Finding Deer Bedding Areas

Finding deer bedding areas is key to being able to predict deer movement within your property. There are a couple ways of doing so, depending on if you're looking for doe or bucks, as they typically have seperate core areas, and thus bedding areas.

If you're searching for does; which would be a great way to go about it for hunting during the rut, when bucks come searching for does in their core areas, your best bet is to locate key food sources that will be maturing during or slightly before the rut. Once you locate these sources; take time to find the major travel corridors to and from these areas. Following these trails will typically lead you to the bedding areas. It is best to do your scouting well before the hunting season; even if these crops are not yet yielding, as the deer will likely be using these sources later in the season. Doing so will ensure that you are not disrupting the deer movement close to the rut, as this could cause them to change their feeding habits for the near-term, meaning your efforts are wasted.

On the other hand, if you're searching for bucks; which would be better when preparing for pre- and post-rut hunts, you're going to want to focus on finding the buck's core areas, as they will be living primarily solitary lives during this time. To find their core areas, you need to locate heavy scrape activity in close vicinity to thick cover. Thus, your best bet is to locate the heavy cover areas on your property and then search for sign near these areas.

It is important to understand that the bedding areas are where deer feel safest; thus, you need to minimize your hunting pressure on them. Deer have upwards of five main bedding areas that they utilize based on wind direction and stress factors (ie. hunter pressure), which means that if you put too much pressure on one area; they're likely to move to other areas and avoid that area. Hunting these areas more than one day a week could cause deer to become nervous about the area and vacate it; thus it is important to be vigilant about controlling your scent and minimizing your impact on the area when you do enter it. That means not cutting easily recognizable shooting lanes, also.

When hunting the bedding areas, it is extremely important to get into the areas in the early morning before the deer do; as entering the after the deer can be very tricky and can easily spook the deer. As the morning wears on, the deer will return to their bedding areas, meaning you need to be in your stand before they do.

Overall, bedding areas present unique hunting opportunities, especially when used in conjunction with feeding areas; but caution has to be taken to ensure a successful outing.