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Where bucks bed??

Ried#3

Member
My question where bucks will bed on a river system. I believe I read they will likely bed on the inside bend of a river. If this is true which direction will they be facing and using what kind of wind? Say they are on south side of river. Will they be there on a south wind and facing to the north looking for danger? Or would they be on the north side of river with this kind of wind?
 
I have actually been researching this very topic. The best answers I have found so far is by watching Midwest Whitetail videos and whitetailhabitatsolutions.com I have been researching this a great deal and I have come to the conclusion I don't know as much about the subject as I thought I did.
 
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I may be a little off topic here as I'm not quite as versed on the "which side of river" which i want to hear more of what you all have to say for sure! a little off topic, sorry... I think it's based on wind direction in SOME cases with a SMART OLD BUCK. He may alter where he beds so he can get the best view with also the most dangerous areas having him being down-wind of. I sure don't know the technical answer to above and I can't read a deer's mind but I personally think they alter based on wind. Especially SMART OLD BUCKS which are a completely different animal IMO. They often bed in odd areas too.
Only thing I know for sure on my river system, Obviously if I have areas of nasty thick cover, usually they will be there. Or, say it's wide open (which mine isn't now!!!) - they will find a deadfall tree or brush pile to bed against.
Long discussion & could be another topic BUT I think what, where and why an OLD smart buck beds is going to be vastly different than say a 1-2 year old buck. Want to hear more responses on the inside/outside of rivers though. Interesting.
 
I'm glad this question made sense! From what I can gather on a north wind generally the deer will be on the upwind side of the river facing downwind looking for danger and using its nose to detect danger from upwind. But, like it was said, this is hardly 100% hardfast rule.
 
I think a buck is mostly likely to bed with the wind at his back and facing an area where he can see what is going on in front of him. I would take that apply it to the bend in the river in your area so you can get a general idea of a bedding area for a north and south wind.
 
I think big bucks will bed down wind of a known bedding area as well. One of my favorite stands sits about 50-75 yards from a bedding area. The stand sits right where the creek and cedars pinch the timber. The ground on the stand side of the creek sits about 25 feet higher than the other side, so I figured the deer would funnel high, next to the bedding area. The stand is southeast of the bedding area so I hunt it on a northwest wind, but once or twice a year when I'm walking to my stand I kick up a big buck bedding on the other side of the creek, down wind of my stand/down wind of the bedding area (on the inside of a big bend in the creek) So probably not the best stand location...
 
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