BetterBirddogs

Let's say your looking at prospective hunting properties. Which is more vital to have? (assuming you can't find a property with both) Bedding area? Feeding area? If you had to choose would you whether have the deer bed on your place but leave to eat or bed somewhere else and eat on your place?

SWThomas

Feeding area. They can bed wherever they want.

skb2706

I choose door number three

No other hunters.

thndrchiken

Food and water, they can bed wherever but if they like your food they'll be back.

gregrn43

Its alot nice to have all three, water, feeding and bedding. I would chose water as being number one.

TreednNC

bedding.....can have food, but if they dont wanna come til dark they aint gonna.

virginiashadow

Bedding. They can eat what they want, when they want. But they can only bed in certain areas without risk of being exposed. I would pick a good bedding area over feeding area anytime.

crenshaw

You can create both. If you have food, plant a ton of cedars and now you have bedding, or vise versa. I chose Food on the basis that most browse that deer eat is also bedding, but if you consider it just to be a field of crops then i would take bedding and put in small food plots. You can make properties great. I made a 10acre cow pasture into a 10acre bedding area in very little time at no cost.

MOhunter46

bedding

Jimmy S

Kinda hard to answer without knowing what kind of feed is available or what type of cover the deer are using for their bedding areas. All things being equal, I would concentrate on the feeding area. The deer always know where their food source is located, which is usually at multiple places, especially if the main food source is acorns, beechnuts, ect. These type of woods seem to have available cover that offers security and cover from nasty weather.

If the main food source is found in fields or farm country, then I would certainly concentrate there.