1) Knowing that tey are out there.

This is a biggy, if they are not there you will not see one much less have a shot at one.

2) Time.

You have to have lots of time. You may get lucky and get one right away, but my experience says to be prepared for the long haul. It's a game of being in the right place at the right time. To help improve your odds, especially if you live in an area where there aren't a lot of mature bucks, start scouting for one right after the season and try to get a pattern on him right when the new season opens.

3) Patience

It's a simple fact that if you want to get a big one, you can't shoot a little one. I have found that when I hunt in areas where there arn't a lot of mature bucks around that I can expect 0 -3 sightings/ opertunities in a season. That's with having the month of November off of work plus all the after work hunts and weekends.

You must be mentally prepared for the fact that you may not succeed.

Once you have gotten a few it gets a little bit easier, mentally. But it's still tough. I've had at least 8 shots at three different mature bucks that were below my goal for this year and I am always second guessing myself. Especially this year since I'm 2 weeks shorter on vacation due to my moose hunt. I continually mull things over in my mind to stay focused on my goal. It is becoming harder for me as I haven't seen a mature buck in the last 4 days and I have about 9 gays of vacation left. We'll see what happens!

Good luck.