Amending Bedding Areas

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Twenty Up
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Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby Twenty Up » Sat Dec 23, 2017 3:47 pm

With the amount of time and effort we spend in finding bedding areas, have any of you guys tried "building" a "better" buck bed?

I'm not sure if it's a Southern thing or just how pressured these Wildlife Management Areas are down here but I can count on one hand after 2 seasons and 30+ miles of scouting where I've found beds wore to dirt. Most the beds are just compressed leaves and they seem to shift multiple times within the same area. This makes hunting a specific "bed" extremely difficult because many of these areas span several hundred yards with multiple entry/exit ways in between.

SO my idea is to contstruct a bed within a known bedding area by moving logs and brush etc to make a faveorable spot. Nothing crazy because it is public land where other guys may ruin the spot. Just to entice a buck to bed in a known spot for me to really pinpoint and hunt vs guessing.

Any input?


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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby checkerfred » Sat Dec 23, 2017 4:57 pm

Where you located? Also what’s the terrain?

In hill country the terrain is gonna dictate the amount of bed wear. A steep bluff forces bedding so I see more worn to dirt beds around that terrain. More rolling type hills sometimes they’re hard to see due to different thermals and wind speeds and I don’t think you will change that.

Swamps are a different story. You could possible move stuff there but again I’ve seen multiple beds and even observed a big mature buck shifting back and forth.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby Ack » Sat Dec 23, 2017 5:35 pm

A little info from a previous thread......

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39435&p=573039&hilit=Creating#p573039
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby Twenty Up » Sun Dec 24, 2017 4:54 am

checkerfred wrote:Where you located? Also what’s the terrain?

In hill country the terrain is gonna dictate the amount of bed wear. A steep bluff forces bedding so I see more worn to dirt beds around that terrain. More rolling type hills sometimes they’re hard to see due to different thermals and wind speeds and I don’t think you will change that.

Swamps are a different story. You could possible move stuff there but again I’ve seen multiple beds and even observed a big mature buck shifting back and forth.


I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby Twenty Up » Sun Dec 24, 2017 4:57 am

Ack wrote:A little info from a previous thread......

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39435&p=573039&hilit=Creating#p573039


Perfect thank you
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby checkerfred » Sun Dec 24, 2017 8:29 am

Twenty Up wrote:I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here


I hardly ever see worn to dirt beds in rolling hills. The wind and thermals just change so much. I’ll find worn down ones though on benches in steep country or at the top or bottom of bluffs because they’re forced with the bluff. They can’t lay down on the steep terrain unless there’s a flat place. Sometimes I’ll see them bed on the uphill side of a tree in real steep hills because it’s the only flat place and it’ll be worn too but usually there’s several at different elevations like that too.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:18 am

Twenty Up wrote:With the amount of time and effort we spend in finding bedding areas, have any of you guys tried "building" a "better" buck bed?

I'm not sure if it's a Southern thing or just how pressured these Wildlife Management Areas are down here but I can count on one hand after 2 seasons and 30+ miles of scouting where I've found beds wore to dirt. Most the beds are just compressed leaves and they seem to shift multiple times within the same area. This makes hunting a specific "bed" extremely difficult because many of these areas span several hundred yards with multiple entry/exit ways in between.

SO my idea is to contstruct a bed within a known bedding area by moving logs and brush etc to make a faveorable spot. Nothing crazy because it is public land where other guys may ruin the spot. Just to entice a buck to bed in a known spot for me to really pinpoint and hunt vs guessing.

Any input?
I do it I don't know if it helps yet but I will move logs and bring beds down to dirt or make a flat spot on a steep hill ill remove branches from beds I like to keep them using it or pull a blowdown off their trail just doctor them up. I also have major bear problems in NJ so ill scare them out of buck beds that does help for sure.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:22 am

checkerfred wrote:
Twenty Up wrote:I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here


I hardly ever see worn to dirt beds in rolling hills. The wind and thermals just change so much. I’ll find worn down ones though on benches in steep country or at the top or bottom of bluffs because they’re forced with the bluff. They can’t lay down on the steep terrain unless there’s a flat place. Sometimes I’ll see them bed on the uphill side of a tree in real steep hills because it’s the only flat place and it’ll be worn too but usually there’s several at different elevations like that too.
that's what I find by me too they are my best beds for seeing bucks consistently in early season.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby ghoasthunter » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:25 am

Twenty Up wrote:
checkerfred wrote:Where you located? Also what’s the terrain?

In hill country the terrain is gonna dictate the amount of bed wear. A steep bluff forces bedding so I see more worn to dirt beds around that terrain. More rolling type hills sometimes they’re hard to see due to different thermals and wind speeds and I don’t think you will change that.

Swamps are a different story. You could possible move stuff there but again I’ve seen multiple beds and even observed a big mature buck shifting back and forth.


I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here
ive seen some monsters bed in rolling hills the difficulty and lack of sine in those spots make them grow old
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby JoeRE » Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:12 am

checkerfred wrote:
Twenty Up wrote:I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here


I hardly ever see worn to dirt beds in rolling hills. The wind and thermals just change so much. I’ll find worn down ones though on benches in steep country or at the top or bottom of bluffs because they’re forced with the bluff. They can’t lay down on the steep terrain unless there’s a flat place. Sometimes I’ll see them bed on the uphill side of a tree in real steep hills because it’s the only flat place and it’ll be worn too but usually there’s several at different elevations like that too.


I see this too and I'm not in the south. I think its a terrain thing and lots of bedding options.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby Ragingun » Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:32 am

JoeRE wrote:
checkerfred wrote:
Twenty Up wrote:I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here


I hardly ever see worn to dirt beds in rolling hills. The wind and thermals just change so much. I’ll find worn down ones though on benches in steep country or at the top or bottom of bluffs because they’re forced with the bluff. They can’t lay down on the steep terrain unless there’s a flat place. Sometimes I’ll see them bed on the uphill side of a tree in real steep hills because it’s the only flat place and it’ll be worn too but usually there’s several at different elevations like that too.


I see this too and I'm not in the south. I think its a terrain thing and lots of bedding options.


I can attest to this even in the primary swamp I hunt. It's 15,000 acres and there are so many bedding options. It hit and miss whether or not they'll be on that bed that day even with the right wind since they could be on 20 other beds with that wind that same day. Nothing you can do is going to change that other than get out and spend time hunting the best bed you found and continue on down the line from there.

Because of this reason I have found it more successful to find rut beds or concentrated doe bedding areas and sit the down wind side during the rut, at least in this particular swamp. I haven't scouted the entire acreage as it will take me years so I'm not suggesting there are not those best of the best beds that bucks consistently use however this data is taken from 5 years of scouting and hunting. Each area is different.
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby mnswamphunter » Fri Jan 12, 2018 2:14 am

I created a buck bed by accident by moving stuff around.
I identified a staging area in a swamp with a large sign post rub in it. It is about 200 yards off of an ag field. There is about 2000 acres of swamp behind the staging area. I had a great idea to put a ladder stand in the staging area. I brush in the ladder with dead fall and brush. And the stand is against a pine tree so the hunter and the top of the stand is concealed. Due to reasons, I was not able to get back to it for four years. The first visit was by my son. He did not see any deer on his sit but he heard a buck fight and grunting just south of him. But, he noticed a large bed on the south side of the tree. and large rubs all the way around the bed.

I scouted it this year after the season and the bed is still there with a rub line that runs east the parallels the field edge. It appears to be its exit trail.
Plans for the kill are being made as the buck thinks he is safe. :twisted:
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Re: Amending Bedding Areas

Unread postby checkerfred » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:00 am

Ragingun wrote:
JoeRE wrote:
checkerfred wrote:
Twenty Up wrote:I'm in Georgia. More rolling hills to farmland and swamps here


I hardly ever see worn to dirt beds in rolling hills. The wind and thermals just change so much. I’ll find worn down ones though on benches in steep country or at the top or bottom of bluffs because they’re forced with the bluff. They can’t lay down on the steep terrain unless there’s a flat place. Sometimes I’ll see them bed on the uphill side of a tree in real steep hills because it’s the only flat place and it’ll be worn too but usually there’s several at different elevations like that too.


I see this too and I'm not in the south. I think its a terrain thing and lots of bedding options.


I can attest to this even in the primary swamp I hunt. It's 15,000 acres and there are so many bedding options. It hit and miss whether or not they'll be on that bed that day even with the right wind since they could be on 20 other beds with that wind that same day. Nothing you can do is going to change that other than get out and spend time hunting the best bed you found and continue on down the line from there.

Because of this reason I have found it more successful to find rut beds or concentrated doe bedding areas and sit the down wind side during the rut, at least in this particular swamp. I haven't scouted the entire acreage as it will take me years so I'm not suggesting there are not those best of the best beds that bucks consistently use however this data is taken from 5 years of scouting and hunting. Each area is different.


Yeah I’ve found beds tough in swamps too. Even rut is tough for me in swamps. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen any chasing or trailing in swamps.


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