Leaving bedding

[Carcher87]

I have a few days coming up to hunt a buck I call Houdini he moves around the hunting pressure. I'm pretty sure I know where he will be bedding this Friday(wind) I'm trying to figure out exit routes. Do move bucks leave with wind to their face, cross face, or back... or is It a crapshoot?

 

[d_rek]

Wind does not dictate their travel routes like it does their bedding. Think about it: If we had steady west winds for 2 weeks all the bucks would wind up drowned in the atlantic ocean...

What else is adjacent to his bedding? Any destinations he would be likely to visit? But if he is being pressured he is likely to stick tight to that bedding and not move until the cover of darkness prevents him from being hunted. I would setup as close as you can get to the bedding as long as you have a favorable wind.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I have a few days coming up to hunt a buck I call Houdini he moves around the hunting pressure. I'm pretty sure I know where he will be bedding this Friday(wind) I'm trying to figure out exit routes. Do move bucks leave with wind to their face, cross face, or back... or is It a crapshoot?

In my neck of the woods...crapshoot. Where are you from and what kind of terrain are you hunting? In the thick, semi-tropical, green-hell I hunt, most of the "beast" tactics regarding micro-analyzing bedding are questionably useful at best. I have a sneaking suspicion that may be true elsewhere as well, but that's another post.

If you KNOW he's in there, a little drive may be in order. He will absolutely leave in the opposite direction of hunters.

 

[ImThere]

I would find a terrain feature that would dictate his escape. then plan a route to get there from the opposite side from everyone else and surprise him

 

[BCHunter]

most of the "beast" tactics regarding micro-analyzing bedding are questionably useful at best. I have a sneaking suspicion that may be true elsewhere as well, but that's another post.

You've got my ear, you should start that post.

 

[Nutterbuster]

You've got my ear, you should start that post.

Without detailing too much (and I guess this is tangential to OP's question) I think that first of all hunting bedding locations is the best way to kill a deer. Any deer; not just a buck. Deer spend the majority of their time bedded. 80-90% according to some studies. It makes sense. They are hidden from predators, able to chew cud, and they are not burning energy. Makes sense from a survival standpoint for a prey species to specialize in hiding and eating.

Hunting in or near a bedding area should therefore drastically improve your odds of connecting with a deer. So far, so good.

But the idea that a deer will consistently move in the direction of a crosswind/headwind/illwind/breakwind just doesn't mesh with my personal experience. To paraphrase Dr. Sheppard, an Alabama deer that always moved into the wind would be in Chicago by season's end.

Neither does the idea of a buck having 1 exact bedding location. A deer in my area may have access to thousands of acres of planted pines with a THICK understory of yaupon, deerberry, smilax, and dewberries. That's food and cover, and the ground is consistently soft and dry. There's nothing to force them into one location, with one exception.

In my experience, PRESSURE dictates deer movement. They use their eyes, ears, and noses as needed on a case-by-case basis to determine where that pressure is. They roam willy-nilly at night, and also smell where you've been and make a mental note to stay away from that area in the daytime.

Terrain features, if extreme enough (swamps, marshes, very steep slopes) definitely can influence their decisions. It's true that unsuspecting deer will follow slight terrain features, but nothing short of a high fence will stop a deer who is trying to avoid a hunter. Fear of death overrides laziness.

I respect Dan and agree with the general idea of beast tactics. But I don't think the finer details that folks mull over are really gospel. I think it's silly that people claim they can read topos, Aerials, and wind patterns to a T and tell new guys exactly where and why that big buck will go on a crescent moon with a drizzly SSE wind. Sure, it's a start, but you've gotta put boots on the ground and invoke Lady Luck to seal the deal.

I think a lot of it is a wee-bit cultish.

 

[d_rek]

I tend to think of movement like you do - in regards to pressure. They're going to move where the pressure isn't - especially in high hunter density states. If they don't see or smell a predator, and there is a known destination for them to travel to (feed, rubs, scrapes, doe bedding, water, etc.) then you should try to identify where the deer might want to travel to provided it feels safe enough to do so during daylight.

 

[thwack16]

I respect Dan and agree with the general idea of beast tactics. But I don't think the finer details that folks mull over are really gospel. I think it's silly that people claim they can read topos, Aerials, and wind patterns to a T and tell new guys exactly where and why that big buck will go on a crescent moon with a drizzly SSE wind. Sure, it's a start, but you've gotta put boots on the ground and invoke Lady Luck to seal the deal.

I think a lot of it is a wee-bit cultish.

In my opinion, you are countering more of the "following" and not Dan's tactics. There's been a lot of new people there lately that are regurgitating stuff they've heard and read of Dan's and using them as absolutes. There are no absolutes with deer.

Example "Don't hunt early season mornings. Dan doesn't hunt them." Dan has state multiple times that he doesn't hunt them early season due to work.

Also, have you ever hunted the Midwest? I'll agree that it's different in your area, and mine(to an extent); but in the Midwest, with all due to respect to those that live and hunt there, it's just easier to read sign and figure out what's going on.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I'll agree with that. I think there's something to his tactics, but I'm not a disciple.

I haven't hunted the Midwest, but am friends with an individual who lives in south Mississippi. On his first 3 Iowa public land hunts, he shot the first buck he saw on the 1st or 2nd day because it was the biggest buck he had ever seen. All of them are exceptional deer by our areas standards. He's a fine hunter, but I think it goes to show that yes, hinting the breadbasket is a bit easier than hunting the deep south.

You could come up with about any random tactic and it would probably "work" out there. Kind of like fishing in grandpa's farm pond.

 

[d_rek]

I feel like I have to address the deer move based on certain wind statement if only because I just listened to a podcast where Dan himself said he thought those ideas were silly... It may be more the peanut gallery that thinks that. So take that for what it's worth.

I don't for a second think they only move based on wind direction. That just seems ridiculous.

 

[Exiled in MD]

This is a good thread. I like the Beast tactics because you never know where you'll go next. Everything is situational. Big woods whitetails are freaks of nature! Big land, no Ag, and small density means bedding and browse is a must find. If you've named him you know him and assume other's know he's there too. If a deer is pressured it usually means everyone is coming in the same way so you do the opposite to get there. They pattern us like we pattern them. If the ground is wet you're really lucky. Get in really early, tight to where you think he'll be feeding and just off the wind. Play the ambush and get it done. GOOD LUCK!

 

[wildotter]

I like this thread as well. I’ve been following the Hunting Public guys lately, and trying to absorb as much info as possible so I could see how it relates to my areas (absolutely zero ag, big timber, and rough hill country). Almost everything I’ve ever hunted is as far from what most Midwest hunting is about). Bedding may be in the bottom of a holler on the creek because it’s cooler and thicker cover, or it could be on a bench somewhere between the top of the ridge and the creek. We’ve even bumped deer on the very top of a ridge on a big flat. I’ve had them come in to feed and bed down really got there just because they could. No rhyme or reason that’s obvious much of the time. Their food (on most years) are acorns that you can basically go anywhere in the woods and pick up in buckets. So...with no defined bedding (to speak of) and no destination ag or food sources, they basically eat and sleep in the same spot. Transition areas are almost nonexistent. Could be the trail going around the bench, or it could be a draw (some of the Hunting Public boys call them a ditch I think). Either way, I’ve hunted this country all my life, and through years of observation I have figured out the where’s and why’s. But I want to try some of these techniques and tactics to see what can apply and what doesn’t. I really think they have merit, but as with anything, there is no silver bullet that works for all areas. As mentioned earlier, every situation and location is different. I do thing wind impacts bedding much more than direction of movement. It just makes sense. I’m interested to keep this one going to discuss and learn more about how these tactics can be applied or discarded based on the various types of terrain we all hunt!


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[TonyGreenway]

I'm a newbie, so please forgive the ignorance. I'm wondering, do you guys think a case like @Carcher87 has here would be a candidate for a bump and dump? Essentially still hunt from upwind and let your scent ease into the bedding to gently bump him out, then setup really close to the bedding, just off wind. Anyone tried this? I've read and heard about this tactic a lot lately, but haven't had an oppurtunity to use it myself.

 

[kelly.jayp]

I'm a newbie, so please forgive the ignorance. I'm wondering, do you guys think a case like @Carcher87 has here would be a candidate for a bump and dump? Essentially still hunt from upwind and let your scent ease into the bedding to gently bump him out, then setup really close to the bedding, just off wind. Anyone tried this? I've read and heard about this tactic a lot lately, but haven't had an oppurtunity to use it myself.

hmmm - interesting question. My understanding of this would be not to bump with scent, but with noise. You need to know there is a buck there to begin with to even bother setting up on it. If he smells you, its over, and if you drift scent in gently - how do you know he was there? If he spooks from noise and doesn't smell you - better chance he'd come back. High risk, high reward, low odds type of hunt - not something I would do early season - maybe late season when you have nothing left to lose.

 

[KCbuckeye22]

I think it's silly that people claim they can read topos, Aerials, and wind patterns to a T and tell new guys exactly where and why that big buck will go on a crescent moon with a drizzly SSE wind. Sure, it's a start, but you've gotta put boots on the ground and invoke Lady Luck to seal the deal.

Agree. In my area topo maps are king, and will get you in the ballpark. The deer can move anywhere, however my observations suggest they typically drop down off a ridge with wind at their back. Using sight and hearing as they feed and move, using wind to detect predators from the rear. Is it always true, nope. If theres a large acorn mass behind him, detected something out of his norm, pressure, rutting does, etc. I usually plan on wind to back unless I have something telling me he will move into the wind. I do not recall seeing a buck exit bedding using a crosswind.

As you stated boots on the ground. Nothing beats finding hot sign.

 

[KCbuckeye22]

I have a few days coming up to hunt a buck I call Houdini he moves around the hunting pressure. I'm pretty sure I know where he will be bedding this Friday(wind) I'm trying to figure out exit routes. Do move bucks leave with wind to their face, cross face, or back... or is It a crapshoot?

I would personally make a plan on him using wind to back, depending on what other intel you have on him. Also it depends if he's dropping down from a bed. Most of my set ups are off ridges.

 

[MFD205]

I can tell you from experience hunting South Mississippi is like hunting one gigantic bedding area.

 

[wildotter]

I would personally make a plan on him using wind to back, depending on what other intel you have on him. Also it depends if he's dropping down from a bed. Most of my set ups are off ridges.

Interesting you set up off of ridges. Where I’m at, we typically have to set up on the tops of ridges (usually around the breaks where they start falling off). Most of the deer bed ‘lower’ and then move up in the evening or after dark. We want to go down after them, but there’s just not a good way to go down a cow’s face in the forest quietly or without being spotted from quite a distance in the afternoons. We’ve been racking our brains trying to get to these deer. Almost have to hunt them in the mornings, and get there crazy early to beat them in.


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[wildotter]

We’ve basically start d leaving these spots alone until later in the season when the deer move up top later in the mornings and earlier in the afternoons. I think situations like this is where you start seeing things that you won’t get from simply looking at topo maps. The Hunting Public guys preach ‘boots on the ground’ and situational strategies for this reason. You learn something every time you go into the woods if you’re paying attention to the details. For the OP’s question, I agree with the other advice here. Make your plans based on the wind for bedding, and then focus on the Buck’s destination for direction of travel more than wind.

I’m a bit Leary of the bump and dump method. In my experience, few mature deer come back within a couple hours when you’ve bumped em. If they wind you, it’s almost a definite no! Not saying it doesn’t work...but I agree with the high risk - high reward comment.


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[dalton916]

Sounds like he has a foolproof bedding area to me (you named him Houdini for a reason....). Figure out the beat escape route for a given approach by a hunter. Then you go sit on that escape route and have someone else come in on the approach route you based it off of.

The closer you set up the slower the other guy needs to be moving.

Disclaimer: I don’t name deer so my opinion may be of no use with this particular deer.