ORIGINAL: MOTOWNHONKEY
My man scoobie hit if pretty well to say the least. I can almost bet you are hunting field edges and food sources. I may be wrong, if so someone else may benefit. You got to know where the dominant buck is most likely bedding. If your waiting for him to come out to the field edge I will bet you he is watching you get out of your stand. You have to be more aggressive with dominant bucks. You have to go after them. Get in that staging area and find a funnel or crossing spot and play the wind or forget it. I'm in my stand and hour before the sun comes up in the pitch black.I can hear them big bastards comming thru going back to the bedding area that early. But lo and behold he's going to be staying out playing with the doe's soon and will get off his schedule. When he makes that mistake and comes thru later I'll get my chance. Be more aggressive, make a plan, and put it into action.
Touché! He's 100% correct in saying the above. I used to make the mistake of thinking that bucks - esp bigger, older and wiser bucks were going to come step right out in an open field at dawn or dusk. They know better. They don't get older than 2 y/o doing foolish things like that. Bucks tend to 'hang' inside the fringe areas and NOT come out in the open. They'll let the does do their 'dirty work' for them and walk out into an open field - but they WON'T do that unless its pitch black. They are cautious. You have to learn to think like them. They tend to like THICK areas, WET areas, MUDDY-MESSY areas where they KNOW most humans won't mess with. And their right! Most hunters want to hunt an area in the woods thats EASY to get into/out of. They don't wanna be crawling on their hands and knee's thru thickets and brush. And bucks know that!
I tend to find the funnels where a bedding/feeding area join or something like that. I now place my stand inside these fringe areas - deeper into the woods where its cooler and darker. I know that generally they won't be caught out too much before dusk - however, just when I say this one will go and do something during the RUT and prove me wrong! lol! THATS HUNTING! But, generally - you gotta think as paranoid as a buck does.
Just ask yourself - how would I be if there were 1-2 Navy SEALS in these woods after MY arse? Make ya mighty careful, eh? Hmm.