On the second day of Montana’s 2021 archery season, I stalked to within 50 yards of a bachelor group of bucks feeding in a weed field. A few minutes later, I arrowed a 138-inch buck at 7 yards. How did I end up there? I knew the property from previous scouting and hunting, and I knew that this weed field provided a preferred early season food source. I also knew the areas bucks frequent in the early season – bedding and feeding areas.
When I spot and stalk whitetails in the early season, I look to move in transition areas between bedding and feeding. A wind advantage is a must, so I travel into the wind or a crosswind. Contrary to some old wives’ tales, whitetails will generally travel from bedding to feeding areas regardless of wind direction. However, it is extremely common for them to skirt the downwind side of food sources in the evening to scent check the food source for danger. Whitetails display similar behavior in the mornings when entering bedding areas. Bucks generally travel back to preferred bedding areas regardless of wind direction. However, they often “j-hook” when entering bedding areas, an observation popularized by Dan Infalt of the Hunting Beast. What’s a j-hook? A deer walks adjacent to its bedding areas, walks past it, and then hooks back and enters the bedding areas with the wind in its face. The path taken adjacent to the bedding and then looping back into the wind resembles the letter “J”, and hence the term “J-Hook”. Why does a buck do this? Any predator scent trailing a deer on its morning trail will follow the trail. Since the scent trail is upwind of the bedded buck, this gives the buck his first chance to escape. Once the predator passes the bedding area, the buck has the opportunity to visually see the predator, which offers it a second chance to escape.
Understanding the concept of the “j-hook” bedding entry can provide a great opportunity for morning spot and stalk hunts. I often find buck bedding areas during post-season scouting or have knowledge of them from previous in-season experience. Entering a bedding area from a “back door” on a morning hunt and slowly maneuvering into position on the fringe of a j-hook trail is a tactic that can produce big buck sightings. Water access via waders or kayak provide stealthy access on these types of hunts without polluting the transition area between food and bedding with ground scent.
