I know different areas will force deer to act differently and bed and feed in different ways. When it comes to my hunting area, which is public ground that I've hunted for over 20 years, I've learned where the does will bed at different times during the hunting season. Naturally, I want to hunt close to these doe bedding areas in the hopes of intercepting a buck cruising through as the rut gets going. I can tell you honestly that on any given day, I can sit in my tree stand that I use only for observation over the bedding area, and spot between 10-20 does moving through and bedding down. Some of them may be 1/4 mile ormore away, it's a huge bedding area, but I use this tree to try and discover routines that a buck may be displaying while entering or exiting this area. Sometimes I'm smart enough to pick up on a routine and act on it and other times I'll guess that he may do something and not act on it and sure enough the next day sit and watch him do what I thought he would do. That's the frustrating part! If I do discover a routine, then I'll either hang a different stand or still hunt into the area and wait for an ambush if the wind is favorable.

This area is in a river bottom and it doesn't matter whether it's flooded to a certain degree or not. Their are high areas that may sit 6" above the standing water and they will bed there. I've set there multiple times and listen to the does walk through in the dark splashing in water that may be 12-15" deep, just to get to the area that may be above water. Depending on the moon phase, the action may not pick up until 8-9 in the morning but itsometimes will start between 2-3 in the afternoon.