What makes a good deer bedding area?
 

I was wondering what everyone plants that deer really like to bed in. I wanna plant this kind of grass on the south side of my food plot for the deer to lay in. I wanna plant something that would grow to be about 3-4 foot high so it would give the deer more cover.

They will lay up in any thick cover that's available to them. Around home, they'll bed a lot in 4-5 ft. tall canary grass or in CRP tall prairie or switch grass fields. My feeling is that 3-4 ft. tall may not be enough to provide substantial cover. If the wind knocks it down a little and there's not much left. I'm sure you'll get some deer in there. But I think you can do better with a taller variety.

ok thanks and ya i wasn't sure if that would be high enough either. Do you know how much it will cost to get CRP grass like that?

I doubt it would be too expensive. I'll bet if you google prairie grass mix, you'd find some good local sources. A couple of other things that I've noticed: Deer use those CRP prairies for "nurseries", hiding their small fawns while they feed. And, in the spring I'll see does out grazing in them as soon as things start greening up.

I never knew that they used them for nurseries. That is probably why I have been seeing the does out in the CRP more.

Im fortunate to have all of the good stuff combined in my lease. I have actually walked up on some of the biggest buck bedding in everything from tall grass, under cedars, and where they are protected from the suns heat.

Here is my bow blind 25 yards from center of clover with bedding and trails surrounding the area. This time of year is where you will find most of the fawns being born. The most important thing to assure a deer is gonna bed down in it is minimal pressure from predators and people, so I always glass this field before stepping foot in it. Look for anything moving, and things that just seem out of place like an ear twitching or the antlers reflections.

North American Hunters magazine just had an article last month about the MANY types and germination to maturation times.


Great luck!

Clear cuts and thick brush piles and blow downs. Also areas that are new growth aspen and birch new growth. Any place where they can see danger and are hard to be seen! Thats my opinion.:s4:

well..here in texas...they like the bottom lands under heavy shade, where nobody ever goes. If yer goin in there, they probably wont bed down like you are wanting them too.

Marsh grass. They love that stuff.