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Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? #6912135 10/07/17 04:01 PM
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postoak Offline OP
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If a mesquite thicket is surrounded by low hills with oak and juniper on them and by a creek with oaks and heavy underbrush, will they bed in the mesquite?


Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912191 10/07/17 05:12 PM
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Why wouldn’t they? Take a drive through Throckmorton county. Nothing but Mesquite and deer.


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Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912211 10/07/17 05:26 PM
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Yes seen it many times with the thermal

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912244 10/07/17 06:20 PM
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The thicker the better. Cover is their strong point.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912290 10/07/17 07:32 PM
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Okay, but a mesquite flat isn't all that thick compared to juniper and creek bottom vegetation. Given that they have all 3 available in a small area, which do you think they would prefer?


Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912294 10/07/17 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted By: postoak
Okay, but a mesquite flat isn't all that thick compared to juniper and creek bottom vegetation. Given that they have all 3 available in a small area, which do you think they would prefer?
deer bed in multiple places sometimes multiple places during the same day. The places I hunt that have mesquite have plenty of tall grasses and weeds for them to bed down and hide. They only need a couple feet of grass to disappear and they don't always bed in the thickest stuff. I've seen plenty of deer bedded down in open fields with no cover.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912366 10/07/17 09:03 PM
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Heck I’ve seen deer bedded down in a field without a tree in sight. Laying in grass not even two feet tall and could only see the tips of their antlers. Mesquite thicket is plenty of cover

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: sbushee] #6912370 10/07/17 09:06 PM
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Originally Posted By: sbushee
Heck I’ve seen deer bedded down in a field without a tree in sight. Laying in grass not even two feet tall and could only see the tips of their antlers. Mesquite thicket is plenty of cover
Yep. Seen it myself. Dappled sunlight allows grasses to grow in mesquite thickets. Deer bed in them a lot.


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Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912414 10/07/17 10:19 PM
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That's good to know.

To change the subject slightly, has anyone tried still-hunting through a mesquite flat at mid-day to sneak up on a buck? This came up recently because the big bucks aren't coming to the feeders yet for whatever reason.

It sounds tough, but as Erathkid pointed out there's much more room to sneak through mesquite than through juniper or thick bottom cover.


Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912529 10/08/17 12:56 AM
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They do. If you want to encourage them to bed in a particular area, hinge cut several trees and they’ll use them.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912658 10/08/17 03:50 AM
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What is a hinge cut? low lying branches?


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Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912667 10/08/17 03:55 AM
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Find a mesquite that’s about wrist thick or smaller, something you can work with, and cut about halfway through the trunk, a few feet above the ground, and push the top to the ground so the trunk above the cut is at an angle. If I haven’t explained that clearly, there’s articles on the internet with better explanations.

I’ve done it, and it’s surprisingly effective.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912674 10/08/17 03:59 AM
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You can do bigger trees. I just used smaller trees because they were easier to work with. Do a google image search or YouTube hinge cutting trees for deer.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: Sneaky] #6912677 10/08/17 04:03 AM
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Originally Posted By: Sneaky
You can do bigger trees. I just used smaller trees because they were easier to work with. Do a google image search or YouTube hinge cutting trees for deer.

fascinating


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Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912681 10/08/17 04:08 AM
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All the time. They love the cover. So do hogs.

Re: Do deer bed in mesquite thickets? [Re: postoak] #6912767 10/08/17 01:14 PM
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Find the oaks that are dropping the acorns, get the sun at your back and the wind in your favor. Sit down and be patient. Let them sneak up to you, rather than you trying to sneak up on them


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