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MHF US Northeast => Hunting New Hampshire => Topic started by: Adrock on Oct 01, 2019, 04:55:07 AM

Title: Strategy Chat - Hunting Bedding Areas
Post by: Adrock on Oct 01, 2019, 04:55:07 AM
Last November we were lucky enough to have some good tracking snow on the ground. I was able to pick up a good buck track and follow it around for a couple days. The track lead me into some great doe bedding cover. I marked it on a GPS and went in this August and got a camera and stand hung about 50 yards from the edge of where it starts for this year (per usual I had hoped to get out there in about March but life happens). I've only been in once to check the camera and have some steady doe/skipper action and a spike horn; however, I have seen a couple good foot prints in the mud, just haven't caught him on the camera yet.

The surrounding area is mostly standing timber mix of hardwoods (lot of oaks and loaded with acorns right now) with some softwoods intermixed. A westerly wind would blow my scent towards the bedding area while the easterly wind blows away from the bedding area. I'm thinking afternoon hunts wait on an easterly wind and hope to catch something coming up out of the bed and hitting the acorns on the edges of the bedding area that I'm overlooking. Maybe morning hunts I can get away with a westerly wind if they are up on their feet out and about feeding and I'd be downwind of them coming back to bed. This one feels like a little bit of a crap shoot since there's no way to know for sure where they are going to be when I try to get in there in the dark. How would you guys play it?

I don't think it's getting much pressure during the early season so I'm trying to tread lightly in this spot in the early season and not over hunt it, especially if I think it could be a good rut spot to catch bucks cruising to check all that bedding cover. But I'm getting antsy to get in there and hunt it...
Title: Re: Strategy Chat - Hunting Bedding Areas
Post by: aquaassassin on Oct 01, 2019, 05:11:15 AM
I’d be extremely careful, that’s real close to there safe zone. I have a few stands similar, not as close. I flat out will not hunt them if I don’t have a perfect wind and they don’t get touched in the morning. It’s just far easier to creep in in the afternoon without doing as much damage, for the most part your odds go down in those set ups every time it’s hunted.
Title: Re: Strategy Chat - Hunting Bedding Areas
Post by: reeleyz on Oct 01, 2019, 07:54:16 AM
If you can plan a good entry route and hunt it sparingly on the right wind you might be good for a couple of sits. Keep in mind that the bigger bucks are probably not bedding with the does.

Evening sits are probably the best idea right now and creep in slow when you get within 100 yards.
Title: Re: Strategy Chat - Hunting Bedding Areas
Post by: Adrock on Oct 03, 2019, 05:14:16 AM
All of that makes sense. I have it more in mind as a rut spot and hope to catch bucks cruising, but it's driving me nuts trying to stay out of there. I know it's the right play to take it slow and cautiously, but man is it hard not to scratch that itch to get in there and hunt and see what's coming through on the camera. It's not helping that the freezer is empty either  :)
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