Bedding area's.

[Short Track]

I call BS on bedding area's. I have a 5 acre grass field, that is mowed weekly. The deer bed down anywhere on the field. Middle, edges against the thickets. Against the post & rail fence.

They bed down in any wide open area, and just watch. It's not like they hide under thickets, or under pine tree's. They bed completely in the open, and they are comfortable watching & looking around.

They are in my field at least 2-3 nights a week. I'm sure they are in my neighbors field the other nights of the week. They certainly move around, and don't have 1 specific bedding area in a hide away, as most people seem to think.

I can't even stalk them at night. They spot me wearing dark clothes 200 yards area, and they will keep watching me and every movement. If I get within a 100 yards, they snort, and stomp their feet; then take off all pissy that I disturbed them.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

...So you are saying that your field is a bedding area, but you don't believe in bedding areas?

 

[Short Track]

I'm saying there is not 1 bedding area. People make it seem deer have 1 specific area where they bed down under cover, and go into hiding.
When in fact, they bed down anywhere, any time. Day / night, whenever they want too.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Hmm, well if they are bedding in your fields several days of the week and in your neighbors fields the remainder of the week you can call it whatever you want as long as you know where they are.

 

[Short Track]

There are other fields a mile away. I'm sure they use them too.

All I'm saying is that when people state: place a stand between bedding area's, and feeding area's, you'll see deer.
You may be wasting time, as there is no 1 set bedding area.

 

[Rich M]

The places I hunt have bedding and feeding areas and we see the deer traveling from one to the other and back quite regularly.

We can take it a step further and hunt individual deer in individual beds - it happens. Not in your back yard, but it happens.

Question for you - do the deer bed with the wind/thermals at their back or do they face any old direction? I ask cause does groups tend to bed looking diff directions and bucks tend to bed with wind blowing over their backs.

 

[Short Track]

I never paid attention to the wind while watching deer bed in my field. I will certainly take note of it next time I see them. Usually I see a group of does.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I have been told and read deer love love love crop fields. Where I hunt there are absolutely no crop fields. So does that mean deer don’t like crop fields?

You are taking a generalization and trying to apply it to specific deer. Deer don’t read the books so they don’t know exactly what to do, but they do follow patterns that are somewhat common amongst the species.

Do deer have bedding areas? You answered yes. Do they use the same bedding areas all the time? Not always.

 

[Short Track]

My other hunting area. Big woods, no fields, but woods, and thickets. The deer seem to love powerline cuts. They will cross over the powerline cuts at least every hour. Look around. stay at the edge, and then venture into the woods.

 

[cornfedkiller]

When they are bedding in your field like you have described, is this during the night?

 

[Broomd]

Bedding areas can and do vary. I'll explain....
And when I say 'bedding area' I'm referring to an area this is a dedicated safety spot--a sanctuary--for deer when the sh t gets real.
Our property is surrounded by three sides by road. And the road hunters, you know, the guys that drive around with the window down and the rifle at the ready, are always there to pick off anything brown.
The deer soon learn this and they live almost exclusively during daylight hours in our thickly pined bedding area. This area burned in the early 90's and it's thick with 15-20' trees. Grass grows thick in there too and provides food with the shelter.
We completely avoid going anywhere near that area during deer season, and it's paid huge dividends over the years. My wife and I both killed bucks sneaking out of that bedding area this year. We do every year.

My buck was pre-rut with a doe; hers she called in with a doe bleat can. He was solo. If we had pushed any of those deer off of our property they would have likely been killed on surrounding properties or by the aforementioned scourge of road hunters.

Her buck was 5.5-6.5 years old and we have him on camera near that bedding area in '17 and '18. That age class doesn't happen without an area that a deer can consistently hide. The dangers are too great.
With the incredible road pressure this year, I didn't even utilize a trail camera in the back near the bedding because I feared pushing deer around. I supppose I could have checked the camera at midnight, but that's simply too much trouble.

Bedding can be an area that a deer rests, but true bedding to me is an area that a deer seeks safety and security. And deer use these areas almost exclusively during the hunting season.

 

[Short Track]

When they are bedding in your field like you have described, is this during the night?

Yes, they will be bedded down in my field, at night time. Once in a while, they will be in my field during the day time, but not bedded down.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Those are what I would refer to as "night beds". Deer browse around and eat and then lay down for a while to chew their cud and digest their food. In that instance, they just bed down right where they are eating and lay there for a bit, then get up and move around and repeat. They aren't sleeping there. They don't need to feel secure because they are awake and alert. Think about those like you would use a park bench on the sidewalk.

When people talk about bedding areas (and more specifically buck beds), they are typically referring to where a deer sleeps during the day - which are usually a much more secluded, secure, thought-out place. Someplace where they can see danger coming from one way, smell it coming from another, aren't easily spotted by predators, etc. Think about those more like your bed in your house.

 

[Ab24]

From what I’ve seen, they have bedding areas for certain winds, or bed one place at night because it’s close to food and bed in another because it’s close to water. I’ve never heard someone say that deer have one bedding area. They do have a core area but have multiple other places to bed as well. You think when you go out into the woods and spook the deer that they always and forever come right back to that same spot ?

 

[Hunt41]

Bedding areas exist. The specific bed itself may change. A walk thru a hunting area after snow has been on the ground for awhile proves that without a doubt.

 

[Short Track]

Another new one. I have a firewood area in my back lot, it's lightly wooded. I stack wood there, I pull wood from there. I'm in there often. I see deer there grazing and feeding off the weeds, not too often, maybe once a week. I have cams there too. once twice a week deer are in there.

Early this morning, wearing my headlamp, there were 4 doe bedded down in there. I have never seen deer bed there. While it's certainly possible, my cams would have picked them up.

I'm convinced deer have multiple beds, and will bed down whenever they want too. Not just 1 specific home.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

Another new one. I have a firewood area in my back lot, it's lightly wooded. I stack wood there, I pull wood from there. I'm in there often. I see deer there grazing and feeding off the weeds, not too often, maybe once a week. I have cams there too. once twice a week deer are in there.

Early this morning, wearing my headlamp, there were 4 doe bedded down in there. I have never seen deer bed there. While it's certainly possible, my cams would have picked them up.

I'm convinced deer have multiple beds, and will bed down whenever they want too. Not just 1 specific home.

You are correct. I think you're over-thinking things.

The public that I hunt here in SC has very large sections of White Oaks. When acorns are dropping, deer will bed in the wide open oak flats. They can lay down and feed, browse, etc and not have to go anywhere. This is during bow season generally.

Once the acorns are cleared up, they'll bed in any thick cover. This includes thick stands of planted pines within the 5-7 year age range. A couple of Saturdays ago, I saw a monster that I bumped scouting for ducks that was bedded on a small, dry island in a beaver pond. Couldn't get the crosshairs on him in time.

As stated above, they'll bed in various types of cover depending on time of year, pressure, etc.

 

[Drenalin]

Deer bed any number of places based on factors such as wind, cover, pressure, proximity to food, proximity to other deer, etc. Bucks specifically tend to bed where they have wind, sight and other advantages while does tend to bed in groups and can seem more haphazard. And yeah, they’ll lay down in the open at night right in the food source and chew their cud. I guess if someone actually told you that deer always bed in the same spot regardless of any external factors, you’re right to say that’s BS. I suppose it could be true if food sources never changed, the wind always blew from the exact same direction, there was always the exact same amount of pressure in the area, and there was no pesky rut to muck things up. I doubt such a place exists, but if did I’d hang a stand there.