It was a unusually warm summer, but that didn't keep the bucks on our farm in Morgan County from eating the soybeans every afternoon.  Through strategic game camera placement and many hours watching from the window of a vehicle, I had established what I thought was a perfect pattern on these Whitetails.  The stands were placed along a tree-line that the bucks would feed down on a daily basis. I was after one particular ten point we had given the name, "The Titan".  I knew where this deer ate; I knew where he drank, and I knew where he bedded. A cold front pushed through the week before the season was to open and the deer seemed to come out later and later.  As excited as I was for opening day to arrive, I was also nervous because the bucks were becoming fewer and fewer numbered in their bachelor groups. This was a sign that winter patterns would soon start. I hunted throughout bow season and into gun season without one sighting of "The Titan". Then one day as I was walking into my afternoon set I jumped him!  The deer was laying in a patch of honeysuckles and saplings no bigger than a truck.  I began to inspect where I had jumped this deer , and it was evident that he bedded in this place quite often.  I never saw that deer again.

I tell everyone this story because of what I learned and experienced that day.  Big bucks will bed in some of the most unusual places to avoid  hunting pressure.  You hear stories of a big deer being killed on a small piece of property or place every year.  Here is a look at how to find those places:

Old Homesteads  

Many people have seen the aftermath of an old homestead in the woods or field.  These places consist of smaller trees clustered together with blackberry, briars, and honeysuckle vines intertwined with them.  They are thick and basically impenetrable.  Old homesteads have run down fences, houses, and barns that all appear to grow together with these plants and make a place that mature bucks will use as a hiding spot from hunting pressure.  These places are not kept up well and are often ignored as a place that a big buck would bed, due to the fact that they are so small.

   Brush-piles     

Everyone has brush-piles or hunted a place with brush-piles.  This is one of the most common places where mature deer will bed down.  After time brush-piles, so-called, lose the majority of their "brush" and become large dirt piles with an adequate amount of cover on top of them.  These piles not only allow for great cover for a deer, the piles are usually higher up than the ground and provide a vantage point for deer to see and smell danger.  I have jumped a multitude of deer out of brush-piles on my way in and out of a stand.  These piles were located out in the middle of a wide-open pasture, as in most cases.  Brush-piles are easily made and will last several years before decomposition.  By cutting down trees such as saplings, cedars, pines, and hardwood oaks, a person can create a spot that the deer will feel secure and bed.

Hedge-rows      

We have all seen them running in the middle of fields, pastures, and crop land.  Usually, only being a few feet wide, hedge-rows provide a plethora of cover for a Whitetail to bed.  These hedge-rows usually consist of blackberry, saplings, privet and honeysuckle.  More times than not, a deer will use these places to travel down.  Whitetails love edges and will willingly bed down in the middle of a hedge-row.  They are able to see any danger in front of them, and also provide a good secure backside to the animal.  Hedge-rows also provide a great food source for whitetails.  These hedge-rows are easily looked over, or are traveled down by the hunters themselves on their way to and from stand sites.

Row-crop Equipment  

Most people would not think to look around old run down farm equipment.  These little hideaways grow up quick and more times than not are located out in the middle of a crop field.  Deer will use these places for security when the rifles start firing. Old equipment provides some of the most overlooked bedding areas there are during the hunting season.  Once a piece of equipment has been declared obsolete, it does not take long for the vegetation to grow and consume that piece of equipment and usually several feet around it.

 Right-of-ways       

Think of this next time at your hunting club or land.  You drive up to the gate, open it, and pull on through. After doing this you drive or walk back into the middle of the property to hunt.  Do you think the deer know this?  Why of course they do!  Right-of-ways along any hunting land road are grown-up.  Yes, you bush hog the road itself, but do you clear out the sides of it?....No...The deer know this and will bed more closely to these roads than most realize.  They provide cover, high visibility, and very low hunting pressure.  Look how many deer you see on the side of the road while driving day or night.  Quite a few right?  These deer didn't bed down five miles into the wilderness only to get up and walk right to the edge of the road to feed.  Right-of-ways are one of the most, if not the most, overlooked places to find that big buck bedding down.

Spoils  

Someone is gonna read "spoils" and not have a clue what I am talking about, so let me explain.  Spoils are those places in the middle of crop fields that are not ever planted.  It could be that the soil is not right or too much water stands causing the crops not to develop.  After so many years of not planting, these places begin to grow up in briar, saplings, honeysuckle, etc.  They are big buck havens, and in my opinion, the best locations for mature whitetails to be laying.  This is the location where I jumped "The Titan"  and since then have taken several nice bucks out of several spoils.  These places get looked over year after year after year.  Spoils can be from the size of your pickup truck to several acres.  They eventually will grow trees big enough to place stands into, and some even get big enough to plant small green fields right in the middle.  Spoils are, in my opinion, the most overlooked places a Whitetail will bed.  No one would think that a deer would walk out in the middle of a crop field and lay down in a small amount of vegetation.

 These are some places a Whitetail will locate once the hunting pressure turns hot.  We spend a very substantial amount of time scouting for that deer of a lifetime only to have him change gears when the season arrives.  Whitetails don't vanish from an area completely, they just outsmart us as hunters.  The deer are still there; they have only relocated to these hiding places.  Everyone has certain hiding places located throughout their property that they have looked right past.  The thought of a deer being there just seems impossible. Maybe this coming season you will stop and think, "I wonder"? 

By Miscellaneous Authors

This section is for articles published by a host of amateur authors. Some of these authors are former staff members but many of them are just regular people that had an article in their heart they wanted published. Here at TalkHunting, we believe everyone has a message and we try to accomodate that when possible.

Comments(6):

1. Awesome Article!

   Awesome Article! I enjoyed being reminded that deer can be anywhere! Great job!

   Sunday, March 06, 2011 Robert

2. hiding places

   loved it zach. you have learned much young man about mature whitetails and the little places that swallow them up and how they really don't move as much as we think. some exceptional bucks do vacate the country if jumped from their core area. knew one that bedded in a thin strip of buck brush by a large lake to protect his back and used a large field to protect his front. hunted him for 3 years with only one actual sighting during bow season out of range. great story zach.

   Sunday, March 06, 2011 brad

3. Great information

   Thanks for the info Zack! You are right! I would not have thought to pay attention to places like an old run down tractor! I guess that is why they hide there! Thanks for the heads up!

   Monday, March 07, 2011 Anthony

4. hiding places

   I agree with everything you said. I've seen them pull these tricks and now always cast a suspicious eye on any place they might be. Good job.

   Monday, March 07, 2011 Scott

5. Some food for thought...

   Great article Zach! I'll be thinking "I wonder?" when I walk the property this coming season.

   Monday, March 07, 2011 Duane

6. An awakening article

   Thanks Z, a great article and I can agree with it...I have seen little patchs in the middle of corn lots and soybean fields yield the greatest bucks you could hunt....no bigger than a small house could fit on...thanks for a great article...DPD

   Friday, April 01, 2011 David