brancher147 wrote:Scoutking07 wrote:pewpewpew wrote:Thank you for sharing. I’ve set up cameras on beds for less time and had similar results.
I think big woods or wind based bedding is a whole other animal than woodlot or sanctuary bedding. I’ve found some beds that have really got me excited in hill country. Looking back 95% of them are probably barely used. I think the only time I’d hunt a specific bed is if I had data like you do, or the bed was loaded with huge fresh turds.
You are spot on. Hunting and even scouting bedding in the big woods can leave a guy feeling like he is hunting ghosts. I think if there is one thing that this bed camera proved to me, its that a big woods buck is truly an opportunist. Unlike the farm country woodlot bucks, these older bucks have no real pattern or habits other than to use the terrain and wind each day to survive. I think your guess of 95% barley used is probably pretty accurate. The bed is only going to get used if the wind is perfect, if there is a desirable food source nearby, and there has been no disturbances near the location. I have scouted some awesome beds in the bigwoods over the past 5 years and I get so excited to hunt them only to find that there are acorns dropping a mile away and the area is cold as ice. The big woods is a challenge, but thats what makes it so magical when you finally connect!
This has been the exact thing I have found, and why I do not do any specific buck bed hunting in the big woods. I have put cameras on buck beds and they are definitely empty at least 95% of the time. I now focus on general buck bedding areas and hunt the closest terrain feature or pinch point with the wind in my favor. Or hunt doe bedding areas during the rut, which are actually used consistently. Thanks for sharing the pics.
Brancher, when you you hunt the wind in your favor, are you ever hunting leeward ridges?