" 3. Hunting funnels between doe bedding areas. "

Greg, do you have a specific time of the day/year to hunt these areas?

2 things, being in the woods and scouting constantly during the season and being willing to get out of a tree and hunt from the ground if it fits the spot better.

I scout constantly during the season. There are so many things that are changing during the season that one must stay on top of. A hot acorn or apple tree, newly developed rub or scrape lines, fields that are suddenly "hot," amongst other things. My last two bucks, both 3.5+ andP&Y, were taken because I was on the move and scouting during the season. THe first I found a hot trail running into a cornfield where there wasnt one before and it had new rubs on it that werent there before. I set up a ground blind in some thick sumac one afternoon and tagged my buck 45 minutes later. THe second, I found a subtle funnel that had developed a heavy rub line in it. In the afternoon I built a ground blind, came back the next morning and killed my buck.

I also know way too many people who find a good spot to hunt, but dont, because there isnt a tree suitable for a treestand. Who cares! Grab a handsaw and build yourself a small ground blind. You dont need a treestand or even a pop up to kill deer.

Idon't know what it was in particular but about the time I turned 30 all of my hunting and fishing started to "click". I have always hunted and fished a lot since I was a little kid and I have always been pretty successful at it, but I would havegood years anddecent years hunting and good days and bad days fishing etc. But about that time I just started hunting and fishing smarter and my instincts got sharper and I started to expect to kill a good deer everytime I walked in the woods. I started hunting funnels during the rut even if they didn't have sign and I started hunting little patches of woods that other overlooked and little things like that, that I wouldn't have done before. I always wanted to be on the heaviest trail and hunt the area with the most sign etc. Instead of hunting an area with good buck sign but less overall deer sign. I started to realize that deer are much more likely to pattern us than we are them. I learned this lesson by walking out to the parking area at one of the public ground areas that I hunt. Everyone would come in and park and walk to the back, including me, and one day after walking out a doe crossed the road right in front of me when I was 50 yards from the truck. I watched her scurry across the road and down into a thick draw less than 100 yards from the parking area. I got my binos out and started watching her and there were 6 more does bedded or feeding in this thicket. I got in the truck and slammed the door (to see what there reaction would be) and they didn't react at all. I started up the truck and turned around and started to drive off and got the binos out and they were still down there not paying any attention to me. The next day I got there early and climbed a tree 70 yards from my truck and watched the trucks come in and park and the guys get out and walk to the back and I watched the deer sneak up to the road and look to see if anyone was around and then run across the road and then slow down and feed right on down to this thicket. Well, I killed a nice 8pt and and a doe that morning andit dawned on me that day that deer pattern us just like we try to do them and I have hunted accordingly every since then. I also figured out that the more hours than I spend in the woods the woods during the season the more encounters I have with good deer. Must be present to win!

Yes, the tail end of October and November. At first, mornings and evenings are best, then when the rut progresses any time of day will work. Late Nov and Dec, evenings are best when the deer are coming out to a food source.

This statement is one that I have to agree with the most! If you don't have the ground or have to share ground with other hunters, you've just decreased your odds BIG TIME! There are many that get it done and have a good amount of luck, but it's tough I feel.

When I started really focusing on my scent control. I started seeing a lot more deer then I wanted to start see bigger deer and so on.

Patience, time in the woods and the wind for me.

I forgot one that I feel is very important also.....

4. If you see a lot of concentrated deer sign or movement from your stand, especially during the rut, move your stand over there imediately. Let the deer tell you where they like to be. DON'T KEEP SITTING IN YOUR STAND HOPING THEY WILL COME BY SOONER OR LATER.

I totally agree with that last one. Don't try to make the deer come somewhere they don't really want to be. That is why I love hunting out of my climber. Very mobile and versitile. The other three aren't bad either.

And I am kinda like Hunsucker. What did it for me was killing my first big buck. I kinda liked it and wanted to it again. So I did everything I could to learn how to make it happen again. But it ain't easy.

I intend to be a lot more mobile during the season and setting up on hot sign immediately.In my area I think it is especially important with our low deer densities and with it being as mountainous as it is.There are a lot of things that can change where they were last year.