No easy answers,(I know you are not looking for any).The most important thing in hunting big deer is that there has to be some in the area you are hunting.If you have hunted an area hard and smart and you havn't seen a big deer chances are they are not there.They are not phantoms,they leave evidence of their existence,track size,huge rubs.If you are seeing huge tracks and rubs that are fresh,that animal is spending time in that area.I believe in most instances you have to find the bucks bedding area and hunt his coming and going's from that area as surgically as you can.