[blrrobinson21]

I was wondering how many bedding areas a deer will have or make during one day, our 24 hour period. When they come back from feeding in the early hours, and go to bed will they always return their to bed if they get up for what ever reason.
Thanks

 

[bwilson301]

idont know if this will help or not, but from what ive seen, even though they have a general bedding area, ive seen deer just plop down werever it was convenent. its like they stop and take a break on their way to the bedding areas:wink:

 

[booger]

at my hunting spot, last time I stayed up there I slept on the porch since it was nice and cool. I woke up in the morning to see that deer had bedded about 15 feet from where I slept on the porch. Former owners used to hunt right from the porch. My aunt, who owns it now, doesn't want us within about 40 yards of the house. There are also beds about 150 -200 yards away from the house and well worn deer trails that are adjacent to the beds.

Would it be a good idea to put a treestand up right there? It is like a swamp area with an island where the deer bed. Obviously I can't put up a stand in the swamp, but it is shallow enough (really more like marsh land) to where we have plywood and boards going out to the island.

Is it a good idea to put stands right on top of bedding areas?

 

[SwietsRick]

Once you have identified the deer’s bedding area stay outside of it. Try not to walk into his bedding area but use distance to observe his movement.

 

[blrrobinson21]

I guess where my question was coming from was, I have a creek the runs parallel with a big feild that I know they feed in earlier in the evening. I have jumped a deer only once "stayed out since then" bedded by the creek in the 30' wide timber that runs with the creek. I was afraid to walk through that paticular feild early in the morning afraid that they would be there either feeding or going back to bed. When I first jumped the deer it was in the middle of the afternoon. I didnt know if he would bed there in the morning or if it was a afternoon bed.

 

[blrrobinson21]

ttt

 

[Buksknr53]

During gun season, I hunt with a club that uses deer dogs. The dogs are released into known bedding areas. We hit the same areas sometimes twice a week and there are always deer there. Once the coast is clear, the deer will return. One spot that we run is a patch of woods, mostly oaks and pines, and briers galore, about 100 yards wide and about 500 yards long. This patch lies between two agricultural fields. After driving dogs through this strip of cover and jumping deer, I have seen deer come out and graze in the fields less than an hour after the drive was over. Some extremely thick areas that we hunt, the deer will not leave the area. They will run around in the area all day and will not come out no matter how many dogs you put in there.
I'm convinced that deer will use the same bedding areas regardless if they are disturbed. Once the danger is gone, they come back.

 

[mofarmboy]

i wouldnt worry about bumping the deer in the middle of the afternoon chances are it just found a cool spot and lied down for a while. i would however make sure the wind was in my favor before i headed towards the field next.also do u hunt around the lake area? i hunt some near the lake. deer numbers are unreal.

 

[Epinepherine]

A bedding area can pretty much be where ever that particular buck decides to park it.

I'm not too sure that whitetail truly designate areas as morning/afternoon/evening bedding areas, although it's an interesting thought. Typically if the deer has a location it generally goes to as it's "bedding area" then it can be visited anytime of day, while at the same time that location could be skipped or passed over for reasons only known to him/them for several days before returning (i.e.; hunting pressure, weather/front systems, biological drives, etc).

My own rule of thumb is always start with the assumption that "he's there" during the day-time/day-light hours unless empirical evidence proves otherwise.