Good posts so far guys.

It's tough to pick just one, b/c we all know that you really need a combination of all. However, one must outweigh all the rest and in my opinion, #6 is the key ingredient.

I believe all areas of the country hold some mature deer, so location, while extremely important, can't be the determing factor. As stated earlier, some guys consistently kill mature bucks in HEAVILY hunted areas.

I think what sets most consistently successful bowhunters apart from the rest of the group, is the fact that they spend an enormous amount of time hunting.

Some of the guys may hunt straight for 15 days during the rut phases. Most hunters can only get a weekend or two in. If you are lucky you can get a 1 week vacation, but that still doesn't compare.

In addition to spending enormous amounts of time afield, these guys also are master scouters, masters of the wind, understand deer movement, etc. It definitely have to have all qualities, but time IMO is the key.

BTW, the reason I put 10yrs experience, is b/c IME, guys don't have the knowledge, patience or skills to seek out mature deer consistently until they have plently of prior bowhunting experience. I don't know of any novice bowhunters who have consistent success on mature whitetails.

"Tiiiimmmeee is on my side, yes it is, Tiiiime is on my side, yes it is"