Prioritizing beds

[will4554]

From SW to NE is probably 200 yards across the image. Would you prioritize setting up on any of these beds over the other? They all appeared to me to be set for the same or similar wind directions.

 

[shwacker]

They probably just bounce around, trails up that eastern transition line and beds set for a E/NE wind? How wide is it? Can you shoot from the west side over the creek and catch them on that transition line?


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[will4554]

I think any easterly wind for sure. I would set up on the opposite side during the rut. But this spot will be hammered with other hunters by then. I think I will sit somewhere far SW and see what stands up, then make a plan.

 

[will4554]

They probably just bounce around, trails up that eastern transition line and beds set for a E/NE wind? How wide is it? Can you shoot from the west side over the creek and catch them on that transition line?


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That would be a little far for me to want to shoot at one. It's probably 60-70 yards. The vegetation probably would not allow many shots.

 

[shwacker]

Got ya, we’re you able to
Locate a primary food source or the travel to and from the beds? Sitting over the beds is just a best guess as to which he goes to or passes by and of course gotta be there early and catch him coming in in the morning. If there’s a good food source to the west that would be prime to slip to downwind of them bedded for an afternoon hunt


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[IkemanTX]

I would sit an observation sit that MIGHT have a chance at a shot on the downwind side, so long as you can approach from that direction. With a good view, and careful access, you can move in the next day on the actionable intel.


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[will4554]

Good to know that I'm on the right track. I was pretty astonished with the amount of sign here. This place gets hit hard. Should be a really good area.

 

[will4554]

Got ya, we’re you able to
Locate a primary food source or the travel to and from the beds? Sitting over the beds is just a best guess as to which he goes to or passes by and of course gotta be there early and catch him coming in in the morning. If there’s a good food source to the west that would be prime to slip to downwind of them bedded for an afternoon hunt


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That afternoon scenario is my plan. I had not considered sneaking in very early. Might do that as well.

 

[JSEXTON23]

Interesting thoughts, but I might approach this a little differently.

The beds to the north are likely north northeast wind beds. The deer will be facing south southwest. The beds to the south are likely south southeast wind beds. The deer will be facing west northwest. Therefore I would not approach from the west in general.

For instance, on a north northeast wind, I might come in from the southeast, staying just off wind, but getting as close as possible without getting into eyesight or earshot of the animal. On a south southeast wind, I’m coming in from the east northeast with the same tactic. If you approach from the west the deer will likely be long gone because they’ve watched you walk in. If you stay far enough away for them not to see you coming from a westerly direction, you’ll likely be too far away to see them during daylight hours

 

[will4554]

Interesting thoughts, but I might approach this a little differently.

The beds to the north are likely north northeast wind beds. The deer will be facing south southwest. The beds to the south are likely south southeast wind beds. The deer will be facing west northwest. Therefore I would not approach from the west in general.

For instance, on a north northeast wind, I might come in from the southeast, staying just off wind, but getting as close as possible without getting into eyesight or earshot of the animal. On a south southeast wind, I’m coming in from the east northeast with the same tactic. If you approach from the west the deer will likely be long gone because they’ve watched you walk in. If you stay far enough away for them not to see you coming from a westerly direction, you’ll likely be too far away to see them during daylight hours

That seems so basic to me after reading it. I ran out of daylight when scouting the spot, it was last minute. I will get back out soon and pick a few trees. There is a fairly large pond/marsh to the SW, I should get a good thermal pull from. Would you be anticipating a shot opportunity just before being winded? Sorry for the questions. Hunting beds is new to me.

 

[JSEXTON23]

I would search for more beds around that pond/marsh before a final decision. After hearing you say that I might assume the beds you have marked above are doe beds. A mature buck will bed downwind of them. That actually validated my reluctance to approach from the west at all. The buck will be west of the doe beds. He’d see you coming a mile away.

You could circle way out to the west and get within 100yards of the bedding from the northwest, but you have to have the bed location to know how close you are. And you have to remember you’re always taking a guess as to which way that deer is leaving his bed.

 

[will4554]

I would search for more beds around that pond/marsh before a final decision. After hearing you say that I might assume the beds you have marked above are doe beds. A mature buck will bed downwind of them. That actually validated my reluctance to approach from the west at all. The buck will be west of the doe beds. He’d see you coming a mile away.

You could circle way out to the west and get within 100yards of the bedding from the northwest, but you have to have the bed location to know how close you are. And you have to remember you’re always taking a guess as to which way that deer is leaving his bed.

These were all single beds, and all had rubs in them. There were what I would consider doe beds closer to the creek. I will check it out more in depth and see what I find. The area looks very different from the photo. I'm not sure how old of an image that is.

 

[JSEXTON23]

These were all single beds, and all had rubs in them. There were what I would consider doe beds closer to the creek. I will check it out more in depth and see what I find. The area looks very different from the photo. I'm not sure how old of an image that is.

Hmmm, ok. I am still of the opinion that the mature bucks will bed downwind of doe bedding. Is there bedding on the west side of the creek? How wide is the creek? Is the area around the creek grown back up?

I would go back to the bed and locate exit trails. Follow them away from the bedding area until you are out of sight of the bedding. Then mark good trees in that location. Your strategy from there on out is still going to be the same as far as how you access those trees. To your question above, yes, I am anticipating a shot just before being winded or with the animal upwind of me. That's why we access from a just off-wind direction.

If the bedding on the east side of the creek is used on easterly winds of any kind (ie NE, E, SE), then I would access on an off wind direction pushing in as close as I can get without being seen or heard. That's usually within 100 yards, but terrain can change that one way or another.

 

[shwacker]

Interesting thoughts, but I might approach this a little differently.

The beds to the north are likely north northeast wind beds. The deer will be facing south southwest. The beds to the south are likely south southeast wind beds. The deer will be facing west northwest. Therefore I would not approach from the west in general.

For instance, on a north northeast wind, I might come in from the southeast, staying just off wind, but getting as close as possible without getting into eyesight or earshot of the animal. On a south southeast wind, I’m coming in from the east northeast with the same tactic. If you approach from the west the deer will likely be long gone because they’ve watched you walk in. If you stay far enough away for them not to see you coming from a westerly direction, you’ll likely be too far away to see them during daylight hours

My thought process in coming in from anywhere west is that you are downwind of them. You would be set up on trails that enter those woods or on a food source in those woods. Deer would not see or smell you if you are within that wood line and you said it’s 60 yards across that opening so you can be close enough to catch daytime movement. Seems to me that any access from the east would have to be off wind just right and with the multiple bed areas it’s can be difficult and more so if you have limited access routes. I don’t think the bucks are as worried about bedding downwind of does early season. He’ll be in a bed to food routine. Find his food source for afternoon sits, hunt his trails coming back to his beds on morning sits.


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[shwacker]

You may want to start off with a few observation sit down south of there a little bit and see if you can catch him doing his thing. At this point you only have one piece of the puzzle. You can go in on a Guess and maybe get lucky, or sit back a minute and get some more info. I’m assuming this is your land or maybe something you have some time to work on this deer? If it’s public and a hunt is coming up soon then you may have to just jump in.


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[JSEXTON23]

My thought process in coming in from anywhere west is that you are downwind of them. You would be set up on trails that enter those woods or on a food source in those woods. Deer would not see or smell you if you are within that wood line and you said it’s 60 yards across that opening so you can be close enough to catch daytime movement. Seems to me that any access from the east would have to be off wind just right and with the multiple bed areas it’s can be difficult and more so if you have limited access routes. I don’t think the bucks are as worried about bedding downwind of does early season. He’ll be in a bed to food routine. Find his food source for afternoon sits, hunt his trails coming back to his beds on morning sits.


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I would agree, I would not approach from the east. More of a N NE approach or S SE approach. You're correct, the approach has to be an accurate guess off-wind. That's why the exact bed location is imperative. I didn't consider the opening and how wide it is. I don't think you can push right up to the opening from the west however. You'd likely have to stay in the woodline 20-30 yards to stay out of eyesight. That might leave you too far for a shot in daylight.

As for morning sits and catching the buck coming back to bed, wouldn't an off-wind still be important? The buck will approach the bed from downwind, so if you are between him and his bed, he's going to wind you and you will never even know he was there. To me that makes the off-wind approach the ticket. I think approaching from the west is going to have to happen either way, but you are eventually circling in from the west to the north or south depending on the wind, right?

Another thing that hasn't been discussed is bedding on the West side of the creek. I would have to imagine there are beds over there too. If that's the case then a westerly wind would allow you to approach from an easterly direction. Also, @shwacker is right, you've gotta know the food source the deer are traveling to.

 

[shwacker]

I would agree, I would not approach from the east. More of a N NE approach or S SE approach. You're correct, the approach has to be an accurate guess off-wind. That's why the exact bed location is imperative. I didn't consider the opening and how wide it is. I don't think you can push right up to the opening from the west however. You'd likely have to stay in the woodline 20-30 yards to stay out of eyesight. That might leave you too far for a shot in daylight.

As for morning sits and catching the buck coming back to bed, wouldn't an off-wind still be important? The buck will approach the bed from downwind, so if you are between him and his bed, he's going to wind you and you will never even know he was there. To me that makes the off-wind approach the ticket. I think approaching from the west is going to have to happen either way, but you are eventually circling in from the west to the north or south depending on the wind, right?

Another thing that hasn't been discussed is bedding on the East side of the creek. I would have to imagine there are beds over there too. If that's the case then a westerly wind would allow you to approach from an easterly direction. Also, @shwacker is right, you've gotta know the food source the deer are traveling to.

Agree with all of that, and at the bottom you said bedding east side of creek but I think you meant west side, but yes.... as far as off wind for morning, I don’t think he will necessary approach the bed from down wind, they can’t always, he may approach from the east and circle it. I’d suspect that there are trails on the transition line and that he’s going north or south on approach to his beds, find out which and catch him before. If you are set up on the way side and have easy wind make sure you know exactly where your scent drops to, if it hits the trails then you have to shoot before he gets to that point, hopefully it will carry over the trail but morning cool water thermals it may not. And the reason I don’t think he would approach from west for that bed is the water barrier. So if there’s food source and trails in the west of the creek I’d be there in afternoon and hope to get him daylight. Morning I would come from the east so I don’t have to go around the creek and set up on the trails of the transition. If it’s a NE wind and he approaches the bed from the north it gives kore time for the shot as he’d have to pass you and give the quarter away before he winded you, and vise Versa


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[EricS]

I am pretty new to hunting buck bedding but have hunted areas like the one pictured and will go ahead and say with anything short of a steady 10mph plus wind is going to be tough. The wind is going to swirl. It’s going to seem perfect until about 30 minutes before dark then it’s going to blow about every direction possible. Large openings in the wood line near large ponds or swamps seem to increase the problem. It does the same in the morning but it will be ok for 30 minutes of shooting light but then as the sunlight gets over the top op the trees it will start changing directions. In my area it’s just part of it. That’s why I think it’s super important to have a bunch of spots like that scouted ahead of time if you are going to hunt beds. That way if you get busted you can move on.

 

[shwacker]

Agree with that too, it ain’t easy, or we’d all kill the bucks we’re after each time. I think time is your best friend, if there’s time to really observe, figure him out, and plan a perfect attack and execute it on a perfect day. That’s obviously not always easy, or possible. Best of luck, happy hunting.


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