"Steep hills are most consistent for bedding"

[rfickes87]

That was a quote by Dan in one of his podcasts recently that I listened to...

Last weekend I went on an all day scout into a remote area of public that I have been cyber scouting heavily. This long and steep ridge in particular that I wanted to scout was about 3/4 of a mile back of the road (the way the crow flies). I had to walk down one big ridge and up to the other ridge that i wanted to scout. It took me over an hour to walk that distance to get up on that ridge. Per my Onmaps trail marker I had walked 1.8 miles!! Just trying to explain how steep it is.

Once i made to the the top 1/3 I noticed that the military crest was well defined. 10 yards up from the crest I got onto a nice beaten down deer trail and followed that for several hundred yards. It was amazing how the trail ran so perfectly parallel to the military crest. While walking it i would occasionally come to a small point or spur and I'd check it for bedding and sure enough I'd find hair. I found hair on every point i came too. There wasn't one bed in particular that was very well defined but the points themselves where clearly getting frequent use. The trail along the crest basically connected these beds together.

So I just wanted to pass this along to you guys...
If there's anyone currently struggling with finding bedding in hill country... Try and scout the steeper slopes. Find the military crest and use that as a starting point to begin looking for sign! Walk along that crest.

[Singing Bridge]

That was a quote by Dan in one of his podcasts recently that I listened to...

Last weekend I went on an all day scout into a remote area of public that I have been cyber scouting heavily. This long and steep ridge in particular that I wanted to scout was about 3/4 of a mile back of the road (the way the crow flies). I had to walk down one big ridge and up to the other ridge that i wanted to scout. It took me over an hour to walk that distance to get up on that ridge. Per my Onmaps trail marker I had walked 1.8 miles!! Just trying to explain how steep it is.

Once i made to the the top 1/3 I noticed that the military crest was well defined. 10 yards up from the crest I got onto a nice beaten down deer trail and followed that for several hundred yards. It was amazing how the trail ran so perfectly parallel to the military crest. While walking it i would occasionally come to a small point or spur and I'd check it for bedding and sure enough I'd find hair. I found hair on every point i came too. There wasn't one bed in particular that was very well defined but the points themselves where clearly getting frequent use. The trail along the crest basically connected these beds together.

So I just wanted to pass this along to you guys...
If there's anyone currently struggling with finding bedding in hill country... Try and scout the steeper slopes. Find the military crest and use that as a starting point to begin looking for sign! Walk along that crest.

Without a doubt, the steeper that a ridge, hill or bluff is... the military crest right before it drops off sharply will contain bedding and buck travel on the leeward side that is more defined and easier to scout and locate.

Some wilderness bluffs that I hunt on my own in Canada are so steep from the top, there really isn't much of a military crest... but bucks will bed as close to the thermal tunnel where wind meets thermals as they can. When it is that steep you have to be very careful with your own travel... you don't want to end up at the bottom of a bluff with a shattered pelvis. The bucks will bed against the biggest, oldest tree that is near those intersecting airflow's. A nice, flat area will wash out on the uphill side of the tree where the buck can bed in comfort. This is unusual in that most beds will have the tree behind the buck's bed in different bedding habitats. The buck doesn't mind peering around the tree when it is that steep, and he doesn't want to bed on the slippery slope.

[rfickes87]

That was a quote by Dan in one of his podcasts recently that I listened to...

Last weekend I went on an all day scout into a remote area of public that I have been cyber scouting heavily. This long and steep ridge in particular that I wanted to scout was about 3/4 of a mile back of the road (the way the crow flies). I had to walk down one big ridge and up to the other ridge that i wanted to scout. It took me over an hour to walk that distance to get up on that ridge. Per my Onmaps trail marker I had walked 1.8 miles!! Just trying to explain how steep it is.

Once i made to the the top 1/3 I noticed that the military crest was well defined. 10 yards up from the crest I got onto a nice beaten down deer trail and followed that for several hundred yards. It was amazing how the trail ran so perfectly parallel to the military crest. While walking it i would occasionally come to a small point or spur and I'd check it for bedding and sure enough I'd find hair. I found hair on every point i came too. There wasn't one bed in particular that was very well defined but the points themselves where clearly getting frequent use. The trail along the crest basically connected these beds together.

So I just wanted to pass this along to you guys...
If there's anyone currently struggling with finding bedding in hill country... Try and scout the steeper slopes. Find the military crest and use that as a starting point to begin looking for sign! Walk along that crest.

Without a doubt, the steeper that a ridge, hill or bluff is... the military crest right before it drops off sharply will contain bedding and buck travel on the leeward side that is more defined and easier to scout and locate.

Some wilderness bluffs that I hunt on my own in Canada are so steep from the top, there really isn't much of a military crest... but bucks will bed as close to the thermal tunnel where wind meets thermals as they can. When it is that steep you have to be very careful with your own travel... you don't want to end up at the bottom of a bluff with a shattered pelvis. The bucks will bed against the biggest, oldest tree that is near those intersecting airflow's. A nice, flat area will wash out on the uphill side of the tree where the buck can bed in comfort. This is unusual in that most beds will have the tree behind the buck's bed in different bedding habitats. The buck doesn't mind peering around the tree when it is that steep, and he doesn't want to bed on the slippery slope.

Bridge,

Last year i found a well used mature buck bed along a golden rod/greeb brier field. I gave it a few hunts in september, never seen him. Previously he used it 2-3 times a week. He vacated that area from what i could tell on trail camera after September. With the colder weather/dying vegetation, that bed lost its cover in October...

Now this year, these beds and heavy trail i found on the crest... Will these deer keep using this year round? I have to imagine so. The perfect terrain features should keep them using it year round right? I plan on hunting these beds about once/twice a month... And only when leeward.

I feel like these beds in steep terrain are much more reliable to hunt year round rather than along some field edge where they only bed in summer months with the thick cover.

[Singing Bridge]

There is a chance, but no guarantee they will hold year round bedding... too many factors can influence that such as the local deer population, seasonal food sources, the rut and severe weather.

There is a good chance it will hold bedding through the fall.

[rfickes87]

There are a couple monster white oaks near those beds i noticed while walking that deer path.