Step by Step Beast Style

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BigHills BuckHunter
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Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Sat Mar 02, 2013 7:22 pm

Just wondering what you guys do or the steps you take/gameplan on hunting a SPECIFIC buck bed.

What factors do you consider?

What are some tips you have learned?

This is all very general but you could use a specific example if you want.

Thanks BHBH. 8-)


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xpauliber
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby xpauliber » Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:07 am

I think Dan covers it really well in his videos. Especially the part about physically sitting in the buck's bed and seeing what he can see.

I had read on here about someone putting a fluorescent orange hat in the bed at the height that a buck's head would be and then selecting a tree and stand height based off of that.

I'm not saying it's easy, but I can see how you could play the wind more easily if you knew the exact piece of dirt you were hunting as opposed to just hunting a general area.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby Arrowbender » Sun Mar 03, 2013 3:35 am

In my experience......1st of all I find it hard to compare marsh buck bed hunting and Hill Country bed hunting. I find that HC bucks are more random on their actual bed choice than marsh bucks; and then even more so with farm country bucks. The bed ROOM though is what I concentrate on. These seem to be more akin to what Dan describes in the Marsh Buck Vid.
To me, a bucks Bed Room is the general area that he will bed in under certain conditions; usually wind dependent; but I'd say more forgiving (to him) than a specific bed. Meaning that most buck bed rooms will have several to many actual bed sites that he can use depending on wind, hunter travel, farm activity, farm animal activity etc......
I find these harder to pin down than a well worn marsh bed, simply because their use is more sporadic thus less "wear". I am hoping to get better at this because up until now I have found most of them by actual sightings of use.
Now once I have figured out where their bedroom is, I have had good success on getting a crack at them.
I will have to say that once these bedrooms are located, they will be the same year after year. So a lot of times (seasons) you will find a substandard buck coming to call when hunting the different bed rooms.
Oh yea, did I mention that my MO is to bend their travel path out of their normal routine to get them just barely out of their comfort zone during daylight? This allows me to hunt a specific sight a little more frequently. I am not contaminating actual "sacred ground" so if the buck doesn't hear me he has no reason to traipse through my entry/egress path. Win/Win.
That's just me though !
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby PK_ » Sun Mar 03, 2013 6:15 am

Find potential spots on map
Confirm them by foot
Look for beds that would not show on map
Look for clues to which bedding area will be most used during hunting
Find the heaviest exit trail and/or funnel nearby
Figure out what wind I can hunt the bed(or bedding area)
Find trees and plan entrance/exit for any wind possible
Stay out of there all summer
Look for fresh big buck sign and hunt immediately and accordingly.

That is pretty much the game plan.
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Southern Man
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby Southern Man » Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:10 am

Arrowbender wrote:To me, a bucks Bed Room is the general area that he will bed in under certain conditions; usually wind dependent; but I'd say more forgiving (to him) than a specific bed. Meaning that most buck bed rooms will have several to many actual bed sites that he can use depending on wind, hunter travel, farm activity, farm animal activity etc......


Can you generalize at the size of these areas of multiple bedding locations? The bedROOM as you call it?
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby admiral04 » Sun Mar 03, 2013 1:42 pm

PalmettoKid wrote:Find potential spots on map
Confirm them by foot
Look for beds that would not show on map
Look for clues to which bedding area will be most used during hunting
Find the heaviest exit trail and/or funnel nearby
Figure out what wind I can hunt the bed(or bedding area)
Find trees and plan entrance/exit for any wind possible
Stay out of there all summer
Look for fresh big buck sign and hunt immediately and accordingly.

That is pretty much the game plan.
look for tracks to know the bed is being used where? Within hiw clise if the bedding area? Getting to close would dusturb the area wouldnt it?

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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby dan » Mon Mar 04, 2013 1:31 am

look for tracks to know the bed is being used where? Within hiw clise if the bedding area? Getting to close would dusturb the area wouldnt it?

In some areas its easier than others, but checking potential crop fields a distance from the buck bedding area, or creek crossings in the mud... You stay away from the beds and check from a distance.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby Arrowbender » Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:04 am

[quote
Can you generalize at the size of these areas of multiple bedding locations? The bedROOM as you call it?
][/quote]

Southern,
I can try. One of my favorites is bordered by a swamp and the top of an oak ridge. The ridge is only maybe 15 to 30 feet high, but fairly abrupt. It runs generally North and South but has some "bowls" and "points" if you will. Most seasons it will harbor only one buck along it's 1/8 mile length, but sometimes there will be two; one favoring each end. Both ends of this ridge I would consider a "bedroom". I know of beds that get repeated use but because of how fickle they are used from year to year I just hunt it as a general area or "bedroom" and basically leave it "sacred". Because my style is to call them to me; I am afforded the luxury of not entering it and risking blowing them out.

So... to answer your question; actual size is dependent on the transitions. These two "BR"s are different in size but are very distinguishable. Swamp on one side and the openness of a mature hardwoods on the opposite side of the ridge. The actual beds could be just about anywhere along the swamp side of the ridge along a 80 to 120 yard line. The top of the ridge is 20 to 60 yards from the swamp.

Bucks usually bed along the ridge but travel north and south along the swamp. So I can hunt on the opposite side of the ridge with the goal of calling them over just as they are getting ready to get up and start moving.

I also consider some points of ridges bedrooms if there isn't a particular bed that is noticeable. Some of these were found by bumping bucks out over the years, but seemingly never from the same bed. Then setting up outside of that transition and being successful calling one out of it. That spot would now be considered a Bedroom and be sacred. Those types of bedrooms are generally smaller, maybe only 30 X 40 yards or so. Although the area I would consider "sacred" would be larger. I need to try and figure out how close I can get without being detected. Usually only from a single direction.
They are bedding in these spots because it gives them advantage so I need to be careful.

I hope this helps.
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Southern Man
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby Southern Man » Mon Mar 04, 2013 8:13 am

Yes that helps. That is how I tend to look at things down here... beddin areas, not individual beds.

Buck "beds" have been extremely hard to find for me. I could be walkin right past them and not know it. They don't seem to be as distinct as the pics of beds I've seen posted on this forum. So, I've been content to look at these spots that I know / assume hold a buck as bedding areas rather than push for the individual bed. Does that make sense?

I've often thought the reasons for this is that bucks aren't using a particular bed over and over but rather will use the area itself, and that area could be quite small or fairly large, just depends. I could be way off here.
Another reason I've considered is leafdrop. Leaves drop late here. Bein predominately oak & hickory woods, leaves on oaks will hold longer, dropping as late as late November, sometimes later. Scouting in winter, sometimes beds, from early season and/or rut timeframe, are covered and not easily seen or found. I could be way off here too.
Then again, I just might not know what I'm lookin for either :mrgreen: Dan has said, the more you find, the easier it is to find them.

At any rate, I was curious how you looked at the size of buck beddin areas in a general sort of way. Thanks.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby dan » Mon Mar 04, 2013 9:20 am

A lot of bedding areas its hard to define beds... Even in marsh it can be. Marshes are easier for the main reason that the vegetation gets knocked down and forms the shape of a deer that is easy to recognize.
In most primary bedding areas, everywhere, deer have multiple beds. One of my most productive big buck bedding areas ever that has produced numerous big bucks has about 30 beds in it...

They do use the same exact spots over and over. I have watched in just about every terrain. The exact spot they bed has to have some unique characteristics. Some bedding areas have multiple spots like this, some only one or two... Beds that don't get used daily, can be very hard to see by someone whom is not used to looking at them.

On points in hill country they will bed where they have the best wind advantage... They may be in a bed 10 or 15 yards from where they where the day before, just based on a slight wind change.
On rolling hills, wind speed or angle may shift how high or low they bed because it may change where the thermal current meets the actual wind...

I have seen bucks get up and change beds during the day because of a wind shift. The best bedding areas will have beds close by that will cover most changes in the wind.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby Southern Man » Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:56 am

Great Dan, thanks. I understand the knocked down vegetation, I've seen it in leaves in the woods. But vegetation is what's missin in the areas I'm concentrating on, leaves too sometimes. It's not that I pass the thicker areas, there just aren't many, but big bucks are there. It does get frustrating.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby PK_ » Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:10 pm

admiral04 wrote:
PalmettoKid wrote:Find potential spots on map
Confirm them by foot
Look for beds that would not show on map
Look for clues to which bedding area will be most used during hunting
Find the heaviest exit trail and/or funnel nearby
Figure out what wind I can hunt the bed(or bedding area)
Find trees and plan entrance/exit for any wind possible
Stay out of there all summer
Look for fresh big buck sign and hunt immediately and accordingly.

That is pretty much the game plan.
look for tracks to know the bed is being used where? Within hiw clise if the bedding area? Getting to close would dusturb the area wouldnt it?

[ Post made via iPhone ] Image


I like to check funnels if possible, but transition lines or food sources away from the bedding works too. When I find a fresh track cutting a funnel I take into account how fresh it is, what the wind has been doing and guess if he was coming or going to a nearby bed(ding area) and go from there. I generally check these during midday of my hunting trips, many times you come up empty but when you find a fresh track (or brand new big rubs) and you know where the buck beds are, doe bedding areas are, preferred food is and where others are hunting, it can all come together.

I got onto a few real good bucks last year and was surprised how easy they were to read, unfortunately I didn't close the deal on those particular bucks but I sure learned a lot and gained a ton of confidence in certain tactics.
No Shortcuts. No Excuses. No Regrets.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby JakeJD » Tue Mar 05, 2013 2:34 am

Bender,

I am very curious about your strategy to set-up close and call them out. I hunt all farmland country, and I have been unsuccessful in finding any primary beds like Dan describes. Maybe I don't know what to look for, but I walked countless miles last year with not a single "home run" bed to show for it. A lot of the areas that I walked I have hunted before and was familiar with the deer activity, even then I struck out.

Through hunting experience, I have found a few areas that typically hold bucks, like the bedroom that you described. Can you be a little more specific on your "calling them out" strategy? Time of the year? Time of the day? Which calls? Calling sequence?
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby JoeRE » Tue Mar 05, 2013 9:36 am

Arrowbender's strategies seem similar to how I see things I think. I hunt classic ag land with small woodlots and strips of cover as well as hill "bluff" country with limited ag and everything in between. Generally the big buck bedrooms that I find are very small just like Dan says - from a few feet to an acre or two. I notice a number of beds in each but there often do seem to be a few, maybe a couple, that are more worn from repeated use...probably a result of prevailing wind directions. Does take over the bigger areas that most hunters notice are bedding areas. Big buck bedding areas are almost always dictated by good field of sight in front and wind (and generally thick cover) from behind the bedded deer in spots that do not get disturbed. What I see often are a big buck may have 3 or 4 primary bedding areas in a 40, 80, 100 acre chunk of land...always the spots that don't get disturbed for one reason or another and where he has his wind/sight/cover advantage. I rarely have access to everywhere a big buck beds - often only a corner of it really. That means I wait until conditions are as close to perfect as possible because I can't maneuver much. Being patient gave me great rewards once I committed to it.

Like others say, most of these primary bedding areas are used by more than one buck at one point or another, it depends how dominant any one particular buck is. I have seen a few bullies push every other 2 year old or older buck out of a particular area.

I like to set up just on the edge of these core areas and do some very light sparring in the mornings in early season, before leaf drop. I break out the horns far earlier than most people do to do this. I am talking sounding like a couple 2 or 3 year olds tickling the tines together tick-ticktick-tick, 20-30 seconds that's it. That is the only type of rattling that constantly works on big deer early season in my opinion. I have not tried rubbing a tree but I could see that working sometimes. I don't try blind grunting, I think people overdo that and bucks don't grunt that much in early season anyway. Remember the big boy is probably within 100 yards already if you set up right so he will probably just appear. I have called in a dozen mature bucks this way probably. If it doesn't work, and I still think he is using that particular bedding area, I will get aggressive and try to get him right around his around his bed naturally - the "beast" method.
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Re: Step by Step Beast Style

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Tue Mar 05, 2013 11:52 am

Great stuff.

I found a point that comes off a a field. I have seen bucks and does come out of this bedding area. Bucks with large tracks bed in there leaving their rubs sometimes but like I said the does bed there too.

Why would both bucks and does bed together and is this rare to see? It seems mature bucks seem to bed alone most of the time im my experience.


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