Components of a Bedding Area

Whitetails exhibit specific bedding behaviors. But hunters must understand each vital component of bedding areas. So, what does a buck need from its bedding area?

“A mature buck needs three things from his bedding area: security, browse and the ability to escape,” said Wyatt Rentzel, a land specialist in eastern Pennsylvania. “Security will come in the form of cover and predator detection. Ideal security cover will consist of vertical and/or horizontal structure 4 feet and below, consistent wind from behind, and a vantage point overlooking the downwind direction.”

In addition to the safety elements, bedding areas must also produce some form of daytime food source. Deer tend to feed twice in broad daylight, and if the bedding area can’t offer that, deer won’t be there.

“Ideally, the cover directly adjacent to the bed will consist of native woody and herbaceous vegetation,” Wyatt continued. This is because that buck will periodically browse throughout the day without wanting to move far from his bed. A buck will only choose a bed if he has multiple escape routes from it. Furthermore, if he smells a predator from behind, he’ll have at least one route down the hill he’s overlooking. Plus, he’ll have a route up and over the ridge, if he spots a predator or hunter lurking below.

“Thickets of greenbrier, red osier dogwood, brambles (blackberry), grapevine, ragweed, pokeweed, etc. are great examples of plants that can provide quality browse and cover for deer in their bedding area,” Wyatt continued. “These are two things they need in the places they choose to spend their time in daylight hours.”

Understanding the Relationship Between Bedding and Food Sources

In addition to the parts of a bedding area, hunters must also think about food sources. Generally, deer won’t use a bedding area unless quality food sources are within a reasonable travel distance.

“In the East, our buck bedding areas change throughout the season and vary based on the cover available, wind direction, and the preferred food source,” said Clay Mervar, a land specialist in North Carolina. “In my area, during the first three or so weeks of the season, the preferred food source is soybeans. Most buck bedding will occur within 300-500 yards of the nearest bean field, if there is one in the area.”

Just because bucks are feeding on soybeans at night, and these are their preferred destination food sources (in some instances), doesn’t mean you should hunt there. Oftentimes, it’s best to find a staging area food source between bedding and food, such as a producing white oak tree.

“Oftentimes, the mistake most hunters make is sitting over the beans trying to harvest their target buck,” Mervar said. “You can see a lot of doe and younger bucks doing this, but to intercept a mature buck in daylight, I usually hunt 100-plus yards in the timber downwind of an inside corner or a low spot where mature deer tend to enter the field. I wouldn’t suggest getting right on top of buck bedding this time of year, but I would cut the distance down to have a great chance of seeing him in daylight hours.

“Putting in a small, secluded food plot or hunting a staging area between his bedding and the destination food source, is the ticket in the early season, especially when you know exactly where the buck wants to go,” Mervar continued. “We used this same scenario on our farm this season and my buddy Nathan killed our top target buck on opening day — a 145-inch 9-point over a food plot we tucked 150 yards inside of the destination bean field. He was able to slip in and harvest this deer with plenty of daylight remaining.”

Of course, as fall and winter unfold, food sources shift. Therefore, it’s good to plant food plots in strategic locations between known bedding areas and adjacent food sources. Sync the peak attractiveness of your food plot plant species with the timing that deer use the nearby bedding and larger food sources.

“As the year progresses and our winds change, the deer feel hunting pressure and soft mast (acorns, persimmons, apples, etc.) begin to fall, the deer bedding areas change,” Mervar said. “This really throws off their predictability and you need to do some scouting to relocate them. One common theme will always be that the mature bucks will bed where they have most advantages in their favor including the wind, sight, and topography.”

How Bucks Use the Terrain and Wind When Bedding

When learning bedding areas, another component is understanding how deer bed in relation to terrain. As noted above, the lay of the land greatly influences how deer bed down each day.

“Through my hunting experience, mature bucks always seem to be bedded from an elevated position,” Mervar said. “This may not always be on a ridge top or knob. Sometimes it's just a subtle change in elevation that gives the buck a perfect spot to bed. This is due to the rising thermals in the morning and throughout the day and gives the deer a better line of sight downwind.”

Without question, levels of hunting pressure, and even unrelated human intrusion, can impact how and where deer bed. Where bucks feel more pressure, they place more emphasis on their bedding area decision-making.

“Bucks living in the Northeast are some of the most pressured deer across the whitetails range,” Wyatt said. “As a result, they are weary about where they choose to bed and spend their time in daylight hours. Most of the region consists of rolling hills and mountains sprawling from the Appalachian Mountain Range. The vast change in typography is something these bucks utilize when choosing where to bed. I often see mature bucks bedding on the leeward side of hills with the wind at their back and a vantage point of their downwind side. Often, [they’re] accompanied by security cover at their back. These spots make it difficult for any predator to approach this bed without either being seen or smelled by the buck. They have multiple escape routes to avoid the impending danger.”

According to Mervar, when it comes to mature bucks, they will almost always bed in an area either in or on the edge of thicker cover. Generally, they face where they have a good line of sight, which creates a very advantageous position. To increase this advantage, they tend to bed from higher and can use the rising thermals to their advantage as well. Mervar says that this offers them the perfect escape route when they see, hear, or smell a potential threat.

Bedding Area Preferences and Types Throughout the Year

Bedding area needs and preferences change throughout the year. For example, what a deer needs from a late summer bedding area is quite different from what’s needed from a fall- or winter-time bedding area.

“They have many different bedding locations, especially during the hunting season,” said Levi Rentzel, a land specialist serving Maryland and Pennsylvania. “Not only due to the high hunter density in Pennsylvania but also the drastic hormonal changes whitetails go through and how often desired food sources change in the fall (crops turning, crops being cut, acorns falling, native browse palpability, food plots, etc.). All these factors affect buck bedding behaviors and each change weekly and sometimes daily.”

“The best way I like to explain it, is that deer are put on this earth to do two things, just like all mammals, to survive and procreate,” Levi continued. “They can’t reproduce if they do not survive. So, deer are going to bed in areas that are suited best for survival – these areas will have cover, browse, and allow deer to see, smell, or hear predators, and then escape.”

Running Trail Cameras Around Bedding Areas

Running trail cameras is part of most hunter’s plans. That said, should a hunter post cell cams or soak SD cams (that remain unchecked until after deer season) around bedding areas?

“I do not place trail cameras in bedding areas, and it’s not because I think it’ll disturb the deer,” Levi said. “I believe it to be more effective to place cameras on trails leading to & from the bedding area. It’ll teach you what deer are using that specific bedding area, time of day they are entering and exiting the bedding area, and you will get more pictures overall than you would by placing a camera inside a bedding area.

Levi uses this hypothetical example. He expects the deer to exit the bedding area and head up hill toward the food plot. Therefore, he says a well-placed trail camera just outside the bedding area on the spine of the ridge (which is already conducive for deer movement) will capture a lot more photos than a camera inside the bedding area, where a deer could lay a lot of places and never step in front of the camera.

So, placing cameras on the edges of bedding areas in key locations is good. Placing cameras inside bedding areas generally doesn’t produce great results.

Deer Hunting Around Deer Bedding Areas

Once you hunt, it’s important to follow important principles. Some might ask, should hunters ever hunt close to bedding areas? What are important things to consider when analyzing bedding areas and determining if a property is huntable, or not?

Of course, hunters must anticipate what bedding area a buck is using on any given day.

Then, they can determine a buck's bed-to-feed line of movement.

“I am not big on hunting in bedding areas,” Levi said. “I prefer to set up a property in a way that I do not have to hunt bedding areas by strategically placed bedding cuts, food plots, creative access, and well-placed treestands. Or when hunting public land or a lease, where I can’t manipulate habitat, I want to identify where the deer bed and where they want to go.

“The goal is to intercept deer going from point A to point B,” Levi continued. “Typically, that is bed to food or food to bed. In the rut, that’s intercepting bucks going from doe bedding area to bedding area or hunting the downwind side of a bedding area.”

Despite the draw to hunt close to bedding, perhaps there are better options. For example, consider transition routes between bedding areas and food sources, rather than the two endpoints.

“By intercepting deer rather than hunting over their destination (bedding area or destination food source) it allows for cleaner entry and exit because the deer are passing by rather than staying in the area for a long period of time,” Levi said. “This dramatically decreases the chance deer are in the area when you enter or exit your hunting location. The best hunting locations are ones you can hunt repeatedly with causing little to no disturbance. Hunting in a bedding area is incredibly difficult to do without alerting deer of your presence. You might not get busted while on stand, but your scent remains, and deer will know you were there.

According to Levi, he will hunt a bedding area if he has intel that strongly suggests his target buck is there. Plus, he knows how he is using the bedding area, and is very confident it’s his best chance to kill the buck. If he doesn’t have that intel, and the plan isn’t bulletproof, he doesn’t do it. I will continue to build intel through scouting, trail camera pictures, in person sightings, etc. before he takes an unnecessary risk of hunting a bedding area.”

Of course, the time of year impacts hunt decisions. Outside of the rut, hunters should make decisions based on bed-to-feed movements, entry and exit route quality, and more.

“Be intentional,” Wyatt said. “A deer is choosing to bed in an area because they feel safe. Frequent and unwarranted hunting pressure in these areas is a recipe for your target buck to bed on your neighbors. Pick and choose when to make your move into his bedding area and don’t do it often. Wait for the ideal conditions, such as a cold front, high pressure, etc.

“Slip in on the downwind side of his bedding area, maybe near a scrape line your trail cameras tell you he frequents, and wait,” Wyatt continued. “Hopefully, that temperature drop and his increasing testosterone levels keep him on his feet just a little longer that morning, giving you a crack at him.”

During the rut, tactics change. That’s especially true in early November when the big dance kicks off. Wyatt suggests, when you know he’s fired up and looking for love, and those first does are getting ready to pop, to slip in on the downwind side of a doe bedding area, or in a transition area between bedding areas, and post up.

“That mature buck is going to use the wind and thermals to his advantage,” Wyatt said. “He is likely going to wait until mid-morning when he feels the does have settled into bed for the day, and he’s going to cruise through scent-checking these areas. Get on the downwind side of the trails you expect him to travel and let the wind conditions he’s using against him.”

When making plans, reflect on historical data. Look at trail camera photos for specific bucks. Study how the herd (in general) uses the area. This should provide great clues as to how deer use the property and proper hunt plans that work with that.

“A mature deer is a master at survival and will often pick the best areas on the property to bed,” Mervar said. “Once a big deer is long gone, other deer will continue to use those bedding areas for years to come [the same or similar ways]. Locating old rub lines or scrapes from past years can put you in a great position for possible ambush locations in the future. Have these marked on the mapping device and keep them in the back of your mind.”

Make Your Move

As with most things, in deer hunting, timing is everything. Deer offer small windows of opportunity, but rarely more than that. Hunters must strike when they see an opening.

“Don’t be afraid to go in for the kill when you see an opportunity,” Mervar said. “Everything doesn't have to be perfect to make it happen. That opportunity may only last for a day or two. If you are playing the conservative game, you might miss your chance.”