id say im a maturing bow hunter...mature bucks aint exzactly growing in our fields yet...ive yet to see a buck older than 2.5 while bowhunting in 2 years...theres just hardly ANY in the areas i hunt..

but, im starting to put in the time to scouting hard, and this winter im going to be beating down doors trying to get permission on better properties...i want to start moving up...and want to hold myself to "nothing smaller than the one i killed this year" gotta start somewhere...id be happy to consistantly take 2.5+yo PA bucks...but pressure in my areas is pretty stiff...if the crew i hunt with doesnt drive it, someone else DOES...its not uncommon for piece to get pushed by more than 1 crew a day in rifle season...the bucks that survive pressure like that know more about me than i could dream of knowing about them....

i think i need to start hunting "where the bigger bucks are" but to do that, im going to have to rely alot on my spotlight to find them i think...then put my scouting into those areas...seems the bigger bucks in my area roam ALOT...and dont leave the typical big buck sign...sure, i find the tracks in the corn fields...but other than that, the only way i know to find them is spotting...but, thats a heavily used tactic in the area...i think im smarter than most hunters around here though..most guys spotlight, find them and hunt where they seen them till he walks by....i think if i scout, spot, and know the land, and get out of my truck to spot, and work in some observation stands, i will be a couple steps ahead of them and the bucks...i really think getting out of the truck with the coon hunting light and sneaking to places the spotters cant see, i can get looks at these better bucks...like the cornfields up against the road...you cant spot them...but i can walk the hay fields between the corn with the coon hunting light...strange tactic....but im putting in more work than a trail camera...which i cant afford 10 of them, and cant afford to have ONE stolen, which will happen quickly in the area...

hopefully i dont NEED to spotlight and can learn all i need to about the bigger bucks this winter...but i think that tactic may help me get on bigger deer...