Pre-rut bedding

[dan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3urOtDAHxmY&lc=z22rufla5qfhv5nfdacdp432bms24gspyash2t1e31dw03c010c

[hunting_dad]

Another great video Dan and another good reminder to really think about the sign you’re seeing. I think one of my biggest issues is not thinking enough about the when and how after finding sign. My big focus this year is to slow down my scouting a bit and think about the bigger picture and how it all ties together. Thanks for posting.

[backstraps]

Good video Dan, I watched this last night.

I think this video has a message that is super important , especially to new BEAST hunters.
Trying to determine WHEN a bed is being used so a hunter will have a better idea WHEN to hunt the bed.

When I started bed hunting, I thought "hey I found a buck bed, now I've got him" First couple seasons found me hunting beds where no bucks were home.

I personally think the area you shown in video is a great example. Finding a bedding area torn up with rubs etc would make a hunter want to hunt there. AS IT SHOULD...but you gotta hunt him while he is there. To me the prerut and rut bedding areas now are the easiest to identify and predict when to hunt. Understanding how and when a buck rotates his bedding throughout the year (not just the season) really can speed the learning curve of bed hunting

Anywho, another good video, thanks for making and posting.

[Tennhunter3]

looks like a good spot for next season.
Really enjoyed the video.

[Edcyclopedia]

[stash59]

Another good video. Solid advice on the timing. And another little tidbit that is so obvious, but, I never even considered. The buck trails through the cats will have the tops of the tails busted up/off, from the antlers!!!

[Dewey]

Looks great. I would be real excited to hunt that spot next season.

[greenhorndave]

Good video Dan, I watched this last night.

I think this video has a message that is super important , especially to new BEAST hunters.
Trying to determine WHEN a bed is being used so a hunter will have a better idea WHEN to hunt the bed.

When I started bed hunting, I thought "hey I found a buck bed, now I've got him" First couple seasons found me hunting beds where no bucks were home.

I personally think the area you shown in video is a great example. Finding a bedding area torn up with rubs etc would make a hunter want to hunt there. AS IT SHOULD...but you gotta hunt him while he is there. To me the prerut and rut bedding areas now are the easiest to identify and predict when to hunt. Understanding how and when a buck rotates his bedding throughout the year (not just the season) really can speed the learning curve of bed hunting

Anywho, another good video, thanks for making and posting.

This ^

I've seen one really good bed that I thought this might be the case: location was almost bulletproof and there was a trail that led off it, into the cattails and on to the mainland. There was a bush just before the mainland that was absolutely shredded, but still in the cattails so it wasn't visible from the mainland, especially when vegetation was up.

While I suspected rut, this video helped me understand the timing better. It's probably actually before rut. Great insight.

(no, I didn't hunt that spot this year because my access to it was gone after I moved out of that town... And even though I got a draw from months earlier, I chose not to take advantage of the situation. Bummer, because the bed was used often and that area held some good ones)

[NorthStar]

This is super helpful information. I was scouting yesterday and the property had 8 inches of snow and I didn’t cut a single deer track all day. I know deer use this swamp in the early bow season so my plan is to scout it once the snow has melted. In the areas I hunt, most of the beds I find are vacant once gun hunting starts.

[MNarrow]

Great video!!!

From podcasts and videos and such, it seems like these marsh bedding areas are a lot of the time being used pre-rut mostly (second half of October).

How do you determine marsh bedding that is being used early season (second half of September)? Is it mostly in vicinity to secluded oak islands with acorns dropping?

Next season I would love to dive into these marsh island bedding areas on opening week (mid-September in Minnesota) but my fear is I will be hunting them too early in the year and hurting my chances on them pre-rut.

[Josh_S]

Thanks Dan. Your scouting videos are priceless. I would have guessed the faint trail was used by bucks. Good call on the broken cattails on the heavy trail. That's something I'll look for now.