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Bedding Habits

deer movement is predicated by many factors.....

Where they feed and bed is determined by food availability, cover and pressure.

They won't bed without cover, they won't stick around without a food source and they will move if pressure gets too much.

Without pressure they'll bed down anywhere they feel safe. I've seen them bed down beside a barn, less than 100 yards from a home. I've jumped them out of implement graveyards and fencerows. i think the main factor in what deer do what they do is man....

I do think deer will bed down anyplace they want, because I have seen it too many times.....possibly, with the wind and sun at their back.

unless absolutely necessary, i don't think deer travel very far to feed or bed....at least not in my area. It's just not necessary in most cases...
 
backstraps said:
But one thing I was curious to hear your opionions, what ways do you think bucks and does bedding habits differ.

Do you think when a bucks beds down, he is in an advantage spot to be able to both use the wind and visual aspects of the bed, or just beds where he feels the need?
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After summer bachelor groups have broken up and bucks are more solitary, bucks may have to choose different bedding locations because they only have one pair of eyes for defense. Does, being social outside of summer fawning season, usually have many pairs of eyes to keep watch. Bucks may play scent more as a defense in their bedding location, while does may play vision more in their bedding locations.
 
waynecountybooner said:
ever seen any kinda study bsk like the deer on the ohio river bottoms or mississippi river bottoms that when they massively flood and destroy a deers homerange. this deer is pushed out of think he will return? if anybody has ever seen some of this bottom land in major floods knows it can be miles and miles that the deer would have to travel to get to higher ground? just kinda wondering if the deer would return or just adapt to different area bc at times it could be weeks before that water ever goes back out of those bottoms.
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I use to live in Vicksburg and had an island leased in the MS River. You could always count on it flooding once a year and sometimes more. The deer had about 1/4 mile swim to higher ground.They returned just as soon as the water receded.
 
tellico4x4 said:
I use to live in Vicksburg and had an island leased in the MS River. You could always count on it flooding once a year and sometimes more. The deer had about 1/4 mile swim to higher ground.They returned just as soon as the water receded.
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I worked on a large slough-island (6,000 acres) inside the flood dikes across from Natchez. That's a big area to evacuate, but the deer did so every time the water rose. And the entire island could be more than 6-feet under. Yet as soon as the water receeded, the deer were back. And the population density on that place was astronomical.
 
BSK you took the words right out of my mouth, lol.

I've seen all kinds of deer bed in all kinds of locations. Many times I've had them bed down right in front of me while on stand. The only times I've witnessed big, mature bucks bed have been during the rut when they are in the company of a receptive or potentially receptive doe. Usually when I kick a big buck out of his bed it's when and where I least expect him to be even within thick areas. Something I have wondered about is if a big mature buck will bed using a subordinate buck to his advantage similar to the way they sometimes do while moving.
 
Best advice I can offer anyone wanting to focus on beds for mature bucks is DON'T.

Focus on the food, the does, and then the bucks during the rut.

There are two prime times to kill an old buck. Early on in the bow season, while bucks may still be in Summer pattern.
And during the rut when they are more out of their element, chasing does and not thinking clearly.
Find food, does, and bucks.

Then concentrate on terrain features that force traveling bucks to pass by within range.

It really is not that complicated. In fact, it is obvious.

Don't try to go one on one with a specific mature buck in his bed room. He will win almost every time. At least he has against me.

But get between where he is, cover/safety, and where he wants to be, a girl, and you have a decent chance.

But make sure the wind is right. You will probably get ONE chance.
 
I think there are certain conditions under which you can go after a buck in his bed, BUT, you better know exactly what you are doing, conditions be ideal, and recognize rhat it is a one time opportunity. Bobby Worthington and John Eberhart both seem to do this effectively... once every couple of years....

BUT, you better know exactly what you are doing, conditions be ideal, and recognize rhat it is a one time opportunity.

EXACTLY.
Killing mature bucks this way is the part I have referred to many times about being so difficult. Very hard to go after a mature buck one on one. Nine times out of ten he knows you are there way before you know he is there. And in the mature woods of public land Tennessee, this means relocating over the next ridge where EXACTLY the same habitat exists for his survival.

Again, if you are between the hunter pursuing that target buck, and the next ridge the buck is relocating to, you may get the shot.

This is why I often refer to killing a mature buck being more about HIM screwing up than me doing things right.
 
hunters have egos. many want to take credit for killing big deer, when in reality, for the most part, they just got lucky.

Sure, having the right setup is advantageous, as is hunting where these deer exist, but big deer get killed every year by novice hunters and vehicles on major highways, so as you might suspect, it's more dumb luck or bad luck when human and mature buck crosses paths...

if a mature buck stays in one bedding area most of the time, he will be there before daylight and not leave until dark. Hunting HIS core area will be next to impossible, unless you have the rut in your favor and if he is moving around randomly during the rut, he may be in the next county from day to day...

good luck.
 
backstraps said:
Andy for some reason the link wouldnt load....anyone else have a problem with it?
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The computer server at the Arkansas Forest Research Center (where the PDF document in the link resides) was having trouble yesterday. It was constantly up, then down. They are either having problems or the IT staff is doing routine maintenance, updates or something. I saved the PDF document to my hard drive becasue I was afraid the link may become quirky at some point. I will continue to check the link this morning. If the link does not come back or you do not want to wait on the link, please PM your email address and I will email the document to you. It is a very good read.
 
102 said:
Focus on the food, the does, and then the bucks during the rut.

There are two prime times to kill an old buck. Early on in the bow season, while bucks may still be in Summer pattern.
And during the rut when they are more out of their element, chasing does and not thinking clearly.
Find food, does, and bucks.

Then concentrate on terrain features that force traveling bucks to pass by within range.
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The one problem we have with that plan is, during a good acorn year, even the does don't concentrate. Food is everywhere. In that situation, we work primarily with your last piece of advice--looking for terrain features that focus deer movement patterns, especially those that funnel several different travel patterns into one location (an intersection of several terrain-induced travel corridors).


But make sure the wind is right. You will probably get ONE chance.
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That I agree with completely. EXTREMELY rare to get more than one chance at a particular mature buck.
 
BSK said:
But make sure the wind is right. You will probably get ONE chance.
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That I agree with completely. EXTREMELY rare to get more than one chance at a particular mature buck.
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x3. Some of the best advice an old man (good deer hunter during his day) told me back when I was first learning to deer hunt was "boy if you see a good one, you better shoot his arse if given the chance because you most likely will NEVER see him again". While there are always exceptions to the rule, this has been true for me about 98% of the time over my deer hunting career. It really will make you a believer once you start letting a bunch of deer walk during the rut. I cannot tell you how many bucks me and buds see during the rut and let walk only to never see again that year, or ever for that matter.
 
Andy S. said:
BSK said:
But make sure the wind is right. You will probably get ONE chance.
Click to expand...
That I agree with completely. EXTREMELY rare to get more than one chance at a particular mature buck.
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x3. Some of the best advice an old man (good deer hunter during his day) told me back when I was first learning to deer hunt was "boy if you see a good one, you better shoot his arse if given the chance because you most likely will NEVER see him again". While there are always exceptions to the rule, this has been true for me about 98% of the time over my deer hunting career. It really will make you a believer once you start letting a bunch of deer walk during the rut. I cannot tell you how many bucks me and buds see during the rut and let walk only to never see again that year, or ever for that matter.
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Several years back I had many, many pictures of a nice 3 1/2 year-old buck that was using my place (summer resident). Not a huge rack but definitely above average. I finally got a chance to take him as he pestered a doe during the rut in an overgrown section of powerline right-of-way. I let him go because I had already killed a whopper of a mature buck. That 3 1/2 hung around through 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 and really turned into a monster. Yet no one ever saw him or got the chance to kill him ever again.

Three years ago we had a "new" (had not been photographed in previous years) mature buck show up just for the rut. He wasn't a large-antlered buck at all. Actually he was a bit below average. One of my brothers-in-law got a look at the buck as he crossed a powerline right-of-way at long range. That's the last we've seen of him with our own eyes. Yet he returned for the rut the following year as a 5 1/2 year-old and even took up residence on the property as a 6 1/2 year-old. And NOW he's got a very nice rack. But see him and get a chance to kill him? Nope.
 
This has been an interesting thread to watch; lots of different experiences and opinions with lots of variability by locale/region. I grew up hunting in MS and deer were liable to lay down just about anywhere with the preferred being cutovers, planted pines, big hedgerows, and thickets that were almost impossible for a man to even crawl through. Of course, there's so much bedding cover there it can make for a tough hunt sometimes.

I also enjoyed lots of years hunting in MO and it's completely opposite...hunting there is comparatively "easy" because good bedding/security cover is far less prevalent: CRP separating expansive ag fields, narrow overgrown waterways or terraces winding through a field, and little blocks of timber that you could pick apart with a good set of binoculars and some patience. It didn't take a genius to know where they were likely to lay up.

Interestingly in both cases though, bucks seemed to orient their beds (as best they could) downwind of either major travel corridors or areas where does would often lay up. I don't know how many countless times I've watched a bedded buck raise his head up, and throw that nose into the air in an attempt to monitor what's going on without ever getting on his feet. I've watched them do it from hedgerows, sage patches, nasty cutovers, and relatively open blocks of timber.
 
I recall one buck in particular I nicknamed The Professor (I was the lowly pupil). One afternoon I was sitting in my climber right on the edge of some 2-3 yr old planted pines. At 130pm or so, I saw the glint of antlers and put my binoculars on him...what a PIG! I eased my gun up and tried to find a hole to shoot through...no can do. I thought he had walked in there on me but after watching him for 15min realized he was actually bedded; I don't know how long he'd been there and was likely there before I even got up my tree.

Over the course of the afternoon several does, smaller bucks, and even a coyote wandered through. Each time he simply raised his head, caught the wind, and kept tabs on the movement. I never saw anytihng more than his ears and that big roman-nose...and that head! What a rack!!

I sat in that tree till it was black-dark hoping he'd get up with enough light to shoot...never happened. That big dude never got on his feet; never moved (I'm sure until well after dark).

As agonizing as it was, that was a critically important lesson for me in hunting wise, old bucks. Gave me a whole new perspective on how they interact within their environment. They are a whole'nother animal.

Thank you Professor. :)
 
Poser said:
Bottom Hunter said:
hunters have egos. many want to take credit for killing big deer, when in reality, for the most part, they just got lucky.

Sure, having the right setup is advantageous, as is hunting where these deer exist, but big deer get killed every year by novice hunters and vehicles on major highways, so as you might suspect, it's more dumb luck or bad luck when human and mature buck crosses paths...

if a mature buck stays in one bedding area most of the time, he will be there before daylight and not leave until dark. Hunting HIS core area will be next to impossible, unless you have the rut in your favor and if he is moving around randomly during the rut, he may be in the next county from day to day...

good luck.
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The guys that do this "bedroom" type hunting successfully are willing to go to extreme tactics that very few hunters will endure. Assuming one can pinpoint a mature buck's bed for a certain wind direction and assuming that the hunter has the expertise to pull off a hunting situation such as this, the hunters that do it often arrive to their stands a full 3+ hours before first light. Bobby Worthington has stories about spending the night in his stand. Even though a mature buck may bed down an hour before first light and stay bedded down all day, he will still stand up a couple of times throughout the day -maybe even move around a little bit within his core bedding area. For the extreme, calculating, disciplined and patient hunter, this is your opportunity.
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I agree.....the problem with this is that many times, deer enter or leave their beds with the wind in their face, if possible. Winds shift throughout the day and even though at 3:00 am the wind is in your favor, at 7:00 am it may change.

Deer may enter their beds from any direction, not just one, plus walking in or out may jump the deer or at least hip him to your presence.....

This type strategy works, no doubt, yet, just like any straegy, it must have all the variables in place and hold up....

again, winds shift, deer come and go from all directions and one whiff of you and it's over....

swirling winds are a hunters worse enemy, that and boredom....lol.
 
Its interesting to hear others opinions and thoughts. The thing that has surprised me on this topic so far is it has been a disxussion not an arguement. There are a lot of hunters on this site that would get much needed info from some of you guys on here.

Okay my turn. I think a target buck can be hunted in his bedroom. The key I think is patience. You have to pick the bedroom you want to hunt when the conditions are perfect. IF not dont burn that bridge. I honestly think MATURE bucks bedding can be predicted by wind direction and food sources in the NON RUT hunting periods.

I feel scouting out bucks beds during the post season and marking your topos of the buck beds...and which wind he should be using this bed...notate the trails both entering and exiting this bed
..and then notate possible stand sites.

Come summer time if you are seeing a particular buck close to some beds you marked...notice the wind and cross reference with your map. You should feel a little more confident in hunting certain areas during certain winds.
Now I think this method you are going to see A LOT fewer deer...but if a mature buck is what youre hunting....and he probably spends 90% of daylight hours bedded....I think you have to be close to his bed or staging area if you want a crack at him. Or you can continue to practice patience and hunt him when the rut gets here. But who knows where that smelly ole gal will lead him to then! :)

Okay...let me have it. ;-)
 

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