ben673

I like to scout about the first of the year. If I can find scrapes that were cleaned out after rifle season (after 11/25 give or take a few days) I know that the buck is probably still alive. Also, if he is still ruttin around this late in the fall he's probably mature. Next I look for terrain features on a topo map that would make a buck in that area move through a certain place. I pick trees that are down wind on a west wind because thats usually the direction it comes from during the rut. I hunton on top of the points during the morning, and down the points from food plots and low gaps in the evenings. Sometimes I hunt in hollers that lead into fields, but as hilly as it is here in south central MO the wind has to be perfect or it'll swirl and you'll get busted and never see a deer. We also use trail cameras a lot, if we can find good sign and put with a picture of a mature buck in a certain area our percentage of success will go up.