Primary point

[Appalachian American]

BirdDog123,

Eventually, deer get around to using all areas, including steep hillsides (which they primarily use by walking parallel to the topography), but just as you mentioned that walking up and down the hillsides kicks your butt, so it does for the deer. For survival purposes, deer will find the "path of least resistance" when crossing terrain--the path that burns the least body resources to use. For climbing up steep hillsides, the path of least resistance involves finding and using small points that descend down from the ridge-tops. These small points produce something like an entrance ramp onto a freeway.

For ten years I conducted a rub density and distribution study, where I recorded and measured where bucks make their rubs based on habitat and terrain, and I found that bucks concentrate their rubs, based on terrain, along ridge-tops, secondary points, and valleys where there is thick cover in the valleys (they ignored wide open valleys). To give you some idea about what I term "secondary" points, below is a map I used in one of the articles describing the research. I broke topographic points into "primary" points--those at the terminal end of ridge-lines--and "secondary" points--those that descend down from the sides of ridge-lines. For some unknown reason, bucks prefer to use secondary points far more than primary points.

My question is, will deer primarily bed on those "primary points" or what? That map looks a lot like where I hunt (just ours is much steeper) and I have trouble seeing deer regularly. Just wondering if those points would make a good stand site or if they are used for bedding mainly?

Thanks
BnDhnTN

 

[Tomahawk]

In TN most of the deer will bed just about anywhere. Due to the cover and terrain that a majority of the herd have, there is no need for specific bedding areas that the deer will use a high percentage of the time. There are exceptions to this in parts of the state but at a very low percent.

Most hunters will come across beds and just assume the deer will return there every time. If you set a camera up on that bed site you might be surprised to see no deer return back there. I, as well as others on here I'm sure, have watched many deer come in around my stand and just bed down for an hour or two. Then get up and be on their way, never seen another deer ever come in and bed down in the same area. I have also driven in and seen 12-15 deer bedded down right beside the road as I passed by. Have never seen them there again when I drive by.

My point is not to worry about bedding areas and focus more on the terrain features created by the ridges/points. Look for gentle slopes, draws and hubs (multiple ridges coming together).

 

[Mike Belt]

Deer bed any where they want any time they want. There are areas (areas, not particular spots) more likely to be used by them (particularly bucks). They will and I have seen them bed off points but points should be considered more as part of a travel corridor than a bedding location. I have seen bucks bed off points during the rut where the wind was dropping their scent down below and a doe in heat actually traveled to them but usually during the rut the bucks are constantly on their feet and I don't suspect this happens that often. Typically it's the other way around and they're scent checking for does below. I'd venture to guess that secondary points aren't preferred bedding areas. I've actually seen more evidence of bucks bedding off the tops or near them on steep ridges with the wind blowing down the ridge. This affords them visibility of approaching danger from below and allows them to scent check the ridge tops or flats above the ridges for approaching danger and gives them an escape route either direction.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

They will bed.anywhere but if you find a nasty thicket i can guarantee they will bed there consistent

 

[BSK]

[My question is, will deer primarily bed on those "primary points" or what? That map looks a lot like where I hunt (just ours is much steeper) and I have trouble seeing deer regularly. Just wondering if those points would make a good stand site or if they are used for bedding mainly?

BnDhnTN,

What Tomahawk and Mike Belt said. In big hilly hardwoods, deer will bed wherever they are at the time, and they rarely use the same place twice. I participated in a GPS-collar study on the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau, where deer were equiped with GPS collars that collected accurate positions every 20 minutes, around the clock, for months on end. Even though this property had patches of thick cover, the deer bedded wherever they happened to be at the time, and didn't appear to seek out specific bedding areas. And rarely did a specific deer bed in the same place more than once over a several month period.

Unfortunately, much of what has been written about "what deer do all day" has been written by people hunting/monitoring Midwestern deer, where much of the land is open or agriculture. In that situation, deer may have very distinct bedding and feeding areas, as well as distinct and frequently used travel patterns. However, in hilly forested areas, deer do not have distinct bedding and feeding areas (when acorns are available) and rarely repeatedly follow the same travel pattern. They just have topographic features they use more often than other topographic features. And that's why hunting hilly hardwoods is so tough. The deer in those conditions are not very predictable.

But to answer your question specifically, secondary points are more of a preferred travel route feature than a bedding feature, although as Mike pointed out, in some specific conditions, bucks will use a secondary point as a bedding area when the wind is coming down the point. The wind protects the buck's back (up the point) while he uses his eyes to protect himself from the front and sides (down the point and off the sides of the point).

 

[Andy S.]

I participated in a GPS-collar study on the southern end of the Cumberland Platea.........

When was this study done Bryan?

 

[WMAn]

BSK,

This is an interesting discussion that has generated a number of questions for me. Although ridge/hollow, hardwoods deer do not have bedding areas, is it true that older bucks prefer to bed in certain cover types or terrain features? I'm thinking of Mike Belt's comment on ridge tops because I have observed this in more than one location. What I have observed is bucks preferring to be near the tops of ridges, especially a high point on a long ridge. I have observed this in Sumner County where the Highland Rim meets the Nashville Basin and in Benton and Henry counties along the Tennessee river.

Also, what about individual bucks returning to the same bed over and over again? In Benton and Henry counties there was a shrub that would grow about 3/4s of the way up the ridges in a narrow band along the ridge about 50 yards wide. This shrub created a dense overhead canopy, was very thick to impenetrable from 4' to 8', and was fairly open below 4'. I could consistently find what appeared to be buck beds that were being used over and over again in dense patches of these shrubs. The beds would be very depressed, littered with hair, and be surrounded by lots of small rubs. The rubs appeared as if periodically throughout the day the buck would stand up and exercise or take out his frustration on the surrounding vegetation. What do you make of this? Have you observed similar behavior?

 

[BSK]

I participated in a GPS-collar study on the southern end of the Cumberland Platea.........

When was this study done Bryan?

Northeastern AL, near Fort Payne.

 

[BSK]

WMAn,

When it comes to deer using specific habitat types or locations for bedding, I think much depends on hunting pressure. In that, in very low hunting/harvest pressure areas, deer do not show the close association to thick habitat for bedding that we as hunters are used to seeing. In fact, with more and more studies of how deer react to hunting pressure being conducted, it is becoming clear that the behavior we hunters see in deer is being caused by our hunting of them. In essence, our hunting pressure produces specific evasion behavior in deer that would not occur if they were not being hunted.

Hunt them, and deer quickly develop and implement specific behavior intended to avoid and hide from us. And it is this unique human avoidance behavior we as hunters are trying to pattern.

 

[Andy S.]

Thanks Bryan, but I asked when, as in the date? :grin:

 

[BSK]

Thanks Bryan, but I asked when, as in the date? :grin:

That study was done probably around 2000 or 2001.

 

[Andy S.]

Thanks.