Bedding to food: does a mature buck avoid the pressure after dark

[Tylerrewa]

Hello all,
In doing some scouting on Google earth I found a marsh bedding area that really peaks my interest. The one problem is...what side do I set up on.

I have not been able to walk this marsh and due to time constraints if I do on observation sit I'm not sure if I'll be back to the area the rest of season.

The area lays out on the west side of a river bottom that gets a prevailing west wind the road is .75 miles to the east of the river. And ther river also wraps around the north edge, in the middle of a 10 acre patch of cattails is a 2-3 acre stand of pines/tamarack. On the west edge is a patch of Mid-aged aspen and more pines. The 2-3 acre patch of pines has its main trails going through it W to E.

The food on the east side is in a higher pressure area(lots of oaks so small game and lots of 2-tracks. But it is a mile to that big stand of oaks, to the West of the bedding area about 2 miles through really good cover and presumably little pressure is another big stand of maples and oaks.

A big buck doesn't get old being stupid so I'm leaning that a big buck is going to go west at dusk and I plan on checking tracks along the river bank when I head in to get a better idea of their direction of travel. Any hunches based on your experience and what I've laid out. Thank you for your input.

[Weaver.b]

Good question! I am curious to see how others answer. There are alot of spots that I see on the public land around my house that look like they would be great bedding sights but there are very few that set up nicely where it would make sense for a buck to bed and have a NW/W prevailing wind at his advantage.

[dan]

I would expect bucks to leave the bed in the evening heading towards the food not the wind. They come into there beds wind to nose, and sometimes use wind in traveling, LIKE ENTERING A FIELD AT LOWEST ELEVATION TO CATCH DROPPING EVENING THERMALS, or to go down wind of a known stand, but I really don't see much of a correlation of wind direction and bed exits.

[Weaver.b]

but I really don't see much of a correlation of wind direction and bed exits.

Learn something new everyday...that is good news for me because I have cyber scouted alot of spots and never put boots on the ground because I thought nahh he wont tail wind towards the fields and pressure

[Stanley]

I agree with Dan. I might also add if there is a lot of pressure the buck will wait until dark to leave the bed.

[dan]

I agree with Dan. I might also add if there is a lot of pressure the buck will wait until dark to leave the bed.

Yea, they are a little more hesitant to head into the wind for sure. But if you can get close enough, they do move a little.

Its a short window, but the way I see it a buck has what I refer to as a "safe zone" which is an area around his bedding area that he feels safe in cause he can hear, smell, or see whats going on. Get to the edge of that safe zone and you should get daylight shooting. That's easy in thicker cover like swamp and marsh, harder in open woods.