Should I scout buck beds in July

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buttonbuck
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Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby buttonbuck » Sun Jun 30, 2019 3:02 pm

I got my eye on a new chunk of public. Should I scout it hard and find all the buck beds or am I just screwing up the area?

Also I just got my first chance in 3 weeks to sit in front of a dvd player and watch the first three chapters of Hill country. Awesome! Ive been listening to the podcast and will be buying all the dvds.


Im pretty sure I remember Dan saying in a podcast "if you don't have the intel, go get it". I just want to make sure I'm remembering this correctly.


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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby Bogle » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:42 am

Yea, jump in there and get it figured out. If possible, wait till you know it is going to rain pretty good and then scout it just prior to the rain. It will help minimize the damage.
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:46 am

I don’t think you will screw anything up. But the bedding you find now will probably be different come October. Unless you have an early September opener in which case it may still be similar.
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby brancher147 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:47 am

Double post :doh:
Some do. Some don't. I just might...
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby Lockdown » Mon Jul 01, 2019 1:17 am

brancher147 wrote:I don’t think you will screw anything up. But the bedding you find now will probably be different come October. Unless you have an early September opener in which case it may still be similar.


x2

Just a tip, I learn way more when I cyber scout and go in with a plan. Sometimes I’ll even rank suspected bedding areas, meaning I’ll pick which area I think will be best, 2nd best, and 3rd. Then when I’m in there I’ll see if I’m right. Whether I’m right or wrong I do my best to figure out why. That’s the thing you need to keep asking yourself. WHY.

I feel I learn more when I “put myself to the test” so to speak. Then always go back and cyber scout your findings to make more sense of it. Don’t get discouraged if your results are lackluster in the beginning. It takes time to get good at it.

Mid summer can be tough, too. Lots of foliage to hide old rubs and beds. The more you scout the more you’ll learn, so it’s definitely not a waste of time.
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby lotusnmo » Mon Jul 01, 2019 2:51 am

I would agree with the cyber scouting. if you targeting reward sides of hills you could find something. Flat ground where you can't see more than 20 yards would get pretty frustrating tho.
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby tapout155 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 3:33 pm

I can’t imagine it would help much. Bedding seems to change quite a bit once season rolls around or as good sources change. Examples being acorns dropping in September or October and corn and beans.
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:53 pm

It depends on the location how much it may/may not impact a specific buck.

In many locations mature bucks typically bed in the same bedding areas all year long (confirmed by many telemetry studies) even in heavily hunted state like PA. They may have 2-5 different core areas (bedding areas) but those remain pretty consistent in a lot of locations and the bucks tend to use each of them throughout the year. every buck is a little different. Deep winter areas typically have different winter/summer locations (yarding) and of course during the rut on any given day a buck might bed down in close proximity to a hot doe, but that only lasts a day or two and then they typically make it back to normal bedding areas. We tend to hypothesize a lot but telemetry studies don't always align with our "educated guesses" or "expert" observations.
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby <DK> » Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:37 am

Absolutely! Anything you can do while they are in velvet. Just try not to scare the heck out of them. If you havent done it before, you need to prep yourself for summer scouting though. Mainly for bugs or snakes (depening on your area). After you get comfortable w that its great! Get ya some Rynoskin cloths
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Re: Should I scout buck beds in July

Unread postby sdonx » Tue Jul 02, 2019 7:01 am

I do it. Especially for setting cameras. My biggest Beast fault has been wearing myself out along with any good will thats left with work and family during the season. Then theres the Holidays, my jan ohio muzzleloader. I have started after season hunting till May. But then momentum gains thru the summer. I dont get to scout Ohio typically till I drop my daughter off in PA to college. Summer scouting is way tougher. Bugs, the heat, lack of visibility. All in all way better than not doing at all IMO.


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