Double Creek

All of it?....

Arthur P

I put my money on 4 and 5. You gotta spend time in the woods so you know the right time to be in the right location to take advantage of the deer's movements and wind patterns. If you know the buck is going to be RIGHT THERE at 5:35 P.M. every day, you can get on stand at 5 and have him field dressed by 6. (Wouldn't it be nice if it really WAS that easy!)

Of course, if you're in an area where all the mature bucks have been hunted out, yer not going to see one. So #1 does have something to do with it.

Mantis Mayer

They're all pretty damn important but if I were to choose one I'd say #6

You can't win it if you aint in it!

RTA47

I have to agree with charlie P it`s more than just one thing! First off you have to GET OUT THERE AND SCOUT AND KNOW WHAT YOUR LOOKING FOR? in order to find out if there is even a "quality mature buck" using a certain area. Then its a combination of thing in all the right order that ultimately puts you in position to capitalize with the exceptions that the buck does exactly what you think he will do? But we no thats not always the case.

rybohunter

That is harder to do than in areas where they are running around in every thicket, but the fact remains that the bucks still have to be there. Generally I feel your average joe hunter isn't that skilled at finding or pursuing mature bucks in heavy hunted areas. Just like catching fish from a "fished out" stream.
The above described hunter has to work harder in his pursuit of a mature deer, just because there may only be one, that will ever come thru his huntable land in a given season, and he has to be in the right spot, when one of those opportunities occur.

Dalejbrass

#1, with #3 in close second.

Double Creek

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"

jsasker

It's hard to only pick one but i'd agree that WHERE you set up in the woods is the key--if you're in awesome deer country YOU still have to be in the right place at the right time and a little luck doesn't hurt either.

WV Hunter

#1 & #6

extreme1

If i only got to pick just one then it would definately be #4 (knowledge of hunting area)reason being,I have oviously scouted out the woods(5)and know all i need to know about my area---where the deer are feeding,bedding etc.
Location,location,location(1) is also related to #4 in my books because I know where i want to place my stand in a certain location.
So to sum it all up,location(#1) and scouting(#5)all equals#4----KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR HUNTING AREA