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Hunting bedding areas

988 views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  Charlieeasy 
#1 ·
There is a 3 acre pine thicket that is pretty nasty on the outside but once get towards the center it is open enough for a stand and some shot opporunities. In the past I've hunting edges of beds, but this area is consitently tore up with rubs year after year. Deer frequent the area. The south portion of it is visible from the owners house. He is always telling me about the deer he watched that morning while drinking coffee. It basically stands alone. There are fence rows running to the east and west from it that they use to travel to and from it. I've never really put much thought into hunting the area, but it has be curious. What do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
If it is a true bedding area I would hunt the fringes and not intrude to the interior. We have several areas like this on our place and by not pushing deer there we keep the deer in our area. When the rut comes around the bucks will be more visable on the travel routes and food plots looking for does. If its the only area you have then hunt it with favorable wind and the least amount of travel as not to spread scent or spook deer. This all my own opinion and take it as such. Good luck.. Steve
 
#3 ·
bowmedic said:
If it is a true bedding area I would hunt the fringes and not intrude to the interior. We have several areas like this on our place and by not pushing deer there we keep the deer in our area. When the rut comes around the bucks will be more visable on the travel routes and food plots looking for does. If its the only area you have then hunt it with favorable wind and the least amount of travel as not to spread scent or spook deer. This all my own opinion and take it as such. Good luck.. Steve
Couldn't have said it any better. Try to stay out of there if at all possible, but if you do hunt inside the bedding area, only do it a very limited number of times. Good luck.
 
#4 ·
Bedding Areas .....

I am currently hunting an area such as this .... I setup about 20 yrds off of the main trail leading to and from the feeding areas (food plots we planted earlier this year... Turnips, rape, clover, Buck Forage Oats, and Chickory) ... I am about 35 yrds away from where they enter their bedding area ... I have consistently seen deer so far just couldn't get the shots on the deer I wanted ...Saturday afternoon I took my oldest son (5yrs old) and we had doe (100-115 lbs) within 8 yrds of my DB Matrix ... I wish you guys could have seen his face when she kept getting closer and closer .. It was priceless ... Sunday afternoon I saw the 2nd biggest deer I have ever seen in the woods ( 10 pt. 135-140 class est.) ... I am going to sneak back in there this afternoon in hopes of getting a shot this time... Good luck and I hope a little of the info and tactics that are working for me help you ....


Thanks,
Mike
 
#7 ·
Agree w/ what everyone said.....you may want to hang a stand inside and only hunt it a few times when you know you can sit "all day"....hunting a spot like this is very fragile but could be productive when the big boys are out on the move. Remember if it is a bedding area you need to hunt it all day as not to spook deer from their beds when you have to leave.....all day only and during the pre-rut seeking phase.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info. If condition are right, I might plan an all day sit in there in early November when bucks are cruising for does. I would like to hunt the fence rows on either side but one side isn't my property and the other don't use a whole lot. There a 2 different low spots that cut across the field to another block of timber and they tend to travel in them.
 
#9 ·
Bedding Areas

The south portion

YES I have done it with good results. Here's How: I always wait for
a nasty storm either rain or snow. I enter into the wind, normaly our
wind comes out of the NE in such a storm. Once inside outter edges
I head right for the SE or S corner. Have had deer bedded as close
as three yards. Couple things to remember. Enter WELL before day-
light. Exit WELL after dark, same way out as in. VERY IMPORTANT,
IT'S ALL DAY OR NO WAY......Chuck
 
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