bedding spot
 

where are deer bedding grounds?

In the woods!!!

Okay, jokes aside, I hope yer not thinking about trying to invade/infiltrate bedding areas? It's potentially a fools errand.

I saw your other post where it was suggested that you get between the bedding, and feeding areas. That's not a bad suggestion, but is a bit generic.

Without really knowing your situation, it's almost impossible to answer your basic questions. Some more specifics may help.

If the pressure is high in your area, deer may have gone nocturnal, if that's the case, all bets are pretty much off.

That said, if you know the feeding areas, here's a couple of ideas. Pressured deer are always going to approach them from downwind. Keep in mind that deer don't restrict themselves to "one" feeding area, they'll feed where they need too based on the conditions they're under.

I'm not sure what kind of feeding areas your dealing with, but even in farm/agricultural areas, there is food available for them in wooded areas, maybe not preferred feed, but feed nonetheless. They may not hit the prime feeding areas until after dark, but that doesn't mean that they're not feeding when your hunting.

As too wooded feeding areas, here's a few observations I have for you.

In an area that isn't pressured, as I said, deer will approach it from downwind, likely in a circular approach. They will then proceed to walk threw the area moving into the wind in an attempt to make sure that the area is safe. Once they start to feed they tend to do so in a downwind direction. The reason they do this is because when they're feeding, they're quite often using their eyes to locate the food, and as they're chewing it diminishes they're dependence on they're ears. By moving downwind, they're able to keep their eyes, and their noses on their back trail. Movements by deer that aren't pressured tend to be quite leisure, and meandering when they're feeding in this manner.

Pressured deer act different in wooded areas. They will still approach from down wind. But instead of going threw the area, and feeding back threw it in a meandering fashion, they will move into the wind comparatively quickly feeding as they go in a more straight line fashion. Keeping their eyes, and noses into the wind as they do so.

Not sure if that helps, but hope it gives you some ideas.

It sort of depends on the available terrain and flora.

If you can find smallish (5 sq. ys. to like 20 sq. yd.) areas of high grass that are surrounded by really thick brambles or hedges, that's probably where the bedding areas are.

Often the grass is smushed (is that a real word?) down, and the area is covered in droppings.

You find that, you've found a bedding area.

Problem is that once they've been pressured, they may move on or change their bedding areas.

Conventional wisdom is to hit the stand in the morning, with the stand being near a trail leading between a feeding and bedding area.

If nothing shootable comes along after that, hit that bedding area, trying to walk up or jump up a shooter.

During the rut it's a little different; you don't have to be out there at 4:00 AM. Get something with some estrous scent and hang near a defined trail.

Those are you basic tactics.

But there are SOOOO many others, and so many variations, that they're almost useless generalizations.