How Close Is Too Close When Hunting Bedding Areas?

In this video we are trying to answer the question everyone wants an answer too: How close is too close when hunting buck beds? With mobile hunting and beast style tactics coming to the light over the last few years there are more and more guys wanting to hunt buck beds or tight to bedding areas, but the hardest question to find an answer to is how far or how close should you set up on the beds?
There are a few things you need to consider when you are out post season scouting and finding these buck beds. This is a great time to get your tree picked out and prepped so you can slide in next year for the hunt.
The first thing you need to consider is the wind. What is the predominant wind in the area, and is it likely that buck is using the specific bed you want to hunt on that wind? If so, pick out a tree that you can safely access and setup to be safe from getting winded.
The next thing you need to consider is visuals. Typically a buck will be bedded with the wind to his back, and keeping an eye on the upwind side. It can seem simple to just pick a spot within a certain yardage or on a certain exit trail and set up, but if that buck can see you getting in or getting set up, the game is over. You also have to consider his exit trail. He is either going to get up with the wind to his back and circle to get the wind is his favor, or he will just exit with the wind advantage right off the start. If you are on the wrong end of the trail, the game could be over before it ever starts.
The last thing you need to consider is distance. How close or how far can you set up, to be in the game, but not bump him out of his bed. You can analyze trail camera data to gauge how long after shooting light he is reaching a specific distance. If he's getting there shortly after shooting light, you can move up a short distance and catch him in daylight hours.
However, if he's not approaching your camera location until hours after daylight, you know you are far out of the game and need to make a substantial move.
We like to utilize the snow, and post season scouting to find the beds, and then pick out a tree within 100 yards of that bed with the wind, visuals, and the distance in mind.
At the end of the day, you won't know if you're too close or too far until you get out there and execute the hunt, but once you're in the sweet spot it can be deadly.
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[@jimreed3904]

million dollar question every season..good stuff..we switched to hunting closer to beds three years ago.. and it was the best move we ever made with a lot of hit listers hitting our freezers relative to more conservative sets... but we have come up with a two tier stand strategy ...depending on wind and how noisy the woods are getting in.. dry awkward wind - we go to plan b stand... 50-75 yards further out than plan A stand when we have quite damp woods w/ good wind.. either way, given our random woods and food sources, it doubled our encounters relative to our traditional conservative sets that carried far less encounter chances...This was a very good topic guys..

[@chadsyl23]

That is absolutely wonderful advice and something we will put into our playbook! Thanks for the insight Jim 👌

[@lawsonwatkins1681]

When is the next whitetail cribs episode coming out

[@ExodusOutdoorGear]

March 1st!

[@raymondderr4797]

Nicely done!!!! I’m sure this is a struggle to a lot of us hunters, Keep them coming exodus team!!! We need all the advice we can get!!!

[@hangonhelper1573]

Love the break down!

[@whitetailhabitatandhunting]

I was asking my self this question yesterday

[@chadsyl23]

You never really know until to kill or screw it up. LOL. Most of the time we screw it up!

[@edsalisbury3291]

Another GOOD one Chad. Keep them coming

[@michaelford3052]

Man this was a great video! I’d like to see more of these!

[@bradleymartin8499]

Which clothing brand do u like the best first lite, kuiu or sitka and why? Enjoy the video!!!

[@chadsyl23]

I really do think each of the big 3...Sitka, Kuiu, and First Lite..... all make great pieces! For dedicated Whitetail hunting from a stand in cold weather I believe Sitka is the best overall. All Sitka pieces are really thought out and we’ll engineered. First lite has really really nice merino base layers, my personal favorite. They seem to be really durable and perform outstanding! Kuiu IMO has the best system for active hunting, base layers, mid layers, and shells work awesome together. At the end of the day I don’t think you can go wrong with garments from any of them. I think it’s most important to buy the gear that is going to work for your style of hunting regardless of brand. In the future we’ll do some additional gear reviews on individual pieces and give our opinions.

[@edwardrichard2561]

Wools are great for insulation but you want some type of carbon too. I shot my biggest deer in blue jeans and a cami jacket.

[@danbayus3411]

Great stuff!

[@gsquared2394]

Better than another mindless kill video or sitting in a rut funnel for days hoping a buck comes by. I liked it

[@camthecameraman5096]

This is something I struggle with A LOT! How close should I be to feel in the game, but how far do I need to stay away to not bump that buck? Really hard to fine tune

[@bowhuntingfiend7098]

Every situation is different so mistakes will be made a few times and then I base my future hunts off of that.

[@bobabair8822]

Out of state hunt location is over thousand miles. Post season scouting trip not viable. Suggestions for finding these buck beds first few days of hunt?

[@chadsyl23]

Do digital scouting for the area, marking possible bedding opportunities. When you are there scout those locations by approaching from the side trying to minimize your wind/scent and visual impact. Also, binoculars can be your best friend. Don't be afraid to bump them. You could also hang cameras in those locations to verify what your eyes are seeing.

[@bobabair8822]

@@chadsyl23 Thank you!

[@unclemoe5733]

This was orchestrated pretty well. But i was surprised you didn't add in the trail cam pics???

[@mikeguy9668]

Tough situation

[@nazhoseincom]

Did you get him this year? Will be nice to see a follow-up video on this.

[@bradatkinson360]

Good video. How did this work out on this location that year?

[@johnf7403]

So how do you plan to get out after you hunt? If you go back through the food source you will blow out every deer in it.

[@robgerety]

What chance does a deer have? This is fair chase?