Buck Bedding in River Bottoms?

[HunterBob]

Just curious about the experience of others with finding buck beds in river bottoms. I have found some nice tracks coming out of and into some crazy thick areas of brush and wondering if these areas can be some consistent bedding areas for bucks. I found one nice confirmed bed in the midst of one of these areas (huge rubs, tons of scat, and bumped the buck out of this spot last fall).

Can these areas be primary bedding as well, even in hill country? Most of the places I hunt are hill country with creeks or rivers passing through. The bottoms hold a lot of browse and some have areas that are so thick a rabbit would have a hard time going into.

[greenhorndave]

Tundra has a few posts on that. I'm about to scout a place this weekend that has great river bottom, so I'm eager to hear any and all.

[freezeAR]

The river bottoms I hunt are seasonally flooded. The beds I find are usually on dry ground in the swampy area.

[HunterBob]

The river bottoms I hunt are seasonally flooded. The beds I find are usually on dry ground in the swampy area.

Same here, I have found some great doe bedding and a buck bed near an area like this.

[Weezy]

I don't know about other places but they do bed in the river bottoms in my area.

[Wannabelikedan]

There are numerous factors dictating how good buck bedding is but here are the biggest ones affecting the river bottoms I hunt.

1. Pressure/size of riverbottom
Even with the most awesome looking bedding scenarios, they still won’t hold squat if bucks can’t get away from humans. Usually means you need enough acreage to weed out the competition.

2. Cover
A riverbottom is just that.....the lowest of topography before you are in water. It’s flat out flat. Very rare instances deer find terrain advantages to bed. Cover is their biggest advantage. I find the best stuff in transition on the rivers edge, around swamps/sloughs, and large breaks in mature timber.

3. Frequency of flooding in bedding
Pretty simple concept. They’re not bedding in water but you can find some dry gems cut off by high water. Bedding areas heat up and cool down year to year according to precip. Pay attention to dry and wet years. Remember the areas that hold them during both.

Wildcard is acorns. If I find oaks holding acorns on the fringes of the floodplain (biggest terrain rise and furthest extent of flooding), it really increases my confidence in dialing in on targets pre rut.

[HunterBob]

There are numerous factors dictating how good buck bedding is but here are the biggest ones affecting the river bottoms I hunt.

1. Pressure/size of riverbottom
Even with the most awesome looking bedding scenarios, they still won’t hold squat if bucks can’t get away from humans. Usually means you need enough acreage to weed out the competition.

2. Cover
A riverbottom is just that.....the lowest of topography before you are in water. It’s flat out flat. Very rare instances deer find terrain advantages to bed. Cover is their biggest advantage. I find the best stuff in transition on the rivers edge, around swamps/sloughs, and large breaks in mature timber.

3. Frequency of flooding in bedding
Pretty simple concept. They’re not bedding in water but you can find some dry gems cut off by high water. Bedding areas heat up and cool down year to year according to precip. Pay attention to dry and wet years. Remember the areas that hold them during both.

Wildcard is acorns. If I find oaks holding acorns on the fringes of the floodplain (biggest terrain rise and furthest extent of flooding), it really increases my confidence in dialing in on targets pre rut.

Awesome, this is exactly what I was hoping to start thinking about. The areas by me have some river bottoms that are so thick, it is almost impossible to access. I have found these spots around swampy areas near the rivers and on the edges of rivers.

Last weekend I scouted out a spot I have been eyeing, which another guy who hunts there told me "it's to thick to hunt." Once I found a way in I discovered anice set of tracks about 200 yds in at a place where a creek runs into the larger river. It was a crossing for what looks like some buck who is bedding there.

I couldn't get across this creek, as the water was pretty deep and the banks high and muddy, but I am thinking that it could be a nice bed for a buck. Pretty sure no one goes even as far as I did, let alone further towards where this buck might be.

Hoping to learn more about this kind of bedding. Thanks for the help!

[Chuck B]

Nothing is "too thick" in my opinion! If it is so thick that it keeps other hunters out, you likely have found a fantastic spot.

I hunt river bottoms about 60-75% of the time. And no, I don't have a wall like Dans but I have learned quite a bit over the last couple of years since adopting this style of hunting. Something that really helped me was visiting the google earth maps and looking back on the history ( you can view the maps from 10-20-30 years ago). Find a black and white map image of your area when the tree's are bare, and you will likely see some transitions of water (creeks feeding into the river, swampy land, etc). The deer are using these transitions and like to bed and travel along the transitions (just like most terrains- transitions transitions transitions). If you haven't used these older maps before, they are like gold in a river bottom setting.

Like others have mentioned however, flooding is different every year so need to adapt potentially.

[HunterBob]

Nothing is "too thick" in my opinion! If it is so thick that it keeps other hunters out, you likely have found a fantastic spot.

I hunt river bottoms about 60-75% of the time. And no, I don't have a wall like Dans but I have learned quite a bit over the last couple of years since adopting this style of hunting. Something that really helped me was visiting the google earth maps and looking back on the history ( you can view the maps from 10-20-30 years ago). Find a black and white map image of your area when the tree's are bare, and you will likely see some transitions of water (creeks feeding into the river, swampy land, etc). The deer are using these transitions and like to bed and travel along the transitions (just like most terrains- transitions transitions transitions). If you haven't used these older maps before, they are like gold in a river bottom setting.

Like others have mentioned however, flooding is different every year so need to adapt potentially.

Wow, that is an awesome strategy and a very good tool to have. Never thought of doing that on Google Earth, so thanks for the tip!

[Chuck B]

Also, I think nowadays you have to use google earth pro to see the historical imagery. I am going to attach two examples of an area I hunt and how historical images can help. One is from 1998, the other from 2018.

EAE882C9-6D3B-4713-AD09-1563BDC7617D.jpeg

B9E93D8F-EA7B-485D-9FBC-2BA2172A0005.jpeg

[HunterBob]

Also, I think nowadays you have to use google earth pro to see the historical imagery. I am going to attach two examples of an area I hunt and how historical images can help. One is from 1998, the other from 2018.

EAE882C9-6D3B-4713-AD09-1563BDC7617D.jpeg

B9E93D8F-EA7B-485D-9FBC-2BA2172A0005.jpeg

Wow, that is very interesting. I am enjoying thinking about some of these areas more, as they are plentiful on my spots. Thinking about the transition lines and how they change depending on the wetter years and drier years is giving me ideas...