"Personally I like to hunt the most important attractant to mature bucks - and that is thick cover.

When that cover is sprinkled with a few does, and the rut is on, big deer die "

Hmmmm.....I don't understand that copy and paste quote thing, but Rack Attack summed it up best.

TBO

SCOUTING,SCOUTING,SCOUTING. first off of course cause you have to know that they are there. Then what they all said. Food plots, thick cover, water, bedding areas, stealth and tree stand placement. But there are no garenttees. And you have to scout to find out all of the above. Then scout some more LOL

I agree 100% with pinky. scout, scout, scout, then scout some more

The big boys tend to love the thickest, nastiest areas for their beds. Post season when the leaves are down , snow is piling up and it's downright nasty weather is a great time to find those beds. I have a meandering ridgeline that overlooks a heavily reeded swampland far below. I slowly walk that ridgeline and do a lot of glassing that swamp land. I'll do some calls and glass a suspected bed simultaneously. You'd be suprised at how many times I got a big guys attention. It's kinda like chuck hunting. My dad used to take me and once we were situated he'd give a high pitched whistle or two. Chucks head would pop up investigating. Bucks the same, but you have to have glasses on those suspect spots constantly. They're usually so danged thick you have got to be able to spot those slight movements. Good luck in your scouting. Find their beds and work back from there to watering holes, feed lots,etc.