Buck Beds and Transition lines

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Jimmy wallhanger
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Buck Beds and Transition lines

Unread postby Jimmy wallhanger » Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:27 am

Two part question.

First, I have been hitting the areas other people wont go like swamps and marches. Im finding buck beds, what do I do next? Do I follow the trails leading out and try to set up on one about 60 to 75 yards away and just kinda hope he uses that trail leaving his bed? Im thinking of maybe doing some observation sits once i get the beast stand. Also some exits from the cattails lead into VERY thick woods that honestly I dont think I could ever have a shooting lane, I was maybe thinking of setting up soem dead brush for a makeshift blind , but Im hesitant as I dont want to tip anyone else off.

I was also following along teh edge of teh cattail and swamp today and seen trails leading into the thick stuff, often near the exits I found scrapes. Do you guys set up so you have a shot at the exit?

Thanks.


"I don't care if you use it or not, I could care less, There's no money in it for me, Im not making any money from scent-lok... I'm making a little bit of royalties from the saddlehunter suit"
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Trout
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Re: Buck Beds and Transition lines

Unread postby Trout » Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:37 pm

I have a 10 question checklist I run through when I find a bed

1.) What time of year is the bed being used?
2.) What wind direction is this bed being used during?
3.) What can the buck smell in this bed during a rising or falling thermal?
4.) How is he entering the bed?
5.) How is he exiting the bed? Whats the closest food and water?
6.) How far can he see from the bed?
7.) Guesstimate how far he can hear from the bed
8.) What is the closest huntable tree or ground spot I think I can get to that is out of his line of sight/earshot?
9.) How can I get to that tree on the wind he is using this bed that won't get me winded by wind or thermals, and that is also out of his line of sight/earshot when he is in the bed?
10.) What other nearby beds or bedding areas do I need to navigate around on that access route so I dont bump deer into him?

#8 is tricky for me, I tend to pick stand locations that are probably waaaaay too close, its something I'm working on. But, I being it up because I learned a trick for that here worth mentioning- if you have a partner, have them climb the tree with a flo orange hat on and tell them to stop when they get to a height you can see the orange hat. That will tell you what height to climb to and you can evaluate if that height is gonna give you the cover needed to get a shot off if the deer comes your way. If not, fond a different tree and repeat. I never have a partner so what I do is leave an orange hat in the bed about deer head height on a stick then find a tree and climb till I see the hat. I scout in the spring as soon as snow melts, and I try and pick a tree while I'm there, but this year I'm going to go back and make that final decision after green up when I'm setting trail cams in June.

If I think I can hunt the bed more than once, I will put more thought into my access route to try and never cross what I think his travel routes are, but at the end of the day, thats just an educated guess. I bring this up because in most areas I hunt, there are more than one good looking buck bed. So if possible, I dont want to spoil bed #2 while hunting bed #1, or bed #4 while hunting bed #1. As the season gets closer, there are days where it feels like I spend hours thinking about access routes. And when I'm processing all of the variables, I always wish I had spent more time planning access routes when I found that bed. Its something I am paying more attention to this spring and getting the access info I need right while I'm in the bed. Hope that all makes sense :geek:
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Re: Buck Beds and Transition lines

Unread postby Trout » Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:19 am

One more thing I forgot to mention on #5, if I think the bed is being used during the pre-rut/rut, I also want to know where the closest scrapes or doe runways are. Here is a screenshot for an example. The buck bed is in the right is an early season and pre-rut bed, his exit trail follows that rub line to the doe runway and scrapes on the left both in white. Everything south of his bed and a lot of what's southwest of the bed is visible from the bed, but there are some spurs jutting south from a large clearcut ridge to the north shown in light blue with heavy cover spilling down the ridge that hide my access and stand location from view, and its just off wind on a west wind. I can access the stand location from the northwest and be hidden from view and his nose about 75yds from his bed to check those scrapes in the evening.

20210329_110639.jpg
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Jimmy wallhanger
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Re: Buck Beds and Transition lines

Unread postby Jimmy wallhanger » Thu Apr 01, 2021 9:17 am

Trout wrote:One more thing I forgot to mention on #5, if I think the bed is being used during the pre-rut/rut, I also want to know where the closest scrapes or doe runways are. Here is a screenshot for an example. The buck bed is in the right is an early season and pre-rut bed, his exit trail follows that rub line to the doe runway and scrapes on the left both in white. Everything south of his bed and a lot of what's southwest of the bed is visible from the bed, but there are some spurs jutting south from a large clearcut ridge to the north shown in light blue with heavy cover spilling down the ridge that hide my access and stand location from view, and its just off wind on a west wind. I can access the stand location from the northwest and be hidden from view and his nose about 75yds from his bed to check those scrapes in the evening.

20210329_110639.jpg



Awesome thanks for taking the time to make such a good reply its helpful
"I don't care if you use it or not, I could care less, There's no money in it for me, Im not making any money from scent-lok... I'm making a little bit of royalties from the saddlehunter suit"


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