any kind of deer numbers you'll likely see a heavy trail paralleling the stream edge..the stream creates this natural travel corridor.

[PAHUNTER570]

Thanks for the help guys. The Josh_S nailed it on the head with the type of stream it is, flatter terrain with a slower moving stream. The stream is a v shape with the bottom part of the v being the oxbow or bend I'm referring to. I placed a camera after gun season on the outside of the v and got pictures of multiple people traveling around at that point to get to either side of the stream and no deer. The stream is deep at this bend and no one wants to cross it. The inside part of the v where I want to scout is thick swampy vegetation that's head high or above with very few trees. My questions are will a buck bed in that oxbow with the deep water surrounding him, and If a buck or bucks are bedded there would they tend to face the outside of the stream to watch hunters with the wind and woods at their back or would they face the opening of the V and use the deep water as a barrier?

[PAHUNTER570]

Trying to post an image of the area I'm talking about

[dan]

The best oxbows I have found have been where the dominant wind blows into the oxbow... I agree with stan that big water can be a determent on bedding in one, but HOW DEEP IS TOO DEEP IS THE QUESTION... One of the best oxbows I ever hunted had fast deep water and the bucks crossed it daily. So, I am not sure at what point it becomes a deterrent, and when it becomes an advantage... Im sure it differs in different areas too... We could talk about it for days, and all have different thoughts, but really once you know they bed in that type of feature the only way to know if yours are getting bedded is to go check.

[HogFan07]

I'm still learning the terminology. Can someone explain or show what an oxbow is? Please and thank you.

[Dewey]

Here is a good example of an extreme river bend. Blue dot is my stand site and approach from the east. Every time I hunted this spot in any type of west wind I have seen good bucks. They bed in the point and also cruise the edge of the river bends cutting across the oxbow likely scent checking it. I have bumped bucks out of there and they head into the wind and jump across the river which is about 40 feet wide and only a few feet deep normally. Thick escape cover on the other side and they disappear almost instantly. Seems like they bed in there using sight and hearing to watch for danger coming in and monitor scent coming from the escape route across the river which rarely gets hunted. Kinda odd and opposite of what I would expect. Each spot is unique I suppose.

I haven't hunted here for a number of years so figured it would be fine to post this if it helps somebody. I don't usually post aerial pics of my hunting spots.

[stash59]

Don't know much about this. Only know I've kicked deer into some pretty deep water (probably over my head) on quite a few occasions. As long a it's not a real long swim I would't think it would matter. Then what's a predator like a cat or wolf going to do them in deep water like a large lake or river. Pretty equal footing out there.