The Hunting Beast

Rut cruising trails downwind of doe bedding are huge for me. I know exactly where they will appear every season right around Halloween. These trail are for the most part invisible the rest of the year but once a few hot does are ready the marsh peat will have a beaten down trail almost overnight from bucks pounding the cruising trail. It’s my cue to hunt it NOW and has payed off multiple times.

Ok thnks dewey. Would a cruising trail be in the meadows or just inside the woods along transitions?

Lopedog699 wrote:Ok thnks dewey. Would a cruising trail be in the meadows or just inside the woods along transitions?

Knowing where Dewey hunts...neither. It would be along some type of redbrush or island marsh transition.

I have observed...enough times to call it good...mature bucks following the “herd” of 5 or 6 other deer in late, late season. Christmas onward...are they after an estrous doe? I dunno but I have observed this at least 10 different times on different properties at this time of year. I have also seen mature bucks totally by themselves at that time as well....just like I have other deer.

No always and no never!

Nothing is overrated in the deer woods. Deer trails are a piece of the big picture. Ignore them and you are ignoring details. All are not the same. There are main travel trails. There are side trails, pinch trails, escape trails, trails in bedding areas, trails coming out of bedding areas, terrain feature trails, trails to food, road crossing trails....n so on.

Bucks WILL travel the main trails with does. I have a few on my wall that fell to that tactic. I too seldom see them on the main trails alone. They seem to follow buck trails when alone. These trails seem alot more protective for the bucks. Most of the time there are few tracks and no beaten path. These trails are hard to see unless you know they are there. But if a buck comes through he will follow these routes.

"Nothing is overrated in the deer woods. Deer trails are a piece of the big picture. Ignore them and you are ignoring details. All are not the same. There are main travel trails. There are side trails, pinch trails, escape trails, trails in bedding areas, trails coming out of bedding areas, terrain feature trails, trails to food, road crossing trails....n so on.

Bucks WILL travel the main trails with does. I have a few on my wall that fell to that tactic. I too seldom see them on the main trails alone. They seem to follow buck trails when alone. These trails seem alot more protective for the bucks. Most of the time there are few tracks and no beaten path. These trails are hard to see unless you know they are there. But if a buck comes through he will follow these routes."

oldrank,

It seems that you may have forgotten more about deer trails than I have ever learned!

I might possibly have misunderstood the original point of this thread. I look at trails the same way as tracks, they tell me at one time a deer has been here. However trails are a series of tracks made over time. I took the question as is it wise to simply blindly wonder into the woods and simply put your stand over a deer trail like so many do. I would say no, however like a lot of people who already posted if u have done your homework and Know why and when then yes they can provide a opportunity.

For me, a trail has to be combined with another feature like a really good pinch point, terrain feature, convergence in cover, or multiple trail intersection. And they HAVE to be close to bedding. Just hunting a random trail is not productive for me, and I do not have the patience or confidence to do it.

brancher147 wrote:For me, a trail has to be combined with another feature like a really good pinch point, terrain feature, convergence in cover, or multiple trail intersection. And they HAVE to be close to bedding. Just hunting a random trail is not productive for me, and I do not have the patience or confidence to do it.

My original question was just that. Or statement
Its why i asked and have the same trouble i responded to the other forum member. I find trails and follow to where i think bedding (away from the food ) but it always putters out for me cant seem to find the trails going to bedding or close to bedding.

Hearing some of you talk about not killing deer on a trail leads me to believe these “wandering” deer (apply that term very loosely ) are doing such in an area where movement is not impeded by tall grass. For example hill country with leaf litter covering the forest floor. In that situation I can understand killing a big buck that wasn’t on a defined trail. Or possibly a CRP field where they tend to roam.

I had to think on this before I posted, and I can’t come up with a time where I’ve found good buck bedding and there weren’t defined trails leading to and from the bed. I can usually see the trail walking right to the bed itself. I’m by no means calling BS to your guys’ findings, I just think this is mainly due to the fact that I hunt really thick areas with tall canary grass, cattails and such. The trails go through the path of least resistance every time, unless it is a J-hook in the cattails. I’ve seen that a few times.

The Beast has opened my eyes up to faint trails. A faint trail with buck sign coming off a bed is money to me. If I can tell the trail is there, that’s all I need to see. If I can’t make out a trail, to me that bed isn’t going to be used much and is too low odds for me to throw a stand at.

The only thing I can think of would be if I found a bed in a classic bedding terrain feature, and it appeared the buck(s) were filtering through cover away from it. But I have yet to come across that situation.

Maybe I’ll learn something and change my opinion on this in the future, who knows. But for now, there has to be some clear evidence of buck travel or a very well used bed in order for me to hunt it.

Lockdowns quote

“Beast has opened my eyes up to faint trails. A faint trail with buck sign coming off a bed is money to me. If I can tell the trail is there, that’s all I need to see. If I can’t make out a trail, to me that bed isn’t going to be used much and is too low odds for me to throw a stand at.”

Thanks lockdown
Pretty much answered my questions i think
If a trail putters out going to a bedding area and its just disappears i guess that bedding is really not being used that much
But from what ive learned too is in that situaton walk ghe beddings transition line and try to find the most used trail or trails going in and throw a stand at that right?

Lopedog699 wrote:My original question was just that. Or statement
Its why i asked and have the same trouble i responded to the other forum member. I find trails and follow to where i think bedding (away from the food ) but it always putters out for me cant seem to find the trails going to bedding or close to bedding.

I understand
that's happen to me multiple times, you follow a well worn trail to find exactly where they bed but it disappears, where did they go

EdC wrote:

Lopedog699 wrote:My original question was just that. Or statement
Its why i asked and have the same trouble i responded to the other forum member. I find trails and follow to where i think bedding (away from the food ) but it always putters out for me cant seem to find the trails going to bedding or close to bedding.

I understand
that's happen to me multiple times, you follow a well worn trail to find exactly where they bed but it disappears, where did they go

It happens alot im definitely gonna ask dan about it at workshop

Lockdown wrote:Hearing some of you talk about not killing deer on a trail leads me to believe these “wandering” deer (apply that term very loosely ) are doing such in an area where movement is not impeded by tall grass. For example hill country with leaf litter covering the forest floor. In that situation I can understand killing a big buck that wasn’t on a defined trail. Or possibly a CRP field where they tend to roam.

I had to think on this before I posted, and I can’t come up with a time where I’ve found good buck bedding and there weren’t defined trails leading to and from the bed. I can usually see the trail walking right to the bed itself. I’m by no means calling BS to your guys’ findings, I just think this is mainly due to the fact that I hunt really thick areas with tall canary grass, cattails and such. The trails go through the path of least resistance every time, unless it is a J-hook in the cattails. I’ve seen that a few times.

The Beast has opened my eyes up to faint trails. A faint trail with buck sign coming off a bed is money to me. If I can tell the trail is there, that’s all I need to see. If I can’t make out a trail, to me that bed isn’t going to be used much and is too low odds for me to throw a stand at.

The only thing I can think of would be if I found a bed in a classic bedding terrain feature, and it appeared the buck(s) were filtering through cover away from it. But I have yet to come across that situation.


Maybe I’ll learn something and change my opinion on this in the future, who knows. But for now, there has to be some clear evidence of buck travel or a very well used bed in order for me to hunt it.

In hill country terrain, at least where I hunt, there are no cattails. Most of the terrain is high and dry. The soil is hard and rocky and I don't typically find the kind of dense undergrowth (like cattails) where trails can be easily seen, even if deer are using the area daily. I have watched deer pass through an area regularly from year to year and gone back and tried to follow their "trail" . The well beaten path is just not there. Wish it were though... I can see how this would be a little hard to understand for a guy use to hunting in marsh terrain.

HighNtree wrote:

Lockdown wrote:Hearing some of you talk about not killing deer on a trail leads me to believe these “wandering” deer (apply that term very loosely ) are doing such in an area where movement is not impeded by tall grass. For example hill country with leaf litter covering the forest floor. In that situation I can understand killing a big buck that wasn’t on a defined trail. Or possibly a CRP field where they tend to roam.

I had to think on this before I posted, and I can’t come up with a time where I’ve found good buck bedding and there weren’t defined trails leading to and from the bed. I can usually see the trail walking right to the bed itself. I’m by no means calling BS to your guys’ findings, I just think this is mainly due to the fact that I hunt really thick areas with tall canary grass, cattails and such. The trails go through the path of least resistance every time, unless it is a J-hook in the cattails. I’ve seen that a few times.

The Beast has opened my eyes up to faint trails. A faint trail with buck sign coming off a bed is money to me. If I can tell the trail is there, that’s all I need to see. If I can’t make out a trail, to me that bed isn’t going to be used much and is too low odds for me to throw a stand at.

The only thing I can think of would be if I found a bed in a classic bedding terrain feature, and it appeared the buck(s) were filtering through cover away from it. But I have yet to come across that situation.


Maybe I’ll learn something and change my opinion on this in the future, who knows. But for now, there has to be some clear evidence of buck travel or a very well used bed in order for me to hunt it.

In hill country terrain, at least where I hunt, there are no cattails. Most of the terrain is high and dry. The soil is hard and rocky and I don't typically find the kind of dense undergrowth (like cattails) where trails can be easily seen, even if deer are using the area daily. I have watched deer pass through an area regularly from year to year and gone back and tried to follow their "trail" . The well beaten path is just not there. Wish it were though... I can see how this would be a little hard to understand for a guy use to hunting in marsh terrain.

Yea but hill country from what ive hear or learned is almost same spots for bedding or swamps
Point ridge fingers. Ridge bowls 1/3 way down the leeward side. Depending on wind its the wind tunnels where bucks like to cruise during the rut
Once again im telling this because i learned this about hiil country on here and some you tibe beast stuff. Good luk br