Bedding Area Basics

[The Silence]

Hi guys. Could you all help a rookie out by giving me some basic pointers about where to key in on as far as bedding areas are concerned-- both for does and bucks? What type of terrain and vegetation tend to hold animals?

 

[Scott]

I wouldnt look for a certain type of cover, rather than just the thickest piece on the property you are hunting. They will lay in anything from grass, cedars, timber blow downs, and even old junk piles.

 

[DOR]

A good thing for a newbie to do is just walk the property you hunt and scout it extensively one time. Do not worry about spooking the deer. You can jump some deer this way and learn where some of these animals are bedding during the daylight hours. As far as doe groups and bucks go....I find that a mature buck will tolerate a lot less pressure in regards to his primary bedding area than will a doe family group.

If you are not comfortable disturbing the area as I described, I think ScottIC gave you excellant advise. The thickest nastiest spots are always going to hold bucks.

Another added feature that they tend to like is having thick cover at there back as well as the wind, and a good vantage point in front of them. It covers their bases that way. And makes them much harder to hunt in the evening on some occasions.

Oh and another thing, you live IA so you have a little more room to make some mistakes, b/c there are plenty of quality animals to pursue.

Good Luck

 

[Shredder]

My observations in the past have shown that all mature bucks are different in where they like to bed. Some like the thick stuff, some like the open stuff. It just depends on the property you hunt and the least disturbed areas. Both of the above posts are excellent in the descriptions of a bucks bedding areas and I feel there are many more places out there that a buck liks to bed. Open CRP fields are another possibility if that is available and open south slopes are another area I have found them. The most obvious spots are not always the most likely but the least inhabited spots are the key to finding the honey holes

 

[Fletch]

I agree with DOR, scout your property thoroughly well before the season. At this time of year I wouldn’t worry too much about spooking deer or disturbing bedding areas - within reason, of course. This is a far better time of year to learn about your area and how the deer use it (and make mistakes) then during Oct and Nov. Another good bedding area to find bucks is on a ridge top where they bed on the down wind side, with the wind at their back – I’ve seen this several times. Good Luck.

Fletch

 

[PointBlank]

I find a lot of doe groups use long "hogback" shaped fingers/ridges that extend outward from main ridge lines. The winds are usually pretty consistent and they can see and/or escape in every direction. I have found many buck bedding areas at the end of a ridge on little knobs, or on subtle benches on side hills where they can smell up the hill and see down the valley.

 

[kbgibby]

All good advice. As Pointblank pointed out, I've seen bucks bed down along narrow terraces where they've got a good vantage point to see danger from a long way off.

I've found that deer seem to use a wider range of bedding areas early on and tend to concentrate later on in thicker cover. It's easy to find bedding areas with fresh snow on the ground.

P.S. - I'll give you a call the next day or so to grab a cup of coffee.