Mule Deer tend to bed down in a cool, secluded places in the middle of the day . They are most active in mornings, evenings and moonlit nights, enabling them to conserve water and keep body temperatures down in desert environments.
Where are mule deer bedding areas?
Look for scalloped-out dishes in dirt or disturbed dirt in the shade of ridgeline rocks or juniper trees . Bucks often bed in places that get midday shade, so look beneath overhanging rocks and limbs. USE YOUR OPTICS: Ideally, you want to spot a buck in his bed from a distance.
Do deer bed down in the same place every night?
Deer are creatures of habit and may bed in the same location repeatedly . One exception is during periods of the rut when bucks are on the move searching for estrus does and defending their hierarchy. Bedding is more than a time to relax, groom and chew a cud.
Where do deer like to bed down?
A southwest-facing slope provides two key elements a buck will look for in a bedding area: headwind and sunshine. This allows them to smell danger long before they see it and seek out a little warmth in the colder months. Mature bucks will typically lay down with a thick stand of trees at their backs .
How long do mule deer bed down for?
Most big bucks are nocturnal.
By the time the sun is up, they are bedded. About one hour before daylight, most of them are within a few minutes of where they want to lie down. They watch, smell, and listen for dumb hunters. Once they locate one, they are long gone never to be seen again.
Do mule deer bed in the same spot?
Active member. 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.
What side of the hill do mule deer bed on?
Mule deer often bed down on the leeward side of any roll in the topography, so keep this in mind as move across the land.
Where do deer hide during the day?
Deer usually like to hide in thick bushes during the day, and they cover themselves up very well. In some cases, female deer also help the newborn deer to hide properly, and they even tuck them in before plopping beside them in a protective stance.
What does it mean when a deer stares at you?
When a deer is staring at you, it is also assessing your general movements. If you make a rapid movement the deer is likely to flee unless it feels you are far enough away to pose no risk. If you are a hunter, when a deer stares at you, the game is up, and the deer knows you are there.
What time do deer usually bed down?
While I often see deer feeding after sunset and before sunrise, I also see them bedded in or near the fields from 10:00 – 12:00 PM and from 2:00 – 4:00 AM . Several different studies on daily deer movement show that during the fall deer are most active at night around dawn and dusk, and from 12:00 – 2:00 AM.
What time of day are deer most active?
Deer are crepuscular, which means they are most active at dawn and dusk . During these times, the deer’s wide eyes take in plenty of light to see their paths to their favorite food sources, at a point when most predators are struggling to see clearly.
What should you not feed deer?
Do not feed hay, corn, kitchen scraps, potatoes , lettuce trimmings or any animal proteins from animals rendered into feed. Deer may actually starve when fed supplemental foods during winter if they have a full belly of indigestible foods.
Do deer travel the creek beds and why?
Creeks act as natural funnels for buck travel which gives you the perfect opportunity to set up along them. Determining how deer are using the water source will allow you to place your stand accordingly.
What time of day is best to hunt mule deer?
Time of Day: The best time of day to hunt mule deer is in the first hours of morning when the deer who have been feeding throughout the night can be seen heading back to their bedding areas.
What is a mule deer’s favorite food?
Mule deer are browsers, feeding on herbaceous plants and the leaves and twigs of woody shrubs . Mule deer are selective feeders. Instead of eating large quantities of low-quality feed like grass, they must select the most nutritious plants and parts of plants.
How do you spot a bedded mule deer?
Re: Mule Deer Bedding
Wind is left to right, bucks are bedded in the shadows of the washout . They bed in the bottoms of ravines like this, when the bottom is not easily visible. Good example of wind to back bedding in the shadows. Ridge runs East to West (pic taken looking North).
