There are obviously many variables that come into play on the chance to kill a big buck. Luck, time, location, goals, habitat, skill,etc.. My best friend has killed one mountable buck in all the 20 yrs he has hunted. I have taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 respectable/mountable bucks. 4 of which are mounted. Not beating my chest here, making a point.We hunt the same woods for the better part of 15 yrs. He is a great hunter, our knowledge of whitetails is about the same, he may have me beat in some areas, the point is, sometimes bucks just seem to walk by me and not him, he has been for more dedicated to killing big bucks than me, but luck has been in my corner. What Im saying is that Ihunt in an area that has produced giants for many years, the talk about this 1500 acre farm has crossed multiple county lines for years, without the access to it, I would have not killed these type of bucks. So, in closing, I think luck, skill, and location, location, location, have everything to do with it.