Mule Deer Bedding

[FYT]

Hi all,

I'm trying to put my first Muley buck on the ground during 2nd rifle in CO this year. I'm 0/2 so far. I feel pretty good about the scouting and work I've put in this year- much more than in years past. One thing I'm struggling with is finding beds. I also elk hunt and I have a pretty good general idea of where to look for concentrations of elk beds, but I feel like Muley's are so much more random with where they choose to bed.

Anyone have any thoughts on what I should be looking for both on maps and when I have boots on the ground? Where do you find Muley beds in your area?

The unit I'm hunting varies from 6500 or so at the bottoms to 11000+ on the peaks. I've been scouting one area pretty hard that is in the 7200-9000 range, with grass flats toward the bottom end, mixed P/J and Oakbrush as well that works up into aspens and timber at the top. I was scouting the other day and all of a sudden two bucks were in the middle of the grass flat. Might they just bed down in the middle of the tall grass and stand up to feed when they're ready to? Sure seems like that's what they were doing but that surprised me.

Regardless of that- again, do you find that there is specific type of terrain or habitat that attracts Muley's to bed in? Or, am I just overthinking it because they're smaller, more solitary animals and can just sort of tuck into bed wherever they feel safe?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[SAJ-99]

Depends on the weather, time of year, and type of cover. If it is sunny and hot they like to bed under brush - junipers and sagebrush - and the thicker the better for bucks. The approach I think works the best is to think that they want to bed in a spot with the wind at their back and good visibility looking forward. I like hunting windy days because I have always felt they are much easier to find - often in draws where they can look over a wide area with the wind at their back. Nothing is ever 100% but I wouldn't spend much time look for a particular bedding area, rather a number of possibilities depending on the wind and temps.

 

[TexanSam]

Following, the unit you described sounds like the unit I will be hunting in 3rd season so i'm going to see what everyone says

 

[marshman]

The area that I am hunting is very open with sage on the south facing hills and timbered on the North slopes. I believe the bedding areas are in the timber on these north facing slopes if it is on the warmer side.

 

[kylemcintyre67]

The unit I am currently hunting is mostly open desert and I am finding beds under thick brush in the draws as well as out in the open in the grassy areas. I keep finding does and fawns up on the hillsides and all the bucks I have seen were down in the draws.

 

[BrianID]

Deer defiantly have certain spots they like to bed. I've found deer in the same bedding areas, year after year. Watching deer from a distance and seeing where they like to bed will teach you a lot about an area. The more time you can spend watching deer in your area, the more you will learn about their habits and favorite bedding areas. I have several places that I feel very confident I can find bedded deer, year after year. Some of the spots are an area on a hillside and others are as specific as a dug out bed under a tree that has been used by generations of deer. I've shot multiple mule deer out of their beds and several of those spots have had bucks in the same exact bed a year or two later.

When it is hot, deer are predictably in the areas that provide them the best relief from the heat. I find North facing slopes that provide shade and a breeze are good places to find bucks. Some bucks like to get in the middle of very thick cover and others like to bed in a spot that gives them a view of surrounding areas. Even the ones that are bedded in thick cover are often positioned to have a good view of the surrounding area. Steep slopes seem to be more popular for bedding than moderate slopes and flats. They do like to bed in areas with a breeze at their back but that isn't always true. When bedded on a steep hillside, they are often facing downhill and afternoon thermals cause the breeze to blow up hill so they are actually facing into the wind.