identifying bedding areas....
10-08-2008, 04:30 PM
#1
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
identifying bedding areas....
i need some guidance on identifying bedding areas....i truely dont understand how to ID such areas...period.
ive seen deer bedded next to a old downed tree in the middle of a hardwoods flat....ive kicked them up outta stuff that i had to crawl through...and everywhere in between ive found beds..hillsides, flats, etc etc...
my areas all have numerous "thick" areas...i seem to have trouble narrowing it down...i can have ideas....but that doesnt help when the list is practically endless....
ive tried going in in the winter after hunting season with snow on the ground to find these areas, but i find they are different all the time and find that after hunting season is different due to the extreme pressure my deer see...alot of our pressured deer bed right in the back yards in the jagur patch behind the houses after rifle season and such and in the thickest, nastiest places we got.....but when unpressured, or lightly pressured, i have no idea where they bed...sure SOME still pick them super nasty areas or right up against the houses...but i find that those spots arent so popular due to them being too thick for deer to easily get to and travel...and farther from feeding etc...
any help on identifying bedding areas?? its the piece of the puzzle i just dont get....and need to get to be more successful and onto more deer....
ive seen deer bedded next to a old downed tree in the middle of a hardwoods flat....ive kicked them up outta stuff that i had to crawl through...and everywhere in between ive found beds..hillsides, flats, etc etc...
my areas all have numerous "thick" areas...i seem to have trouble narrowing it down...i can have ideas....but that doesnt help when the list is practically endless....
ive tried going in in the winter after hunting season with snow on the ground to find these areas, but i find they are different all the time and find that after hunting season is different due to the extreme pressure my deer see...alot of our pressured deer bed right in the back yards in the jagur patch behind the houses after rifle season and such and in the thickest, nastiest places we got.....but when unpressured, or lightly pressured, i have no idea where they bed...sure SOME still pick them super nasty areas or right up against the houses...but i find that those spots arent so popular due to them being too thick for deer to easily get to and travel...and farther from feeding etc...
any help on identifying bedding areas?? its the piece of the puzzle i just dont get....and need to get to be more successful and onto more deer....
10-08-2008, 05:43 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: ELK GROVE CA USA
Posts: 1,251
RE: identifying bedding areas....
i think you answered your own question. deer will, usually, bed in thick patches of timber, brush, woods, etc...if you are hunting out west typically following the 7/8's rule and you can find them bedded next to trees, rocks, brush, etc.
the term "too thick" cannot be used when describing deer bedding areas...the thicker the bedder (usually)...not always and it really depends on the area you hunt.....if it is more open with small patches of thick stuff then they may be in the thick stuff...if not then they will be in an area with wind at their backs and a good view in front of them. try putting yourself in their shoes..if you were being hunted....where would you be bedded down at?
deer, IMO, will not and do not always bed in the same spot day in and day out
the term "too thick" cannot be used when describing deer bedding areas...the thicker the bedder (usually)...not always and it really depends on the area you hunt.....if it is more open with small patches of thick stuff then they may be in the thick stuff...if not then they will be in an area with wind at their backs and a good view in front of them. try putting yourself in their shoes..if you were being hunted....where would you be bedded down at?
deer, IMO, will not and do not always bed in the same spot day in and day out
10-08-2008, 05:53 PM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blossvale, New York
Posts: 21,199
RE: identifying bedding areas....
But you know.... not always. Many times a bedding area is an open hardwood ridge where they can see and detect trouble coming and have some acorns or something close at hand. Often it's snuggled up next to a couple downed trees. Everyone thinks there HAS to be a definite bedding area. That's not always so. Weather, temp, all sorts of things effect where a deer flops and how long he'll stay. The prefered bedding area, say a standing corn field, can be chopped tomorrow. Deer adapt and change and go with their needs and the pressure exerted on them. I've seen deer bed just inside a woods and spend the day. I've seen them bed easily a mile from where they'll want to be come night fall. Yes, if pressured they prefer thick. If not pressured, they often don't care if they're 50 yards or 400 yards into the woods. In yuppie land they'll bed on a lawn or wherever they are when they decide enough is enough. Work out the food, the trails and you'll come up with prefered areas but don't hang your hat on a deer going there every day.
10-08-2008, 06:43 PM
#4
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: West Mifflin, PA
Posts: 130
RE: identifying bedding areas....
I here you. Coming from SW Pennsylvania myself. I find that the thickest places you can possibly find are the best bedding areas for deer. This doesn't mean you have to hunt them, just hunt the front or back door. Most of the time the deer come into the bedding areas at a certain point or funnel. Hunt the funnel.
When you are scouting and accidentally bust a deer out of its bed, watch where it runs to. This is usually the same way theyleave the bedding area consistently. You actually want to jump deer out of their beds when scoutingbecause if they know they got away, then they feel safe in bedding there and continue to visit.
When you are scouting and accidentally bust a deer out of its bed, watch where it runs to. This is usually the same way theyleave the bedding area consistently. You actually want to jump deer out of their beds when scoutingbecause if they know they got away, then they feel safe in bedding there and continue to visit.
10-08-2008, 11:25 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: identifying bedding areas....
thanx guys...seems my thinking is about spot on....just no REAL way to determine the "bedding areas"
identifying thick stuff does me ZERO good...i know when they are pressured that i will find them there or up against the houses...but typical bowhunting wont put them there...deer arent dumb and are naturally lazy plain and simple. sure big bucks dont get big by being dumb...but they are probably the laziest...though smart...like sitting up on the ridge so he can see and smell danger before it has a chance to see him...and IDing thick stuff does me no good because its SO available. ive been in other parts of the state that were pretty open woods...but you find the thick hemlock stands, lurel, grown up fields etc and you'll have the bedding area....
i dont NEED the bedding area in many situations because i try my best to find funnels and hunt them...but a few of my areas i cannot ID the funnels and only have a hard hit food source...or the only readily available food source....
i need to start learning more about OTHER funnels besides once i can ID by terrian and ariels...narrow parts of a creek....holes in the fence...stuff similar to that that dictates where the deer will travel...i need to get closer to where they are coming from...(beds lol) but alot of those areas the trails arent beat into the ground so i need those little hidden pinch points.....
although i DEER hunted 10 years, this is only my 3rd bow season...and id say 3rd season actually hunting DEER in their natural state....before was all rifle season...stands in funnels they used when pressured(most dont work as regular funnels ive found because theres no reason for them to use them...) and deer drives...so im pretty green....dad taught me alot about deer hunting and deer sign...but i gotta learn to piece the puzzle together....i KNOW i can see deer pretty regular...i know i can see bucks consistantly...my areas hold deer and hold bucks...its just hit or miss if i see them or not because i dont have the puzzel complete...
identifying thick stuff does me ZERO good...i know when they are pressured that i will find them there or up against the houses...but typical bowhunting wont put them there...deer arent dumb and are naturally lazy plain and simple. sure big bucks dont get big by being dumb...but they are probably the laziest...though smart...like sitting up on the ridge so he can see and smell danger before it has a chance to see him...and IDing thick stuff does me no good because its SO available. ive been in other parts of the state that were pretty open woods...but you find the thick hemlock stands, lurel, grown up fields etc and you'll have the bedding area....
i dont NEED the bedding area in many situations because i try my best to find funnels and hunt them...but a few of my areas i cannot ID the funnels and only have a hard hit food source...or the only readily available food source....
i need to start learning more about OTHER funnels besides once i can ID by terrian and ariels...narrow parts of a creek....holes in the fence...stuff similar to that that dictates where the deer will travel...i need to get closer to where they are coming from...(beds lol) but alot of those areas the trails arent beat into the ground so i need those little hidden pinch points.....
although i DEER hunted 10 years, this is only my 3rd bow season...and id say 3rd season actually hunting DEER in their natural state....before was all rifle season...stands in funnels they used when pressured(most dont work as regular funnels ive found because theres no reason for them to use them...) and deer drives...so im pretty green....dad taught me alot about deer hunting and deer sign...but i gotta learn to piece the puzzle together....i KNOW i can see deer pretty regular...i know i can see bucks consistantly...my areas hold deer and hold bucks...its just hit or miss if i see them or not because i dont have the puzzel complete...
10-09-2008, 08:18 AM
#6
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 454
RE: identifying bedding areas....
ORIGINAL: mauser06
....i KNOW i can see deer pretty regular...i know i can see bucks consistantly...my areas hold deer and hold bucks...its just hit or miss if i see them or not because i dont have the puzzel complete...
....i KNOW i can see deer pretty regular...i know i can see bucks consistantly...my areas hold deer and hold bucks...its just hit or miss if i see them or not because i dont have the puzzel complete...
Maybe there is another factor your over looking though, when you're not seeing deer, such as moon phases affecting the times in which thedeer move. Every week a deer's moving pattern changes, especially come the fall. The next full moon go out at 8-9 a.m., deer tend to move later in the day. Keep an eye on the moon phases this season, and take note of when and how long deer move...you'll start to see a pattern...at least I have.
10-09-2008, 08:48 AM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: identifying bedding areas....
stealthhtr....i mean i know i COULD see deer consistently...once i get this puzzle put together. right now, its hit or miss if i see anything. last year my season was short, but i felt like i was doing great. seen a shooter buck(big 1.5yo or 2.5yo..think he was a 2.5yo) in my honey hole opening day..the next saturday i seen a small buck...to me, thats an accomplishment...my season was short because i killed my buck the next weekend and moved to a new house after that so i couldnt get out to observe or anything....killed my buck at my buddies camp...i didnt do the scouting, though i been there numerous times and knew what one of his stands i wanted in and did alot of calling which was effective up there for me.
my first year i think i seen 19 deer, 5 bucks...a couple of the deer were pushed passed me so that kinda wasnt my hunting ability lol...i hunt 3+ days a week on average....i know my areas hold more deer and more bucks than i see....i know its HUNTING and i cant see em all and see deer all day every day...i just feel i need to start doing something different to see more...
and i do know moon, weather, time of the season etc all come into play....in my defense i havent bowhunted during the seeking/chasing phases except 1 day...which was my best day ever on stand i think...seen 2 bucks and 4 or 5 does by like 8 or 9am...
i'll figure things out eventually...maybe i am doing everything pretty well...i know my first year i overhunted my only spot at home....changed that last year and this year i got more spots at home that all seem promising than i can hunt, so no issue there...i work hard on my entries and exits so i dont bust deer and cross major trails etc...watch the wind...all that sorta stuff...i guess i do alright....but feel i can do better in the earlier parts of the season...once the seeking/chasing starts, and i get to hunt hard for a change, i think i'll see more deer....maybe i'll hold my tag till a nice buck comes by within the next few weeks or try to fill it later in the season...i KNOW i learn more from hunting than i do shooting....just busy with school this year..even if i fill my tag, with any buck, im still going to observe during the seeking/chasing any and every chance i can....JUST to learn and watch for next season....ive always said scouting starts the season before...sometimes years before....
my first year i think i seen 19 deer, 5 bucks...a couple of the deer were pushed passed me so that kinda wasnt my hunting ability lol...i hunt 3+ days a week on average....i know my areas hold more deer and more bucks than i see....i know its HUNTING and i cant see em all and see deer all day every day...i just feel i need to start doing something different to see more...
and i do know moon, weather, time of the season etc all come into play....in my defense i havent bowhunted during the seeking/chasing phases except 1 day...which was my best day ever on stand i think...seen 2 bucks and 4 or 5 does by like 8 or 9am...
i'll figure things out eventually...maybe i am doing everything pretty well...i know my first year i overhunted my only spot at home....changed that last year and this year i got more spots at home that all seem promising than i can hunt, so no issue there...i work hard on my entries and exits so i dont bust deer and cross major trails etc...watch the wind...all that sorta stuff...i guess i do alright....but feel i can do better in the earlier parts of the season...once the seeking/chasing starts, and i get to hunt hard for a change, i think i'll see more deer....maybe i'll hold my tag till a nice buck comes by within the next few weeks or try to fill it later in the season...i KNOW i learn more from hunting than i do shooting....just busy with school this year..even if i fill my tag, with any buck, im still going to observe during the seeking/chasing any and every chance i can....JUST to learn and watch for next season....ive always said scouting starts the season before...sometimes years before....
