Bed on Windward Side?

[Befo]

This morning, I hunted some big woods hill country and spooked up a nice bedded buck on the windward side of a ridge. The spot didn't seem to be much of point, although it had great view of the valley below and had a lot of thick loud brush behind. He was definitely bedded there, and I found the bed with hair in it and few droppings around. Assuming I didn't screw up attaching the image, you can see an OnX bed pin drop (right where I blacked out the area name). The wind was S.

Two-ish questions:

(1) Does that seem odd at all/any explanation? I would have expected to see him on the leeward side. Similarly, should I now expect that spot to be one of his bedding spots during a south wind?

(2) If I spooked him up today and walked up to his bed, should I lay low on that buck for a bit? Or could I try him soon under similar conditions?

My apologies for being a newbie and maybe asking some really dumb questions. Thanks in advance.

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[elk yinzer]

Leeward, upper 3rd, crests, all are good starting points but just some of many factors. They bed where they feel safe, have coverage, and escape. That very often ends up breaking the "rules".

[<DK>]

A few things...

Leeward side w a over the back wind is a general rule. They dont always do anything. Your buck has good security at his back, sight advantage and a wind to face. He could bed there on both winds. Does like to bed that way more often but its easier w a group to survive that way. Always something to consider.

Good buck bedding can be in spots for multiple winds. If I read it right his bed is on that top? I dont think that is odd at all, especially this time of year. If thats where the pressure comes from then it makes total sense.

Not sure what state you're in but most places should have had rifle season already. So they have been pressured hard, which means that could be his security bedding. If you look up the Penn State studies, you'll see that post rifle they dont move much and live in a tight spot.

If the rut is still going on then he could be watching does. Generally I see bucks give up security features for that tho. Not always but idk how good of a buck were talking about. Wise old bucks dont do those things often.

Id personally be on it immediately. Alot of factors but hes there now and this late in the season he should have only certain amount of security beds he can trust. My favorite tactic is coming back a few days later. The longest iv waited and been successful was 10-14 days in early season.

[Befo]

A few things...

Leeward side w a over the back wind is a general rule. They dont always do anything. Your buck has good security at his back, sight advantage and a wind to face. He could bed there on both winds. Does like to bed that way more often but its easier w a group to survive that way. Always something to consider.

Good buck bedding can be in spots for multiple winds. If I read it right his bed is on that top? I dont think that is odd at all, especially this time of year. If thats where the pressure comes from then it makes total sense.

Not sure what state you're in but most places should have had rifle season already. So they have been pressured hard, which means that could be his security bedding. If you look up the Penn State studies, you'll see that post rifle they dont move much and live in a tight spot.

If the rut is still going on then he could be watching does. Generally I see bucks give up security features for that tho. Not always but idk how good of a buck were talking about. Wise old bucks dont do those things often.

Id personally be on it immediately. Alot of factors but hes there now and this late in the season he should have only certain amount of security beds he can trust. My favorite tactic is coming back a few days later. The longest iv waited and been successful was 10-14 days in early season.

It is pretty much right at the top. Just a little down from the middle of the ridge. When you say "if thats where the pressure comes from," do you mean essentially where the hunters come from? If so, I think that's probably right. I tried to look for an overlooked sort of spot, but I'd think the general route to this area would be to come in through the thick cover and save a long walk.

Do you know if there's a good way of knowing whether he's in a rut bed or a normal bed? In this case, I'll note that there was a family of does down in the valley/ravine and that they appear to be bedding the next ridge line over. And I do think I saw some rutting activity today. I saw some smaller bucks moving around where the does were later this morning.

Thanks for the help by the way. The note that the general rule gets broken is good to know.

[Befo]

Leeward, upper 3rd, crests, all are good starting points but just some of many factors. They bed where they feel safe, have coverage, and escape. That very often ends up breaking the "rules".

Thank you. Mentioned the same to DK, but it's a good lesson to know that the starting points are just starting points. Appreciate it.

[<DK>]

Correct, where the hunters come from.

Generally a rut bed will be close to the does and hes bedding w/o a security feature. Like no back cover or open area and might make a aggressive style rub on a hard barked tree. You will know when you see one. These should be used within the main times a doe is about to be bread. Also should be able to see the does or be at a major doe intersection. I see them bed down a lot in Doe morning entry routes to intercept. However - there are good bedding areas, have buck bedding and doe bedding all year. During the rut when a mature buck visits the property, he may like use that spot. So imo there 2 ways to look at rut bedding.

Either way id be on it immediately.

Dont over think the rut bedding too much. Bucks and Does can live in the same core areas all year. They just dont bed together (mostly). Lower on the ridge and across the valley is something I see a lot of.

[Primetime41]

Others guys have covered a lot of the reasons a buck could be bedding at a windward locations (rut beds, etc). Another big factor is that deer can't log into a computer and check the wind direction. We may see a North wind, but the local wind could be doing something completely different. Or a lot of times there could me minimal wind, or even no wind, at the time when a buck generally goes back to it's bed. In these cases, a buck is likely to just bed in the same location that it bedded the day(s) before. So maybe the wind was out of the North for several days in a row, then dies down to 1-2 mph while it switches to the South in the early morning hours. In this scenario a buck is likely to head back to the same North wind bedding location it was bedding previously. Sometimes this can be a good time to catch a buck changing bedding locations during morning hunting hours. Other times a buck will stay put and maybe just shift a bit to put the wind in their favor as much as possible (likely a crosswind) then relocate the next day.

[may21581]

I wrote an article up about this exact type of bedding awhile back. I hunt primarily hill country and in the late fall and winter when the leaves come off their sight is just as important as their nose. We always hear deer live and die by their nose, while this is true there are exceptions. Their other senses such as hearing, and sight may play a more pivotal role depending on the area. Often in hill countries when they bed on the mouths of the hollows or on a military crest, or top of a point it isn't uncommon to see a few hundred yards and have a field of view of over 220 degrees. If their setup allows them to detect danger better this way why wouldn't they? Or perhaps he is bedded their watching for does to ambush.

[Befo]

Others guys have covered a lot of the reasons a buck could be bedding at a windward locations (rut beds, etc). Another big factor is that deer can't log into a computer and check the wind direction. We may see a North wind, but the local wind could be doing something completely different. Or a lot of times there could me minimal wind, or even no wind, at the time when a buck generally goes back to it's bed. In these cases, a buck is likely to just bed in the same location that it bedded the day(s) before. So maybe the wind was out of the North for several days in a row, then dies down to 1-2 mph while it switches to the South in the early morning hours. In this scenario a buck is likely to head back to the same North wind bedding location it was bedding previously. Sometimes this can be a good time to catch a buck changing bedding locations during morning hunting hours. Other times a buck will stay put and maybe just shift a bit to put the wind in their favor as much as possible (likely a crosswind) then relocate the next day.

That's interesting. The wind was pretty light today. I wonder if that did play a role.

[Befo]

I wrote an article up about this exact type of bedding awhile back. I hunt primarily hill country and in the late fall and winter when the leaves come off their sight is just as important as their nose. We always hear deer live and die by their nose, while this is true there are exceptions. Their other senses such as hearing, and sight may play a more pivotal role depending on the area. Often in hill countries when they bed on the mouths of the hollows or on a military crest, or top of a point it isn't uncommon to see a few hundred yards and have a field of view of over 220 degrees. If their setup allows them to detect danger better this way why wouldn't they? Or perhaps he is bedded their watching for does to ambush.

I can see that. There's one bed that I know of at the top of a bowl I hunt sometimes. There's very little cover, but I almost don't know how you could get in on the guy with a bow. He can see everyting.

[Befo]

Correct, where the hunters come from.

Generally a rut bed will be close to the does and hes bedding w/o a security feature. Like no back cover or open area and might make a aggressive style rub on a hard barked tree. You will know when you see one. These should be used within the main times a doe is about to be bread. Also should be able to see the does or be at a major doe intersection. I see them bed down a lot in Doe morning entry routes to intercept. However - there are good bedding areas, have buck bedding and doe bedding all year. During the rut when a mature buck visits the property, he may like use that spot. So imo there 2 ways to look at rut bedding.

Either way id be on it immediately.

Dont over think the rut bedding too much. Bucks and Does can live in the same core areas all year. They just dont bed together (mostly). Lower on the ridge and across the valley is something I see a lot of.

Thanks again. I think I'll try it tomorrow night.

[MichiganMike]

Lot of good points here. To kind of cover what was already said- he is probably winding for does below and eyeing hunter/predators/rival bucks/other does from above. Cant leave out sound too- if its still enough and leaves are abundant on the forest floor- he'll hear anything coming. Usually he'll have some sort of sight/vantage point in one direction, sound and smell in another. When you get in these hills and ridges etc. I find wind to be very tricky and can almost throw wind direction out the window. You have thermals, wind currents that redirect and swirl- all kinds of things. He knows better than we do and why he is there, that's for sure. We can only do our best to try and beat him. Be cool if we could interview a mature buck :) And yeah I wouldn't overthink too much- hunt it and see what happens.

[may21581]

Lot of good points here. To kind of cover what was already said- he is probably winding for does below and eyeing hunter/predators/rival bucks/other does from above. Cant leave out sound too- if its still enough and leaves are abundant on the forest floor- he'll hear anything coming. Usually he'll have some sort of sight/vantage point in one direction, sound and smell in another. When you get in these hills and ridges etc. I find wind to be very tricky and can almost throw wind direction out the window. You have thermals, wind currents that redirect and swirl- all kinds of things. He knows better than we do and why he is there, that's for sure. We can only do our best to try and beat him. Be cool if we could interview a mature buck :) And yeah I wouldn't overthink too much- hunt it and see what happens.

Excellent points! Case in point today the wind was out of the west south west where I hunt. In the hollow off a ridge the wind was actually blowing to the south east.

[Befo]

Update: I hunted the spot today. Wind was NNW with some NW action mixed in. That seems to be a much more favorable wind for him on that spot. I creeped in from the west side and tried to keep a crosswind from catching me. I got to within about 120 yards and got in a tree; I had seen a scrape there and was hoping I'd find be in his staging area.

I ended up seeing him, about 70 yards away. He seemed to go directly into the wind (headed NW) and quickly. I did a hail mary grunt at him but no dice. I ended up seeing a doe kind of close to where he was headed, and I wonder if everyone's right that he's there for does. I bet he got wind of a doe and headed straight into the wind to find her. All cool, but not sure how it helps me figure out how to hunt him. I don't want to burn out the spot, and I wonder if his last days of winding does are approaching. I just have no clue how to set up on him.

[may21581]

I wrote an article up about this exact type of bedding awhile back. I hunt primarily hill country and in the late fall and winter when the leaves come off their sight is just as important as their nose. We always hear deer live and die by their nose, while this is true there are exceptions. Their other senses such as hearing, and sight may play a more pivotal role depending on the area. Often in hill countries when they bed on the mouths of the hollows or on a military crest, or top of a point it isn't uncommon to see a few hundred yards and have a field of view of over 220 degrees. If their setup allows them to detect danger better this way why wouldn't they? Or perhaps he is bedded their watching for does to ambush.

Thats where the hunt begins. Figuring out where he travels to and finding that one tree that could possibly get you a shot during legal light but not get you busted.

I can see that. There's one bed that I know of at the top of a bowl I hunt sometimes. There's very little cover, but I almost don't know how you could get in on the guy with a bow. He can see everyting.