Looking For Beds In-season

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BKMississippi
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Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby BKMississippi » Sat Oct 21, 2017 8:14 am

How do you guys normally search for beds during the season? I don't want to bust a spot up that I may want to hunt this year. I'm thinking about looking while I think the wind would be wrong for a particular bed. Is that how some of you do it? For instance looking for a possible bedding location that would be good for a nw wind, but searching while I have a south or se wind.

Thanks


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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby WMA hunter » Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:11 pm

I would try to identify them from Internet scouting and then use some observation sits or trail cameras to verify, then move in when the conditions are right.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sun Oct 22, 2017 2:02 am

Last season I spent a ton of time blowing up new areas I wasn't gonna hunt during season. I got a ton of intel for this year heading to other areas during midday break. I plan to do the same thing this year. A couple times I didn't have a spot for a given wind so i just headed out at noon and scouted until I hit good sign and had good sits, but also got some extra intel on those trips in. Another thing I like to do I print a clean map of the wma I am at for just the purpose of driving all the roads on my "lunch Break" from sitting. I mark every vehicle and where they are parked. If you hunt a place consistently it shows hunting pressure really quick. I usually take and bounce that data off a sat map and can generally figure out where most hunters are sitting. It helps me mark off areas that are getting a ton of pressure.
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BKMississippi
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby BKMississippi » Sun Oct 22, 2017 2:35 am

That's a great idea. Thanks
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby Ragingun » Sun Oct 22, 2017 2:39 am

I use observation sits. Look at a map, mark a spot, walk in and sit. If I hit good sign the game plan may change a bit but that's what I'm there for. I don't wanna necessarily blow the deer out but if I bump a doe and start seeing beds I may just sit and watch if I think there is a good possibility that a buck bed, by the looks of the map, is in that area.

My other choice is still hunt the area where I end up in position to get a chance at a buck where I believe the bed to be according to the map.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby <DK> » Mon Oct 23, 2017 1:52 am

I like your plan to check bedding w opposite winds. If that is the case then you could go check the suspected areas. It will be tougher w everything green and wet days are great for washing out scent but makes it tougher to see the sign. For in season purposes I like to check transitions, field edges or creeks for tracks/sign. Then try to back track it to bedding.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby BigHunt » Mon Oct 23, 2017 2:30 am

I scout hard every winter and every spring and I find all kinds of bedding areas and sign. when I hunt it in season nothing is ever there so I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to Scout in season instead of hunting so I can find where these deer are actually at during season. I might burn up a season or two or three but in the long run I think it will help.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby Twenty Up » Mon Oct 23, 2017 3:59 am

BigHunt wrote:I scout hard every winter and every spring and I find all kinds of bedding areas and sign. when I hunt it in season nothing is ever there so I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to Scout in season instead of hunting so I can find where these deer are actually at during season. I might burn up a season or two or three but in the long run I think it will help.


This^ maybe half of my off season scouting presented decent deer bedding. The best time to scout is December-February for me. After 1 month of no hunting pressure and the deer bedding changes drastically.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby Jphunter » Mon Oct 23, 2017 4:30 am

I did it a few years ago at an area that hunt. I jumped a lot of deer doing it. And the beds are in the same spots this year. Just This last week I was able to sneak up to three different beds and watch the beds from a distance to see what was in them. There were deer in all three beds.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby tgreeno » Mon Oct 23, 2017 4:45 am

I'm already in-season scouting more than ever before. I really want to jump deer out of it, so I know it's being used. For the most part, it's next season intel.

The bedding I found last winter-spring has been hit & miss for sure. There's a big difference between finding bedding. And finding primary bedding that's being used all season!
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby grangger » Mon Oct 23, 2017 5:17 am

This is a really good topic. I like to do my in-season scouting right before or during a hard rain. I found a buck bed yesterday on a point that i want to hunt. It wasn't raining when i found it, so i might wait 3 or 4 weeks and hunt it with the right wind.
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby BigHunt » Mon Oct 23, 2017 6:39 am

tgreeno wrote:I'm already in-season scouting more than ever before. I really want to jump deer out of it, so I know it's being used. For the most part, it's next season intel.

The bedding I found last winter-spring has been hit & miss for sure. There's a big difference between finding bedding. And finding primary bedding that's being used all season!


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BKMississippi
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Re: Looking For Beds In-season

Unread postby BKMississippi » Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:14 am

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm actually going out today between lines of rain.


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