Big bucks love ditches...

[magicman54494]

fencelines, drainage ditches, small patches of trees or brush right up against farm buildings, wet patches in hay fields that dont get cut, brushy fingers off of woodlots. these are all spots that will hold a big buck. one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen shot locally came from a wet spot in a hat field. it didnt get mowed and my buddy cut across the field after driving a woodlot and jumped that buck right out of that overgrown hay. I know of a big 10 point that lived in a tiny woodlot that was right up to a barn. ditches are good in any wetland area. they are the first place I scout. way back in time many of these wetlands had ditches plowed in an attempt to drain the land and make it useful. they are easy to spot on aerials. I have one that is a 1.5 miles back in and i'm going to get in there with a camera soon to see what is using it.

[matt1336]

I’ve seen bucks hunker down with a doe during the rut in fence lines. Helps keep the rifraf away I guess. Fence lines are some of the first areas I scout on a farm.

[minnesotahunter]

Thanks for posting the video Dan. Did you end up shooting something bigger that year? Do you have a ton of old footage that aren't necessarily kills? Thanks again

Ended up blowing an opportunity on the same farm at a giant, and ended up taking a slightly bigger buck. Yea, I have a lot of old stuff, but lost alot too, some really great stuff. Because it was stored on tapes that eventually deteriorated before getting saved

Bummer. One more question. Of all the big bucks you've encountered/killed over the years was the biggest one killed-missed-encountered? I've seen all of your videos but thought I'd see if one stands out that may have gotten away.

[dan]

Thanks for posting the video Dan. Did you end up shooting something bigger that year? Do you have a ton of old footage that aren't necessarily kills? Thanks again

Ended up blowing an opportunity on the same farm at a giant, and ended up taking a slightly bigger buck. Yea, I have a lot of old stuff, but lost alot too, some really great stuff. Because it was stored on tapes that eventually deteriorated before getting saved

Bummer. One more question. Of all the big bucks you've encountered/killed over the years was the biggest one killed-missed-encountered? I've seen all of your videos but thought I'd see if one stands out that may have gotten away.

I had a typical 12 point I think would of went around 200 inches that did not follow the path I thought he would take and went straight under me... I shot him right between the shoulder blades into the spine straight under my stand. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. He was flapping around on the ground and I hooked up my bow rope and lowered my bow. When it hit the ground next to him he jumped to his feet and ran off and no one ever seen him again.

I had a buck I hunted for several years in a public marsh come in after shining him in a field the night before ajacent to his bedding... I had him at 8 yards, but he sensed something and walked straight away with a tree between us... That buck was 9 years old and scored 217 non-typ. It was shot later that same year by a guy on the other side of the marsh... There are a few others. I never seem to get the record breakers,

[minnesotahunter]

Thanks for posting the video Dan. Did you end up shooting something bigger that year? Do you have a ton of old footage that aren't necessarily kills? Thanks again

Ended up blowing an opportunity on the same farm at a giant, and ended up taking a slightly bigger buck. Yea, I have a lot of old stuff, but lost alot too, some really great stuff. Because it was stored on tapes that eventually deteriorated before getting saved

Bummer. One more question. Of all the big bucks you've encountered/killed over the years was the biggest one killed-missed-encountered? I've seen all of your videos but thought I'd see if one stands out that may have gotten away.

I had a typical 12 point I think would of went around 200 inches that did not follow the path I thought he would take and went straight under me... I shot him right between the shoulder blades into the spine straight under my stand. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. He was flapping around on the ground and I hooked up my bow rope and lowered my bow. When it hit the ground next to him he jumped to his feet and ran off and no one ever seen him again.

I had a buck I hunted for several years in a public marsh come in after shining him in a field the night before ajacent to his bedding... I had him at 8 yards, but he sensed something and walked straight away with a tree between us... That buck was 9 years old and scored 217 non-typ. It was shot later that same year by a guy on the other side of the marsh... There are a few others. I never seem to get the record breakers,

Man those ones hurt but I think you've made their cousins, uncles and friends pay the price. I deflected an arrow on a nice buck in WI last year and thankfully didn't wound it. Maybe we'll meet again this year. Keep up the good work and we appreciate the videos. I know they take time and it can't be cheap buying a new smarta... shirt for each one.

[Dhoff]

Do you find that bedding in ditches or along creeks that are thick will be avoided if they dont have a visual advantage from the edge. Like for instance if there is corn on both sides instead of being more open field.

[dan]

Do you find that bedding in ditches or along creeks that are thick will be avoided if they dont have a visual advantage from the edge. Like for instance if there is corn on both sides instead of being more open field.

Some of the bedding areas are set up to see you coming from one way, smell you from the other, and some are set up in thick to hear you coming. And some are set up with a combination of those. You would need to look at the actual beds to know for sure.... Beds set up soly for sight might not be there when its corn, and some beds might not be there when its beans... The ones i like best are always there.

[Mopar1169]

Some of my best spots on my place in MN are along washouts or ditches from river flooding. The bigger bucks use them to move throughout the property to stay out of sight during the daytime. The best ones are where it is grown up thick on both sides and then it is normally open about 5-6 feet creating a nice travel corridor. A few years ago I had a really big 10 point chase a doe by me at 50 yards right in the bottom of one of those cuts. Couldn't get a shot off with the shotgun just too thick. A lot of fun hunting those spots when the chasing starts.

[Findian]

I don’t have experience in farm country but in the big woods I see them feed in And travel them in September and travel thru them during the rut. I call them more of a drainage ditch. Not all of them have buck usage. This one is a ok one the area inside is more open allowing more plants to grow in there while the yellow lines basically are where the thick starts creating a nice security for the deer.
The pond edge to the North is where you will see the bedding start the thermals will basically flow to bedding allowing the bucks to smell the drainage.

I don’t know if anyone else has seen this type of buck behavior but it is something that I’ve been keying on for early big wood buck hunting the past two years.