Virginia whitetails and briars for bedding?

[Hoythews71]

Sort of a Beast style question, but I’m struggling to find the kind of sign I’m looking for. Primarily hunt eastern Va, and a lot of our woods is filled with HEAVY bramble and briar patches. Nearly impenetrable. Because of this, I tend to think that since people don’t want to go in there, the deer probably do, but I rarely see legit sign around the edges.

What are your experiences with deer bedding in these briar patches? Should I continue diving into these looking for beds? Scout the edges for sign going in/out?


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[young7.3]

I feel sometimes its easy to overthink whitetails. If its so thick you couldn’t picture a deer walking through it, then they probably aren’t there. If theres no sign then move on. Of course it needs to be during the period they would be putting sign down.


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[Huntsalot]

Do you get enough snow in your area to aid with scouting?

 

[Hoythews71]

Do you get enough snow in your area to aid with scouting?

We do occasionally, but not at all this year. I’m in eastern/semi-coastal Virginia. Preparing to hunt this area for the first time this coming fall.


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[Macintosh]

If there are trails in/out its probably got deer. If you do the trail camera thing you can hang a camera on the most heavily used trail and see whats coming and going. If theres no trail in and out of those brambles, and they are truly that thick, then they probably arent using it much. We are too far north to have much Greenbriar here, but where I have run into it it is true punishment to try and get through it. I could see deer avoiding it in favor of cover where they could get in and out a little easier if a predator shows up.

 

[Rich M]

The only way to know is to go in and see.

We used to hunt an area with heavy mtn laurel - dad cut a trail thru and next thing you know it is a deer highway. Could you create a travel path for the deer with a pair of pruning shears?

 

[LostArra]

Green briar is a favorite snack for deer around here. In thick areas it's easy to see a browse line with the only leaves remaining being 5' off the ground where the briar is climbing a tree.

 

[Hwcopley]

I hunt a similar area east of Richmond. Usually if there’s any human developments around those tickets, Ive found the deer to use them more often. If you’re in a rural area, they may just browse the edges and bed somewhere easier to get in and out of.

I’ve had success, taking a weed eater to the middle part of the big briar patches and making small food plots. They usually get good sun if there’s briars and the plots seem to grow good in thick

 

[Shadow14]

That should hold deer. With out knowing much I'd hunt the transition line. Listen to The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast.

 

[Yoder]

I would crawl through it and check it out. It's a good time of year to find beds.

 

[Rich M]

The only way to find out is to get in there. Yes they are tough and got big thorns, deer can walk thru there with no problem.

Bring a pair of pruners - it will help you.

 

[Mudpuddle]

Yes, briars provides shelter and food all in one location and I am sure they are using it to an extent. However it can be difficult to hunt it without making a racket and getting busted. I'd hunt the edges like you mentioned or find funnels leading to the area.

 

[Mrjaycam]

I'm up in Chesterfield and on my private they use the briar patches as feed and bedding at times. The trails going in and out are usually easy to see. It's the type that's slight uncomfortable for us to walk through as humans but not the ultra thick nobody's been there for ages type. Typically I find sign on the edge of such areas and I usually hunt off the trail.

 

[thebobcat]

I'm eastern nc so we probably see some of the same vegetation and terrain. With heavy pressure they will absolutely use the areas you describe for bedding or cover but you should at least see signs of then coming and going. If you can't see some visible trails in and out of it, they likely aren't using it regularly.

 

[Hoythews71]

I'm eastern nc so we probably see some of the same vegetation and terrain. With heavy pressure they will absolutely use the areas you describe for bedding or cover but you should at least see signs of then coming and going. If you can't see some visible trails in and out of it, they likely aren't using it regularly.

Yeah, we’re seeing similar surroundings. I’m not seeing much for sign moving in/out, and there’s a lot of alternative locations for them to be instead of in this property. I’m starting to think this might be more of a pre-rut/rut transit property unless there’s a good acorn crop. Surrounding properties are large and seem lightly used, and this particular parcels gets hammered with hunters running dogs during the later seasons, so whatever was using this is long gone at this point.


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[Glendon Mullins]

They will absolutely bed in the briars, look for paths coming in and out like others have said. Getting in their to hunt them "beast" style is darn near impossible, u may be forced to hunt the edges

 

[Boarmaster]

Generally the thicker the cover the more pronounced the trails should be going in. There might be only a few trails leading into that cover but they may branch out into a much larger trail system inside the briars. I wouldn't go into their bed to whore around but I would setup on the outer edge of the trail leading in. They are either there or not. Keep looking for the sign. Hunting Pressure in the area can determine what kind of place they bed as well.

 

[EdP]

I hunt a ridge in the Nat Forest near me that runs N to S and is open except for scattered Hawthorn trees. The entire ridge is covered in blackberry briars and grass and there are trails throughout that lead to every Hawthorn tree. The briars are thickest and tallest towards the S end before the ridge decends into hardwood forest. At that S end where the briars are 4-5' high, the area under each Hawthorn tree is covered in deer droppings. The deer walk right through that stuff that shreds your skin or clothing and makes a racket doing it.