I' ve posted or answered questions on Patterning Bucks, Bedding Areas, Finding Big Bucks over on the T.R' s Tips board. Come on over there and read the threads, then if you have more questions fire away.

Realize that a bedding area is basically the same as a " Daytime Core Area" where the deer spend the majority of the daylight hours, and that the corea area may be from 14 acres to 2000 acres in size.

When you follow a buck trail up a hill into heavy cover, or into heavy cover (without the hill), and loose the trail, you' re probably close, because the buck is no longer following a trail on a regular basis, because he beds in one spot one day, another spot another day etc. Those spots are usually based on the weather conditions each day: which way the wind blows, hot or cold temperatures/windchills, raining or not, low visibility or not.

Some deer will bed in the same bed (or the same general location) from as often as every day, to once a week, to never. Just depends on the deer. I' ve seen does use the same 40 ft by 300 ft woods every day for a week or more, and use the exact same bed 3 times in one week. When bucks find a secure area they often use it on a regular (daily) basis.

One problem with looking for beds before or after the rut (when you intend to hunt during the rut) is that both bucks and does MAY switch from summer home ranges to fall home ranges during the rut, and from fall home ranges to winter home ranges after the rut. In other words: if you look (for any sign) to early or too late the deer MAY not be in the same areas they will be in during the hunting season.

T.R.