so, my goal next year is to hunt bucks bigger than this years. that pretty much means 2.5yo bucks and older..

i started my scouting the second i released my arrow in october. will continue to scout all winter and spring. my deer driving is taking me to places most people never venture...let alone a bow hunter...i know most of my areas well, but post season scouting will tell the tale of whats left out there...and will revile the seasons rut activity(scrapes and rubs) and snow will tell me alot..like big tracks, trails, bedding areas, feeding areas etc....

im 90% sure i will not be around from mid may-mid august...so i got my work cut out for me...

other than scouting, i been thinking of how other guys find deer. the good ole spotlight. but, what the spotlighters cant see from the road, they dont know is there.

my thinking is to go into these hidden fields, fields blocked by trees or cornfields etc with my coonhunting miners style light on foot. keep the wind in my face, keep the deer from knowing im there, hit em with the light, see whats on their heads and dont go back till game day...this would be late august when i am back home...

you gotta hunt where the deer are...and i wanna hunt where the better bucks are...trail cameras make perfect sense....but im not buying trail cameras for the neighborhood lol...they wouldnt last long between ATV riders, "hunters" etc

anyone use the handheld light on foot idea??? i know i still have to scout and do the leg work..but it can be hard to find where the couple bigger bucks are going to be hanging out judged on scouting...seems every year they are somewhere different(i think because of the riflehunting pressure) sure...i will never see some...but i think it just might give me an edge and get me into areas that better bucks are hanging out in...

thoughts?? any of you bigger buck hunters, feel free to give me scouting tips, other ideas, anything...im like a spounge..i wanna soak up everything i can to start learning how to hunt better bucks...