Bedding near roads experiences.

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Tennhunter3
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Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Sun Jul 07, 2019 3:09 pm

Today while scouting a saw a rub crossing the road in my local wma I stopped my truck in the road and walked over checked it out and began following the trail. After 50 yards I found a arm sized rub and bed looking right at the road.

The strange thing is the trails and rubs leaving bedding just disappeared. I did a 50 yard circle then a 200 yard circle around the bed. Found not a thing. It's a well used bed I just can't make sense of it.

Last week I found a buck bed overlooking the highway 40 yards away.

Last season I found very large buck watching a ATV trail 40 yards off it.

I've also found bucks overlooking hiking , horse trails in state forest.

I'm just amazed at how close mature bucks get to humans. They really hunt us as much as we hunt them.

What's some of your experiences with bedding near the roads?


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funderburk
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby funderburk » Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:51 pm

Was scouting maybe two months ago and jumped a big deer 15 yards into a thick cut. Got down in his bed and could see the top of my truck. It only spooked when I caught its tracks walking into the bed. I backed up and took 2 or 3 steps into the thick and it bolted. If I would have stayed on the walking trail, it would’ve let me walk right on by.

15 yards from the walking trail. 30 yards from my truck. Eye opening for sure.
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mheichelbech
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby mheichelbech » Mon Jul 08, 2019 4:54 am

Killed one of my biggest about 60 yards from where we parked. I think what helped is my brother kept on walking past the area like normal whereas I stopped and went to the new spot I had discovered. Brother thought I was crazy to hunt there until he saw the buck on the ground. Guessing the buck watched us and then watched my brother keep on walking and he missed me somehow and then did his normal thing.

That said it was right a the border of legal light when I shot him.
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Hawthorne
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby Hawthorne » Mon Jul 08, 2019 4:58 am

On my private I have good bedding within 25yds of a main road.Killed two decent bucks from it. I have yet to find big buck bedding close to the road in Michigan on public land
hambone
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby hambone » Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:29 am

We have almost too many parking areas on public, here in Missouri. I don' t have a lot of years behind me hunting on public. But in the few years I have been at it I have found some good buck beds overlooking parking areas. One of the closest beds to parking is a 1/2 acre weed patch that is separated from the parking lot by a 40 yd wide dried up slough. Those weeds are full of beds and sheds. Last season I had an encounter there with a mature buck towards the end of shooting light. The buck got spooked by another hunter who was leaving early, before I could get a shot. One of my most anticipated spots for this coming season, is within 200 yds of a parking area. The bed overlooks the main walking trail.
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby JonNc » Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:01 pm

I found multiple buck beds this off-season that we’re either watching the actual road cars drove on to access area and/or the parking spot.

Another spot I found 3 beds with huge rubs and fresh droppings 50 yards from the only access trail. The beds were freshly used even though I found hunter sign from this season. I think this buck is one that feels safe if he was able to escape safely and keeps returning. This spot is on my list this year.
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby tuff4x4 » Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:47 pm

Bought a house with 20 acres. There is a narrow valley out the back door of the house and 100 yards away on the south side of the valley there is a very nice buck bed, that looks at the back door of my house.

The first time I found it I was a little rattled. He watched me remodel my house that winter.

Have a couple of public spots where there is a very steep ridge next to the parking lot. Nobody circles around the ridge to watch their own car/truck but plenty of bucks are keeping tabs on who is there.

Mature bucks do hunt us, thank god they don't have guns!!
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headgear
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby headgear » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:25 am

I have a handful of public spots close to the road, not easy to find but once you find a few of them you start to figure it out. I love these because they can be easy to scout and spot check but it hasn't been easy finding a buck using the bed despite years worth of sign in the small bedding area, just have to be patient and be ready to pounce when a buck shows up.
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby flgahunter114 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 12:27 am

Last year while scouting a swamp, I went to every tree I could find looking for bedding. It was mostly chest high grass and water. Anyway, I found a huge bed on a hump after following a trail into the grass off the edge. Come gun season I was slip hunting through knee deep water to see if I could find him in that bed. This is only 60 yards off the side of the road, but the trail was gone. I figured he had relocated so I started walking the edge back to the road. He bolted from a bed he had 20 yards from the road before I knew what was going on. This spot you can see hunters driving by as it is an overlooked spot with not much attraction to it.
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Bonecrusher101
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby Bonecrusher101 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:03 am

Image

Image

Killed this big bodied buck bedded between the fence and the road on a hill top last season. Its a beautiful little overlooked spot that has visible fence from the road above and below, But as the road bends it creates a a taper and there's a nice 200 yard section between the fence and road.

I trusted my scouting but felt like a fool sitting 120 yards off the road watching cars. Then I watched him stand up and walk straight to me to investigate what I was. He only had half his rack but I liked him and touched the trigger. He ran back to his bed and died. They are very close to roads and trails more often than people realize.
Be original and Enjoy every step along the adventure.
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Bonecrusher101
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Re: Bedding near roads experiences.

Unread postby Bonecrusher101 » Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:16 am

Image

There wasn't a lot of sign except directly where this buck was bedded. He would walk downhill at dusk or dark and hop the road and eat all night in the ag fields below. There was a lot more sign along the field edges and everyone who hunted it was near the fields.
Be original and Enjoy every step along the adventure.


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