My theory on successfully hunting bucks...successfully consistently hunt bucks rather, would be hunting deer in general in early season (1st month). In my opinion, this will give you just about as much of a shot, if not more, at seeing bucks as hunting early sign during this time. Pre rut is when I would begin to focus on secondary trails, scrapes, corridors from bedding areas and so forth. During the rut, find the hot does and the bucks will be near. I also hunt alot of scrapes during this time. Post rut, I go back to hunting inside corners and narrows and late season I try to find a really thick area and setup on the outskirts of it (helps to hide your silhouette when all the leaves are gone). Just a theory and it certainly depends on the region of the country your in (I don't know much about this area, NC) and other factors (ratios, size of land, type of land...)

Also, the location of other hunters is a big factor to where I hunt, although if you don't share the land its one less thing to worry about.
Ryan