deer bedding and party balloons

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may21581
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby may21581 » Sat Jul 13, 2019 9:26 am

Success is in the details, the small things most overlook. Is there is something that tips someone off to a buck or leads someone down the right road props to them.


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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby Dewey » Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:35 pm

Great article Dan. 8-)
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby Cchez » Sat Feb 08, 2020 4:09 am

Very interesting stuff. If a guy wanted to recreate this somewhat without using balloons to find bedding, could you walk around with a bunch of milkweed near suspected bedding and watch for the thermal pulls? And if you were to try this, would it have to be in the evening with the dropping thermals? Or would it work with the natural air currents throughout the day?
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sat Feb 08, 2020 4:19 am

Cchez wrote:Very interesting stuff. If a guy wanted to recreate this somewhat without using balloons to find bedding, could you walk around with a bunch of milkweed near suspected bedding and watch for the thermal pulls? And if you were to try this, would it have to be in the evening with the dropping thermals? Or would it work with the natural air currents throughout the day?

Probably. What seems interesting to me about the balloons is that they lose their helium and start sinking slowly. Something about upper level currents and terrain draws them down to those areas. So, in my small mind, it seems like the prevailing winds of that day somehow interact with thermals to drop them in their final resting places. So for a deer, they’re getting multiple potential scent streams converging in one place. A big-time survival advantage.

I think your questions about the thermals are good ones, and in my mind, would only be answered by getting out there and experimenting. It would be a really smart thing to do prior to the seasons starting to see how the weed reacts at different times of day and with different prevailing winds if you think it could be a really killer spot.
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby NorthStar » Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:33 am

This is what makes the Hunting Beast so awesome! So many smart members on here!
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby PK_ » Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:19 am

So obviously I have been half heartedly paying attention to the balloon thing while hunting for the last few years. Yes I find plenty in buck bedding also find plenty in random areas...

Anyways.

Last weekend I hunted the tree my dad missed a chance at a giant a few years ago. When I climbed up I looked to the spot where he first saw the buck standing. He said it stood there for more than 5 mins just licking his nose, sniffing the air and looking in different directions. Definitely has to be a spot where scent pools or swirls to. What do I see laying on the ground literally within 5 feet of where the buck stood, yeppers, a balloon.

:shock: :lol:
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby peteherbst » Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:04 am

dan wrote:https://bowhunting360.com/2020/02/04/stray-balloons-can-reveal-big-buck-bedding-areas/?fbclid=IwAR0XdagrhlynGUS3KG4YHDZQscTxx3r8YfLzlGQFaMAVCGwHHyTCfO8WZX8

Humbled to be able to provide just a picture for the article, Dan! 8-)
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby backstraps » Sun Feb 09, 2020 11:56 am

I had to laugh last weekend

I found another “killer” spot that had remnants of an old party ballon and string laying there :lol: :lol:
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sun Feb 09, 2020 1:21 pm

Singing Bridge wrote:My 2017 buck had a party balloon about 25 feet from his bed. I shot him about 70 yards from the balloon. I have found these balloons in buck bedding areas previously ... never connected the dots.


Think party balloons and buck beds are a joke? Hmmmm… I would reconsider. First, we all know these balloons (especially mylar) are all over the woods, not just buck bedding areas (The U.S. Forest Service has issued a statement asking people not to launch them as they pollute our public lands). That being said, when you are looking at an obvious or potentially obvious buck bedding area and see a downed balloon (even if it is years old) you'd better take a closer look.

The buck I described above in response to other hunters noticing the balloon / buck bed correlation was in a very specific spot which provided him the ability to use his greatest defense mechanism... his nose. A big swamp pushed up against a good sized lake, and a draw formed that dropped 30 - 40 feet and descended from the swamp to the lake. The warmer water and conifer canopy and its thermals of the swamp butted up against the wind and the thermal draw of the lake with a short gap of Boreal Forest between them. The collision of air currents swirl and drop to the upper edge of the draw on the downwind side. When a buck beds here he can smell any predator that is out of sight for at least several hundred yards in all directions.

A sleepy buck dozing in the bed will go on high alert immediately with the detection of predator scent... a great place for a buck to bed, and yes I have killed more than one buck there.

I believe another mylar balloon or one of a similar construct will appear in this very spot again... its just a matter of time.
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby Merritt » Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:37 pm

I’ve seen that so many times before as well. Never thought of it that way until this post. Mind blowing
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby KLEMZ » Mon Feb 10, 2020 1:29 am

The guy who first made the connection between mylar balloons and deer bedding...ghoasthunter...doesn't post anymore on the forum. That's too bad because he had lots of fresh ideas on deer hunting to offer. Hopefully he will return.
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby may21581 » Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:47 pm

Found this today while scouting. Party balloon string and a massive bed about 15 yards behind it. This is not a coincidence.
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby may21581 » Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:49 pm

Picture of bed in background.
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Re: deer bedding and party balloons

Unread postby may21581 » Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:53 pm

Bed in the background of this one. Sorry
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