RE: For those that don't think location or numbers matter
Location is one of many factors, most likely the largest.
Just like my height and athletic ability would rule out my being in the NBA, no matter how
much I devoted my life to that goal. Similarly, some areas of the country will probably never
yield world class deer.
Most people take what hey are given. There are pockets in untraditional areas (especially the
South), where people have worked on it and are getting closer to neutralizing the location
factor. Good soil, food plots, proper management, and even fences (yikes), can help tilt the balance.
Hunsucker's situtation just makes it possible to take massive bucks. I'm sure there are many
people in his area that have little to show for their efforts. Hell, his trailcam thread itself
shows all the work he puts into hunting and patterning those bucks.
Lastly, you are probably correct Atlas that the age of the buck and buck concentration likely
have less to do with buck sightings (skittishness) than the deer's experience. That is
why in heavy hunting pressure areas, a large buck may truly be "nocturnal" or very close to it.
It should be fairly obvious that uneducated, unhunted deer will be easier to kill.
Edit: Although for the rut, high buck concentrations or high buck to doe ratios result in a lot more
buck activity = more competition, fewer does to breed, since all does are quickly bred creates
very intense rut, etc.
BTW, I don't see anything "circular" in Germ's posts.