Where Mature Bucks Bed

When this prairie was burned, this buck's bedroom was revealed. This makes it easy for us to determine where to put a blind in.

A mature whitetail buck might bed anywhere if he has to, but his preferred bedding locations are more easily discovered because they are predictable. A whitetail buck makes it to a mature age (4.5+) by finding daytime bedding locations where he can lay undisturbed and detect intruders with ease during daylight hours. A buck's bed may offer just a few feet of visibility or may offer miles of vision to the buck.

One thing is sure - a preferred bedding location will be quiet, with little or no wind, so the buck can hear any predator's approach. If a change in wind direction makes this location noisy, he is likely to move to a bed in a different location in his home range which meets his requirements. Future generations of mature bucks will also bed in these locations under the same weather conditions.

You would think that hunting the routes into a bedding location would offer the greatest chance of encountering a buck during daylight hours, but this is rarely the case. Unless you hunt in a nature preserve, mature bucks nearly always scent-check their bedding area from downwind before entering, usually before first light. During most of the hunting season, hunting near a mature buck’s bed, and setting up after he is there, is a better strategy. Hunting a feeding or scrape location near a buck’s bed can offer much better odds at an old buck. Designating and improving undisturbed bedding locations on the property you hunt for specific wind directions, and hunting those locations undetected means you can predict bedding behavior and have a buck within yards of your stand location on the day you are there.

If multiple hunters are hunting a property, knowledge of the bedding plan and cooperation is required, or neighboring hunters will thank you for helping them fill their tags.

For more tips,  check out our Ground Games Vol. 1 DVD!