The j-hook

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Motivated
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Motivated » Thu May 21, 2015 4:29 am

Sorry. Maybe after the hunting season. I don't want to have company if post a pic or video online available to all.

My point in posting was just that you could walk the bank and find these J-hooks sometimes.

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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Killemquietly » Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:30 am

FASCINATING. Would this also generally mean a regularly used bed would have a j shaped trail around it? (Flat land here) I'm finding what I think may be beds, but haven't found a hair in a single one for positive ID

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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby dan » Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:00 pm

Killemquietly wrote:FASCINATING. Would this also generally mean a regularly used bed would have a j shaped trail around it? (Flat land here) I'm finding what I think may be beds, but haven't found a hair in a single one for positive ID

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Not really, i have seen some, (cause of terrain) but most come in different from differing ways based on exact wind.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:21 pm

Has anyone been able to spot these j-hooks from an aerial map?

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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:50 pm

Sometimes you can tell where they could/should be but boots on ground are needed to verify IMO

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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Dpierce72 » Sun Feb 11, 2018 1:44 am

Bump - I'm sure if this is old news to many, but if it can help one more person thought it was worth the bump.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Rob loper » Sun Feb 11, 2018 10:20 am

Outdoor814 wrote:Has anyone been able to spot these j-hooks from an aerial map?

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Ive seen them on meadows from aireals. Check my video out on them.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:20 pm

admiral04 wrote:I realize every deer and every situation is different but when we talk about a buck "j-hooking" to enter his bed, roughly how far are they walking past there bed before turning? A few yard, several hundred yards? Just tryin to get a feel for this as ive never actually witnessed it myself

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well the times it worked for me it was around 50 to 100 yards I try to set up on rubs going into bed same thing for a j hooking scrape bucks j hook in other situations too entering food sources and other hunters stands. sometimes they thermal j hook exiting beds using water or hillside but this is not the norm I think they do it when they think something is up and do it for a precaution.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Feb 11, 2018 4:29 pm

Killemquietly wrote:FASCINATING. Would this also generally mean a regularly used bed would have a j shaped trail around it? (Flat land here) I'm finding what I think may be beds, but haven't found a hair in a single one for positive ID

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its not always a smooth J sometimes its a sharp 90 ive even seen them back track then jump off to side to hide their scent trail then go to bed I see this in snow where I hunt and from stand its an instinctual thing animals do if they think they are being followed I've even had bears do it while tracking its real cool to see.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Wannabelikedan » Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:30 pm

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These are some beds on my parent’s 30 acres. It’s more of an overlooked spot that gets some good bucks visiting it October to early November when the foliage finally dies off. It’s two ponds stacked with timber lining the overflows and dams. Dams are located on the south end of the ponds. Yellow dots are beds. Blue lines are j-hooks. Red arrows are corresponding wind directions for beds.

I kicked up a really nice 8 pointer the second week of October in the SE wind bed behind the north pond. I parked the truck within 20 yards of him and walked across the dam 20 yards on the other side of him before he abandoned ship. I hunted this area 3 times this year and observed how deer were approaching a couple of these beds. I scouted the exact bed locations at the end of January.

Some j-hooks are speculation but others are legit. For instance, the beds behind the north pond have a very short defined j-hook. There was a trail with numerous tracks dumping straight off the pond dam down about 20 ft to the beds (roughly 10-15 yards). Once in the bed, you could see all the wind shifts they made. A deer was pretty much covered on any wind from W-S-E in that bed. After the foliage dropped and seasonal North winds arrived, that bed saw very little action, if any.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Rob loper » Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:22 am

Looks like a sweet setup. Hunt those beds while foliage is still present and beind wind savy. Sounds like Your entry and exit routes are gonna be key. Keep us posted on this greaat spot
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:39 am

admiral04 wrote:I realize every deer and every situation is different but when we talk about a buck "j-hooking" to enter his bed, roughly how far are they walking past there bed before turning? A few yard, several hundred yards? Just tryin to get a feel for this as ive never actually witnessed it myself

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the ones i witness in the snow are not real far. i would guess 20 yds or less.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Rob loper » Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:43 am

magicman54494 wrote:
admiral04 wrote:I realize every deer and every situation is different but when we talk about a buck "j-hooking" to enter his bed, roughly how far are they walking past there bed before turning? A few yard, several hundred yards? Just tryin to get a feel for this as ive never actually witnessed it myself

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the ones i witness in the snow are not real far. i would guess 20 yds or less.


I also have noticed this in the marshes ive been scouting.
They never walk straight into the bed on a point or bowl its always off to the left or right. But also i have seen the exit trail is more used and comes straight out of the bed because they seem not to use the wind to exit the bed
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby magicman54494 » Tue Feb 13, 2018 2:20 am

just a hunch but i believe that the reason to j hook is not so much to scent check the bed but more to scent lead any predator past them as they watch their backtrack.
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Re: The j-hook

Unread postby Killemquietly » Tue Feb 13, 2018 4:05 am

Good point Magicman, that's a theory I hadn't considered but makes perfect sense.


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