Since I'm really unsure about some things...I'm gonna ask you guys. 1.) Do most bucks actually sleep in the same exact bed most of the time? Maybe not during the rut but other times? Reason I ask is because I just finished Blood Brothers Hill Country bucks this weekend and those guys were finding beds with hair in them. Not just one strand of hair but lots of it. I've never seen this.....seems as if that buck was sleeping in the same exact spot everyday. 2.) Hunting the wind. I used to think this meant only one thing. Where ever you expect the deer to come from...you want to be the one downwind. After watching that video...I guess hunting the wind could also mean hunting the spot where the predominant wind and thermals meet which creates a thermal tunnel (I believe thats what they called it). This is where the buck will want to be to scent check does. Is this what you guys mean when you say you "hunt the wind." 3.) Bump em & dump em.....interesting concept. I may have to try this.
That's probably the most informative video ever produced. There are gems in it. I don't find many beds with hair in them here, but I do find some. I think alot has to do with northern deer vs southern deer. The difference in the amount of hair is amazing.
rednas...I'd highly recommend buying it! They cover a lot of good info. DC: So the beds you found with hair in them...ever catch a buck in them? What do you think of the bump 'em & dump 'em approach?
#1 - Yes, sometimes a buck will bed repeatedly in the exact same bed. Other times, if he likes the spot, he'll bed bed all around the same spot. What I mean, is that he'll continually bed in an area the size of your living room, but maybe not in the same bed each time. I just found a spot where a buck was bedding out on the point of a steep ridge. Man, did he have the view! There were about 5 or 6 beds in close proximity. I figured that this was due to slight changes in wind direction. #2 - I use the wind to keep the buck from smelling me. I do this whether I hunt on the edge of his bedding area or on a trail leading to a doe bedding area. Actually, I do it where ever I hunt! #3 - I have never tried this, not sure if I will.
I agree with Greg. I have watched bucks come out from the exact same bed day after day on many occasions. Just last night I witnessed the same 8 come out of the same spot he has been for a couple weeks. My problem is the buck I am hunting beds on groung I cant hunt. If he bedded over here I would bump and dump his ass in a second. (idealy)
You guys that are seeing bucks come out of the same bed or an area the size of your living room consistently.......... How big are your wood lots that these deer are bedded in? Are these little 50-200 acre patches of timber, with lots of agriculture around, or are these large unbroken tracts of timber spanning 1000-50,000 acres? I'm primarily in the larger wood lots. My smallest piece (in PA) is a spot that is roughly 1000 acres of standing timber. I've NEVER seen a buck use the same exact bed consistently, or a spot the size of a living room. I have found areas that are 2-3 acres in size that are used consistently and on a daily basis, but most commonly I'm seeing bucks that have 2-3 seperate areas that are 2-3 acres in size that they bed in on a random basis. Am I alone on this? Is this something that is commonly seen elsewhere? I'm thinking that a lot of this has to do with the size of the timber or "cover" that these deer are using for security cover and daytime bedding.
I don't believe bucks bed in the same bed repeatedly. Where he beds is determined on many things. The wind at that time. Where he is feeding. The time of year. And what type of obstacles he encountered that night(coyotes, dogs, coon hunters, poachers, vehicles on the roads) just about anything can push a deer of of their intended travel plans for the night. I'm pretty sure they have a number of "safe spots" that they can hide out in as the weather or other circumstances dictate. But yes, I have found hair in beds before. I'm sure they are just like us, always loosing hair and breaking it off. Especially as the move around while lying in their beds.
I have thousand of acres of AG around me. The timber I hunt is as you mentioned 50 to 200 acres private, and ab out 500 public I hunt on.
Thanks for the info guys... Like I said...I've always thought bucks or just deer in general bedded in an area as Jeff had said. Just seems odd to think of a deer sleeping in the same bed, repeatedly. I'd love to find this scenario in my woods!
