How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I'm curious to hear how you all go about this. I myself struggle with this not knowing 100% for sure where a particular buck Is bedding. Also, do you believe there bedding area's change through out the fall? How do you know this as well? I don't want to hear opinion's, I want to hear facts that have proof.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I truly dont know where my big buck population beds but I have a pretty good idea where they live. The single greatest thing a hunter can do is watch forpreseason evening movement. It is prooven that big bucks are taken after the hunter has patterned that buck and humans dont enter that areauntilopening day! After opening day with pressure bucks get nocturnal and it turns getting lucky. A mix of fact and opinion.....

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

This question properly addressed can take pages upon pages to answer....most times called a 'book'.
I'm not trying to be smart here bud, but there's nothing that can be better that 'scouting'. Using cameras is the most recent technological way. Getting yourself in the outdoors where the deer are and thiswill produce somesigns.
I find the months of January thru to March to be an excellent time to learn about deer habitat, movement, feeding and bedding areas, especially when there's snow on the ground.
In the summer months, finding the 'natural food sources' in undisturbed areas will give you a clue as to where the big boys are. Most places that are hard to access, is usually a good place to look.
Scouting and more scouting, learning the land, finding travel routes, knowing where the does will be and are feeding, looking for sign of other predators like 'yotes' will sometime tell you where the deer will be very cautious.
Honestly not to repeat myself too much, it's all about knowing where you hunt and putting in the time scouting and 'trhinking like a deer'.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Facts? I think most I've ever read on the Subject are opinions, but then if you see a Buck lay down he is bedded[8D]

I like everyone else have my opinions, but since that does Not interest you Steve I'll keep it to myself.

Steve, I also really believe you are smart enough that your thoughts about this are as valid as anyones;)

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

:D:D:D:DUsed rubbers buddy.:D:D:D:D

Seriously though it seems the doe's bed in groups and the bucks solo especially the mature dudes.
Post scouting is a great time right now.

T

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I dont know where my bucks are bedding, and that is one thing i want to try and find out. I can almost say for certain that they are not using my properties. I know where some of the little guys are bedding but not the mature bucks.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Thanks for your response ampahunter, lots of good Info but I've got to ask you about what I quoted above. What good Is finding bedding and feeding area's In the winter If there yarded up deer from miles away? As you know the northern regions get lots of snow and thus deer yard up from miles away on food sources. Many of these deer have never been In your woods before and may never again unless there's ample food there next year and the snow Is deep again. What I'm trying to say Is the area's where deer don't group up your above logic would make more sense to me then being them are your home deer and not deer from miles away that are never In your woods during the hunting season.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Dan, I ask this because I want facts and good answers. Otherwise everyone and there cousin could reply and say "I think they do this" or "I think they do that but then again I'm not sure either". That's not what I'm asking.

I do too much guessing on this (mature buck bedding area's) so I don't think my knowledge on this subject Is very good. That's why I'm asking for Input here, I want to learn.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Steve, I knew what you were getting at. I understood.

A mature Buck is going to bed in the most advantageous place for his safety/privacy, and depends greatly on the time of year, stage of Rut, etc. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's the opposite of what you may think.

Once the Rut is on a lot of Bets are off!;)

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Dan, where I live here in Mn there is some farm land and woods. Mostly woods. In general deer have been put into categories such as farm land, big woods and then semi farmland-big woods. I use to think because It was roughly 65% woods here and 35% farm land they would be semi farmalnd but they are more big woods than farmland they just might have a somewhat smaller core area. Greg Miller was actaully out here and hunted some and we went through it together. I thought I had figured out the bedding areas for the bucks but it turned out that they were bedding all over the place in there core areas wichI figured wasabout400 acrs roughly for the few bigger ones I was hunting. I supposewhere theybed decided on the wind. And also a couple of mature bucks that I had seen all summer together were still bedding together all the way up into the beginning of November, I seen them get out of there beds together and that was the end on October. I believe that they would be back bedding together now even except we shot the one, but the other one is still there in his core area. A friend of mine caught pictures of them using the same scrape about a mile from here as well in November. So to answer your question you have to determine what kind of deer you have, if it is big woods then they will mostly likely be bedding all over in there core area playing the wind. If they are farmland they will be most likely be using alot smaller area and alot of the times probably the same bed. Semi, is most like farmalnd just a little bit bigger area. I thought I had mine all figured out but they are all over bedding in there.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I "believe" the bucks where I hunt have multiple bedding areas. I knew where 2 different big bucks were bedding last year. (at least part of the time) I believe the big woods bucks move around a lot with changing food sources, the rut, and wintering ranges, and pressure. The partial proof is from personal experience and also a tracking study that was done in my area years ago.
Both of the bucks disappeared this year. Maybe they didn't make it thru the winter.
You can find their fall beds in the winter. Their beds will have rubs near them. Just like the beds that the blood bro's show in their videos. I agree that finding the beds they are using right now may not help you in the fall.
The one thing I found interesting from the tracking study was that each buck did things differently from the others but what they did do they repeated year after year. Or put a different way, they were patternable.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Good stuff Todd! This Is the answers I'm looking for.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

~ Otherwise everyone and there cousin could reply and say "I think they do this"


Go ahead just say it Steve... Ed, why don't you shut your pie hole!!!:D
I'll surprise you some day with a good answer, instead of a smart ass one!:)
Keep in mind, if it were that easy, there would be even less big bucks roaming,
because they would get shot by the first person to get out and hunt.

Maybe some hunters have it figured out, and of course, these are the answers from the folks your looking for...
I'll name GregH as only one, of the many hunters who connect consistently.
Maybe some have it partially figured out. (I consider myself just breaking into this this bracket)
And some are lucky enough to stumble over a bedding area. (I used to be in this bracket)
*When you spend more time scouting, the luck factor tends to change towards skill!

I read a book from Hal Blood and he call's the mature buck a "NOMAD". I think for most of the mature bucks, it's the perfect name. It takes years to figure out the terrain or deer habits, what works in one area doesn't in the next. I believe they have preferred bedding areas for different times of the year or for pressure times of the year, etc..

I too, wish I could find the pot of antlers at the end of the rainbow!
I'll just keep clicking my hunting boot heels together and say "I wish I were in Kansas".
Or Illinois or Wisconsin or Ohio or ... you get the hint.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Lol!! Nothing wrong with that response there Ed!!;) I'm going to try that "clicking my hunting boots thing". I'll let you know how It works for me.:D

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Right on brother - thanks for the laugh!

I will note, in all seriousness, the last handful of years, I find myself spending less time trying to be "the hunter we watch on the DVD"
or "the hunter in the magazine article". I believe that this actually hurt me throughout my earlier years of hunting and to be the "hunter that I am".
If this makes sense? The major thing it did for me, which was a good thing, was to keep me motivated and hoping...

You have been very lucky/blessed to be brought up in a hunting family where the apple didn't fall far from the tree!
By the sounds of you and your brother's sightings this past season, you're further ahead than most of us.
Just pickier than I, as 125" buck is dead in my woods...

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I too believe that the big bucks have more than 1 bedding area. They like to have a plan B and probably C as well, in case some intruder invades his main place.

In the summer, scout feeding locations in the evenings and try to spot a nice buck or two. Go back during mid day and try to find their tracks then back track. The use of maps (all kinds), cameras and some leg work should get you close. Then try observation stands. Advance slowly and carefully until you see where he gets up from in the evening.

The more buck bedding locations you can find the better you are. You can possibly hunt a different one when the wind isn't right for the others.

As far as finding antlers at this time of year, it tells you which bucks are still around. Also, the sign in the snow tells you how the area is being used after season..... why the deer are there. When the snow melts you should be able to see sign from the rut.

With tons of year round scouting and observation, a person can put together the big picture of the herd in their area and get a good read on the mature bucks enough to put together a plan on how to hunt them. Not many people are able or willing to invest this kind of time in the pursuit of whitetails. Myself included. I have done this kind of scouting many times. Whether I get the buck I'm after or not, the scouting only helped me to become a better hunter. It never hurts you! Some years I don't invest this kind of time and hope for the best by hunting in accordance with what I have previously learned.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I don't worry about where they are bedding. I watch the does...know their routine...and hunt funnels where bucks have to pass to get to the sweet stuff

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

That's great strategy for the rut. Won't workearly season.;)

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Jeff,
If it was Not for the Rut many hunters could not kill a buck;)That does not apply to most on here. I am talking your average hunter.

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I couldn't agree more.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I found a few common characteristics in the beds of mature bucks in the big woods. 1. they are usually elevated. 2. they are almost impossible to get near without making noise. 3. they tend to be on the edge of good escape cover. The common thread is when I find oneI always think to myself : This is the perfect place to bed for survival.
Some trackers don't worry about bumping these deer out of their bedding areas because they realize these places are almost impossible to sneak up on. They opt instead to move the deer out of there to hopefully a place where they have a better chance to kill them. After finding a lot of beds I can understand this line of thought.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I cant say its a fact but its a common occurance with what Ive seen and had local farmers tell me. The mature bucks distance themselves from the other deer and in my area they find the most unlikely spots that youd think they would be. What Im talking about is for instance one piece of land I can duck hunt but not deer hunt theres a decent amount of timber BUT I witnessed the dominant buck IMO on several occasions walk across 2 open fields and bed down in this little piece of CRP. (maybe 20yds long by 15 yds wide grass was only about thigh high)Thats just one of several mature bucks Ive seen in places that are so small you just overlook it. Im in the same boat as you now though, I have a nice property to hunt but cant find the mature bucks bedroom. Its a big timber but theres no small spots on the property that I could check to see if its true for this particular area. From what Ive seen though in my area smaller is better. The mature bucks find a spot that has enough cover and a close food/water source and they bed in that area. If you have an area that when you look at it you think "there might be one or two pheasants in that" go check it out for deer beds. Ive heard the farmers and witnessed it myself. Hope you can make something from my experiences cuz on my new hunting ground its all big timber and I havent been able to put anything together finding the bedroom either.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

You are right on MeanV2........average hunters would never take a buck if it was not for the rut. IMO the opener of bowhunting season is just the best time to take down aquality buckbecause he is predictable!

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Early season is of no importance to me except observing does and watching routines;) Come the rut...I will put them down

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

And if it wasnt for compound bows and treestands...most bowhunters would never kill a deer.;) Early season bucks are predicatable in their feeding habits..but the bucks in my woods are nocturnal even in the summer except for the prerut, rut, post rut. This summer I watched a 160'' class buck from my back door, hide in the woods edge and refuse to walk out in the field and feed with the other 20 does and small bucks. Even in the summer..he was nocturnal. Big mature bucks only drop their guard imo during the prerut, rut, post rut

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Ithink that pretty much covers the Bow Season[8D]

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

lol..prerut= halloween through 1st week in nov(MY FAVORITE TIME) rut= 2nd week in Nov through part of 3rd (My least favorite part of the rut to hunt...bucks have does off somewhere in the middle of nowhere...activity slows way down...sucks pretty well Post rut= end of 3rd week in Nov through Thanksgiving.(Awesome time to be out in the woods...bucks are losing does and back on the prowl looking for chics. Rattling works well.
Our bow season opens Oct 1st and closes Jan 10th...so nope..doesnt cover the entire bow season.;)

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

We can throw this back and forth but everyone has their own facts and opinions and they go with what works for them at their honey hole. THE real question is........do I know where my bucks bed? No, I dont know where my bucks bed but I know where they live.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Mature Bucks bed on fence rows, high places, low places, thick cover, no cover(small tiny weed patches) I have seen mature bucks do all of the above. They dont go lay down in the same place every day...not in my experience in the woods where I hunt.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I do NOT know where bucks bed from day to day. Call me an idiot but I have no idea where 1 particular buck may bed. Also, I don't know where the does bed. I hunt large open woods with military troops walking through those same woods so patterning the deer can be very difficult. I have learned to adapt a more general approach to hunting because if I put "all my eggs in one basket" where I hunt, I would be consistently disappointed as the hunting conditions change rapidly due to military training and certain areas being shut down for extended periods of time.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I found several beds today, some of which were buck beds.

I hunt hill country. I've taken a topo and marked all points on the entire 500 acres. My plan is scout each one of them in the next couple of weeks.

What I'm tring to put together is WHY they decide to bed on one point vs the next point over. One common factor I have found is they bed on the points that offer the greatest view of what is below them. Getting in close during the daylight will be next to impossible.

You need to spend some time on Dan Infalt's website. He is a master on big buck beds. Just google it, you won't be sorry.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

For all it's worth that's your definition[8D]

I would beg to differ;)

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

yep...my definition and all of my friends and 99% of all bowhunters I would assume. Pre rut, in nobodys book I know is considered Oct 1(opening day of season) and I don't know anybody that considers post rut Jan 10th either. Maybe in Dan's world...but not mine or my friends:eek:

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

I'm curious how you were able to differentiate between buck beds and doe beds? Because they were on points with agood view?

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Here are a couple pics I took today with my camera phone, but you get the idea.

First is the bed, next is the view down below. It was classic point bed.

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

One other observation, in hill country you don't typically find the old worn out dirt bed that you may find in a swamp or other flat land. I believe the main reason for this is that in hill country, they bed in several different spots based on that days thermals.

I have been told they will bed with the wind blowing down the point to their back and they will face the open bottom below. Very tough to crack that nut!

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Ok HCH and all his Buddies say the 3 Rut phases run Hallowen through Thanksgiving[8D]

A buck is ready, willing, and able to breed as long as he is carrying hard antlers.

I've found plenty of rubs, and scrapes 1st week of Oct. as well as the same being worked very Late Dec.

I've personally witnessed a Doe being bred mid Oct., and several the 1st half of Jan.

Interesting this could all happen since it is in No way duringany phase of the Rut according to you;)

This will be my last post on this matter as I learned by arguing with you about Trajectory it's like

Keep after itDon:D

Dan

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

That no dought, is a good view. You wouldn't be getting in there undetected, that's for sure!

RE: How do you guys know exactly where your big bucks are bedding?
 

Im just gonna throw this out there but I think of the prerut as when the bucks start establishing there territory and you start seeing signs like rub lines and scrapes. In different parts of the country it occurs at slightly different times but here in the midwest my deffinition would fall in the 2nd week of Oct. approximately and run until the end of Oct. I see young bucks starting to chase does that arent yet in cycle around Halloween. The rut falls into place approx late 1st week to 2nd week Nov. and lasts a week up to 2 weeks. Then the post rut runs up until the 2nd week of Dec.During our shotgun season the first week of Dec. most of the bucks we saw were with does and my dad witnessed some love in the air with the buck he got and a doe.