Deer sign primer: Interpreting rubs, scrapes, tracks & droppings will boost your chances at a big white-tailed buck

BEDDING AREAS

It’s exciting to find oval depressions in grassy openings where you hunt. In the summer, deer will rest in these exposed locations during the daytime to escape the swarms of biting insects in the sheltered woods. In the fall, however, these beds are almost always made by whitetails under the cloak of darkness. The upside of finding exposed beds is that they at least confirm deer are active in the area. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out where they rest during autumn’s daytime hours. Hunting bucks in those areas can reap big rewards.

For the weeks leading up to and following the rut, mature bucks choose their daytime refuge with the upmost care. They’ll often settle in the hardest to reach area of their home range, where it would be virtually impossible to sneak up on them. Bucks frequently head up south-facing forest ridges, for example, where they’ll bed against deadfall or a grouping of trees to break up their outline. This is where they’ll spend the remainder of the morning and early afternoon, chewing their cud and napping.

Another daytime haunt for bruiser bucks can be a small rise along the edge of a marsh, where the cattails and water make it impossible for an intruder to approach without making noise. Bucks will also hide during the day among felled treetops in areas that have been logged. During the post-rut in the late season, cold snaps will find bruisers bedding down in such areas closer to their food sources to conserve energy. In all cases, these daytime hideouts will typically be ringed with telltale rubs and scrapes if they’re being used by a buck.

During November’s rut, meanwhile, bucks don’t have predictable bedding routines

Given the foolproof vantage point provided by these bedding areas, the only way to outsmart a buck using one is to set up at dawn well before he returns from his morning routine. Or, you can intercept him along his travel route as he returns. Always approach the area with the wind in your favour and never cross the deer’s return route.

During November’s rut, meanwhile, bucks don’t have predictable bedding routines—or any routines for that matter—as they’re basically chasing does non-stop. They will bed down after tending a doe in heat, but the location is dictated by her. Usually, a doe in estrous will hide in the densest thicket available for a couple of hours following mating.