Stumbled onto a big bed
04-24-2007 | 12:51 PM
#11
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,453
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From: North Lima Ohio & Clarion Pa
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
ORIGINAL: GMMAT
Am I the only one that thinks the tree looks NOTHING like a rub?
There are PLENTY of guys here who'll tell you to hunt the deer "sign". I won't be one of them. I've seen deer bed in the field below my house......then bed across the road near a pond....then choose a spot, elsewhere. I went looking for a SMALL, DEFINED bedding area when I first started looking. What I didn't realize is a bedding AREA is just that.....an AREA.
Like I said.....a LOT of guys here will tell you to hunt buck (and deer "sign"). I follow the does, all year.
I wish you luck.
Am I the only one that thinks the tree looks NOTHING like a rub?
There are PLENTY of guys here who'll tell you to hunt the deer "sign". I won't be one of them. I've seen deer bed in the field below my house......then bed across the road near a pond....then choose a spot, elsewhere. I went looking for a SMALL, DEFINED bedding area when I first started looking. What I didn't realize is a bedding AREA is just that.....an AREA.
Like I said.....a LOT of guys here will tell you to hunt buck (and deer "sign"). I follow the does, all year.
I wish you luck.
04-24-2007 | 01:03 PM
#12
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,877
Likes: 0
From: Kodiak, AK
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
Go in at o'dark thirty with a climber and a sleeping bag while he's out feeding and spend the night in the stand until early morning. Problem is that I guess he'll be back in bed before shooting light so you need to have a shot at the bedding area and be on stand long before he returns.
04-24-2007 | 03:02 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,207
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From: ILLINOIS
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
ORIGINAL: GR8atta2d
Hey Super, I don't know that I would plan an entire season on finding 1 bed 6 months prior to the season. Scout the area, use trailcams etc and see whats going on on that ridge and surrounding area.
No need to make a guess now..you have time to get much more info.
Hey Super, I don't know that I would plan an entire season on finding 1 bed 6 months prior to the season. Scout the area, use trailcams etc and see whats going on on that ridge and surrounding area.
No need to make a guess now..you have time to get much more info.
No, just one more thing to focus on. I see much bedding activity in the fields, this one just seemed very unusual to me. Makes me think this deer knows what he's doing. Who knows, could even be a smart old doe.
This spot is a 6 hour drive, so it's tough to do much scouting. I may sneak a camera into the area though.
04-24-2007 | 03:05 PM
#15
Thread Starter
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,207
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From: ILLINOIS
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
ORIGINAL: GMMAT
Given. I didn't catch that first time through. Sorry.
Yes many of the early replies pointed that tree out as "other".
Yea, sure ya did'nt
It looked like one to me but, I've been wrong before (only once)
04-24-2007 | 06:47 PM
#16
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: New Jersey
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
Not only is that not a rub, I would venture a guess that that is not a deer bed, but rather a bear's day bed. I have never seen a deer bed with the ground cover scraped away like that.
As mentioned by GMMAT, deer do not generally bed in the exact same bed repetedly. Bears on the other hand frequently will scrape an area clean (often at the base of a large tree, like in the picture) and use the same bed for days or sometimes weeks.
I suspect that your "buck" has black fur. -Sharps
As mentioned by GMMAT, deer do not generally bed in the exact same bed repetedly. Bears on the other hand frequently will scrape an area clean (often at the base of a large tree, like in the picture) and use the same bed for days or sometimes weeks.
I suspect that your "buck" has black fur. -Sharps
04-24-2007 | 07:35 PM
#17
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 327
Likes: 0
From: Missouri/Illinois
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
That's a good find dude. Just my opinion, but like others have suggested, I'd try to find his travel routes to and from that bed. Wait for the perfect wind situation and ambush him there. Good luck man.
Good post too!
Good post too!
04-24-2007 | 07:38 PM
#18
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 663
Likes: 0
From: East Central Ohio
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
Even if that is indeed a deer bed and/or a rub on the dead tree, I wouldnt use either of these cues for any kind of setup area. Find the major beds, find the major food, and stick a stand in a funnel in the middle. Easy enough right?
04-24-2007 | 08:47 PM
#19
Thread Starter
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,207
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From: ILLINOIS
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
ORIGINAL: Sharpster
Not only is that not a rub, I would venture a guess that that is not a deer bed, but rather a bear's day bed. I have never seen a deer bed with the ground cover scraped away like that.
As mentioned by GMMAT, deer do not generally bed in the exact same bed repetedly. Bears on the other hand frequently will scrape an area clean (often at the base of a large tree, like in the picture) and use the same bed for days or sometimes weeks.
I suspect that your "buck" has black fur. -Sharps
Not only is that not a rub, I would venture a guess that that is not a deer bed, but rather a bear's day bed. I have never seen a deer bed with the ground cover scraped away like that.
As mentioned by GMMAT, deer do not generally bed in the exact same bed repetedly. Bears on the other hand frequently will scrape an area clean (often at the base of a large tree, like in the picture) and use the same bed for days or sometimes weeks.
I suspect that your "buck" has black fur. -Sharps
No bears in Illinois man, or my bear has deer fur
04-24-2007 | 09:42 PM
#20
Thread Starter
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,207
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From: ILLINOIS
RE: Stumbled onto a big bed
Guys, do you think I would be pushing it to put a camera facing the actual bed? Sneak in at night and disable the flash? It would be real cool if it was a bruiser and watch his antlers actually grow in the coming months, It's tempting!