Beds in relation to water
- Black Squirrel
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Re: Beds in relation to water
Here is a map of a bed I found relating to water. The Blue is a man made pond, not sure why the thing was shaped like it is. But the buck bed is right on the inside corner. there are a few trees and some red brush there, with a nice little hump for the bed. I haven't figured out why and when the deer beds there. It is not used with any regularity that I can tell.
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Re: Beds in relation to water
headgear wrote:I am finding several of those overlooked lake and pond areas doing some computer scouting, lots of potential out there I have yet to discover.
Dan would you say low to no ducking hunting pressure is a key ingredient in lake/pond bedding? I scouted a lot of lake/pond areas before I found good buck sign, seems like any place the duck hunters used the bucks didn't. The one area I found next to a lake is closed to duck hunting so that might explain the bucks calling it home.
I don't see a lot of great lake beds, but like the one mentioned, I see a few... The one mentioned, I kicked several deer out of last year and was doing some shooting, when I noticed a duck hunter was set up along the pond only about 75 yards from where the buck busted. I also was hunting a marsh island during gun season once and saw two guys zigzaging thru the cattails trying to bust deer. They got to the edge of the pond and jumped a nice 8 pointer and started shooting. Suddenly there was a lot of yelling and two guys stood up on the edge of the pond in camo. They were duck hunting and neither I nor those hunters new they were there... I do think duck hunting pressure puts a damper on the bedding, but the deer might get used to them to some degree... In this case, I think gun pressure which is pretty intense here, may have pushed those bucks out farther than normal... Not sure though.
I am sure that duck hunting in camo should close during the regular 9 day gun season though...
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Re: Beds in relation to water
I did a lot of scouting this year on a big public Lake/reservoir area. The area had typical hill country points extending out on the lake, but the deer did not use these "points" like you would think. I'm guessing these bedding areas were avoided because the lake presented an escape problem for the deer. I ended up finding the better bedding areas close to public roads that weren't exactly easy to access
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Re: Beds in relation to water
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17189&hilit=lake+point+bedding
Here's the initial thread I started prior to scouting. I thought maybe the deer would use the area much like typical Hill Country. I was wrong in this instance...
Here's the initial thread I started prior to scouting. I thought maybe the deer would use the area much like typical Hill Country. I was wrong in this instance...
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Re: Beds in relation to water
The bucks I see bedded on creeks/rivers are typically in oxbows as Dan showed in his post... the best way to make them better if you own the land is to drop some trees close to the creek/river in one of the oxbows. Thickness and remoteness in a U shaped bend of a river or creek screams buck bed. The other bonus is deer typically cross in these areas as well from one side of the creek to the other....
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Re: Beds in relation to water
Bucky wrote:The bucks I see bedded on creeks/rivers are typically in oxbows as Dan showed in his post... the best way to make them better if you own the land is to drop some trees close to the creek/river in one of the oxbows. Thickness and remoteness in a U shaped bend of a river or creek screams buck bed. The other bonus is deer typically cross in these areas as well from one side of the creek to the other....
Great point bucky. Easy to create or improve bedding where they "want" to bed...
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Re: Beds in relation to water
This post directly relates to the terrain I hunt 90% of the time. One question for you river bottom experts - Do you find evaluation in the river/creek bends to be a factor in bedding?
- Black Squirrel
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Re: Beds in relation to water
cbigbear wrote:This post directly relates to the terrain I hunt 90% of the time. One question for you river bottom experts - Do you find evaluation in the river/creek bends to be a factor in bedding?
deleted post, misread the statement
Last edited by Black Squirrel on Fri Jun 07, 2013 4:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Beds in relation to water
cbigbear wrote:This post directly relates to the terrain I hunt 90% of the time. One question for you river bottom experts - Do you find evaluation in the river/creek bends to be a factor in bedding?
I'm no river bottom expert but I have found quite a few beds in creek or river bends.
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Re: Beds in relation to water
cbigbear wrote:This post directly relates to the terrain I hunt 90% of the time. One question for you river bottom experts - Do you find evaluation in the river/creek bends to be a factor in bedding?
It certainly could... But thinking back most of the oxbow beds I have found have been on fairly flat land. I can only think of one that was elevated and was bedded in relation to thermals.
- justdirtyfun
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Re: Beds in relation to water
Bump for new scouting season.
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Re: Beds in relation to water
Great bump!! Love this subject. I have noticed that there is a MAJOR lack of buck beds on points near OPEN water. I think they are far more likely to run 100 yards out into cattails and stand, rather than swim across the wide open water. I can only think of one time I saw a buck swim to escape pressure, and it was late summer in a state park (aka refuge). He was cornered on a point and basically had no other option.
I have a story that might open a few eyes and minds... although I view this as extremely rare.
When I was probably 14, my Dad and I headed out for the Youth waterfowl opener. I'm guessing it was early September, as I know for a fact bowhunting wasn't in season yet. I think shooting time was after daybreak, possibly even noon on opening day. We sat and killed time at the slew edge before we headed out to set our dekes. We talked for a half hour or more. When we went wading in, we were knee deep 20-30 yards in, and all the sudden something started crashing and bounding thru the water around us, toward shore! Obviously it had to be a deer, so we went over to where the sound originated from. There it was... a deer bed on a muskrat house!
It had to be a monster swamp buck. The crazy thing was, there was no good deer habitat anywhere around. Not even a grove within a mile. It was wide open minus a public CRP field and open slew near by. The bucks bed was probably 3/4 mile off the road in a 2 mile x 2 mile section, which is pretty rare around here.
Dad hunted him a few times but never saw him. I'm sure us duck hunting that slew through out the year was why.
I have a story that might open a few eyes and minds... although I view this as extremely rare.
When I was probably 14, my Dad and I headed out for the Youth waterfowl opener. I'm guessing it was early September, as I know for a fact bowhunting wasn't in season yet. I think shooting time was after daybreak, possibly even noon on opening day. We sat and killed time at the slew edge before we headed out to set our dekes. We talked for a half hour or more. When we went wading in, we were knee deep 20-30 yards in, and all the sudden something started crashing and bounding thru the water around us, toward shore! Obviously it had to be a deer, so we went over to where the sound originated from. There it was... a deer bed on a muskrat house!
It had to be a monster swamp buck. The crazy thing was, there was no good deer habitat anywhere around. Not even a grove within a mile. It was wide open minus a public CRP field and open slew near by. The bucks bed was probably 3/4 mile off the road in a 2 mile x 2 mile section, which is pretty rare around here.
Dad hunted him a few times but never saw him. I'm sure us duck hunting that slew through out the year was why.
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Re: Beds in relation to water
What about points of land jutting into large lake like backwater pond areas? This spot I jumped 2 deer at the red dot. They ran in the direction of the arrow to the other side...amd fast. Couldn't confirm doe or bucks. There was a rub in the area but not sure it was a rut rub or bed rub. The wind was North northeast. The purple areas are where I found tracks. When it doesn't rain, it's mostly muck with only a little bit of water. Maybe a foot or at most 2 in the very middle. In the slews you only need rubber boots.
So do you guys think they will only bed and travel like this when the water is low or will they still bed and travel when it has more water in it?
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So do you guys think they will only bed and travel like this when the water is low or will they still bed and travel when it has more water in it?
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Re: Beds in relation to water
Just to clarify, the wind would be blowing from the land side of the oxbow? Would the buck face the direction of the river, or the toward the land since it's unlikely a predator would approach from the water without being heard?
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