2Poppa

Having been a monster buck hunter for the last years of my natural life, I have an uncanny sense of locating these big brutes.

The Problem: I just can't seem to close the deal. My best friend has the Kentucky State Record and he wasn't even looking for a rack.

What will you as a monster buck hunter do different this year to "seal the deal?"

Here is my buddy Smitty with his monster...

GregH

I've been fortunate enough to "seal the deal" for the most part during the last 14 seasons. The biggest thing that helped me to accomplish this was to place my stands in bottlenecks and funnels where the big ones almost had to enter. It's all about location. A few yards off one way or another can mean the difference between sucess and failure. The second biggest thing is to not hunt the stand if the wind is even the slightest bit wrong. If you let them know where you are, they will not come by you.

2Poppa

GregH,just read your profile and any info I could glean would be most helpful.This particular deer I'm hunting has an early season bedding area at the end of a long ridge. It drops off fast into a nice hollow, right before it drops off, there is a small knuckle,on the backside of the hollow(it isn't big enough to be called a point) this is where I've seen one of the largest deer ever, Ol Grand-Dad ...

It is comprised of several benches of moss and cedars. That side of the hill faces north west and recieves very little harsh summer sun and leads straight down hill to a spring fed pond.

This area has thermals that move seemingly, most of the day and in differentdirections, almost swirling. The cedarsprovide this hillside with lots of shade. Hence, its cooler and almost always a soft breeze.

Drawbacks:1. Property lines fromthree different farms merge together at the Master Bedroom.
2.He is still alive. He is more wise than ever.
3.Over the last 4 years I've never seen him come into this area, just leaving...

GregH, this is a tight little area with a bottleneck and funnel that come together.

Question:How can I arrow this sucker? Tree stand placement with wind swirling most of the day... Help! My family says I am obsessed, my heart tells me I am focused.

Suggestions: Please?

WKP Todd

STAY ON THE MOVE..... The biggest mistake hunters make when hunting mature whitetails is to overhunt an area once they locate a good buck. I firmly believe constant rotation on different properties will lead to much greater sucess than over-hunting a spot (even if it's a known funnel, pinch point, etc...)

I've killed every book buck on my wall on the first time in. Most of them were when I carried my climber, bow, and pole pruner into a new area, trim a few lanes, and hunt. You simply can't beat the element of surprise.

It took me 33 different stand sets before I finally sealed the deal on the buck I was hunting last season. The night I killed him was in the stupidest spot I'd hunted all year. I knew I wasn't going to see a thing; and before I knew it, he popped out under my stand. This is the way it usually happens for me, when I least expect it. The buck is now on my wall.....

2Poppa

Lone Wolf, I only hunt this during early bow season, then again after gun season. Early in the season this bigboy rides solo. Then, as if by some magic word that was spoken he is surrounded by three does...

It soundslike the one you took last year came later in the season and you kept adjusting to his ways. It won't be by accident if I can get a shot at this buck...

After 32 tree stand sets how did you surprise him on the 33rd?

GregH

You've said it all right here. This is what I look for. I like to find where the buck beds. If I can't get him when he leaves his bed for feeding/socializing, ( some of the biggest bucks I've seen, never socialized, it seemed the other bucks knew their place with them.) during the season opener or second weekend, I'll wait until Oct. 20th comes round and then hunt him. It seems that around Oct. 20th, mature bucks start getting a little antsy and like to leave their beds a little earlier than usual. They are eager to check on the does. Grunting works well during this time. Timing is so important, it is everything. You will only get one chance. If you miss or get busted, it's all over, he won't bed there any more.

I'd have to disagree with the lone wolf about stand rotation. If you do what it takes for deer to never know that you were there, you can keep hunting the stand. You have to be smart about it. If you get busted or sense something wrong (less deer sightings), move to another location and let that stand cool down according to the severity of how busted you were. I also try to hunt observation stands to get tabs on which way the buck is likely to travel once he gets up from his bed. The reason I say this about stand rotation is because sometimes I only have one place to hunt. If I do it right, I won't have any problems with stand burnout. Rule of thumb is.... If you have a shadow of doubt, don't hunt the stand. It pays to hunt on the cautious side and not ruin the area for the season.

BTW, the area that I hunt in is southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. You may have to adjust your times compared to mine because of your location.

WKP Todd

Of 33 stand locations, only a dozen were in his core area. My point was that by spending more time on different properties, with the potential of getting lucky on a different shooter, is better than constantly hunting the same deer. Plus, you will simply push a big boy out of his core area, or shut down his day-time movement completely.

Last season I wasn't prepared with enough property for hunting everyday (first full-time season). Alot of the ground I was hunting ended up not being nearly as good as I thought, so I was kind-of forced to overhunt certain areas. I was actually forcing myself to drive to Illinois every few days to take pressure off my Iowa spots.

I'll be completely honest, when I killed the buck I'm refering to, it was pretty much luck. I was basically setting up in the last ravine that I hadn't hunted because the nasty NW wind forced me to. I was so depressed on the day of the hunt that I wasn't even going to hunt. A phone-call from a hunting buddy motivated me to get out there, so I went and set-up on the worst night of the year, November 15th! Remember the storm that blew in the mid-west and shut-down hunting for those few days? That's what forced that big buck out of his bed early that afternoon, he knew what was coming, but never expected a jakhammer in the lungs! hehehe....

The hardest thing to know when hunting A particular deer is when to stay out, and when to go after him. Andrae D'Aquisto, President of Lone Wolf Treestands is probably one of the best hunters I've met when it comes to hunting "One Particular Buck". I have learned alot from him, but have a long way to go to even come close to being on his level! If you can, read some of the articals written about him for some of his unconventional approaches at hunting mature deer. They're are a few posted on the Lone Wolf website I think?

GregH

If you have multiple places where you can hunt it is good to let one area cool down while you hunt another. On the other hand, if you only have one place to hunt, you can get more mileage out of it by hunting it smartly. As long as the deer never know you were there, you can continue to hunt there. Once the jig is up, it is best to vacate the area for a while. This is why it is called hunting. Reading and seeing the sign and interpreting it correctly directly determines the outcome of your season.

I too know Andrae, we come from the same city. Maybe he knows or has heard of me as well. We both started taking mature bucks around the same time and both of us were asked for photos of our deer for a whitetail publication through the Deer and Turkey Expo, in Madison, Wi. This was back in the late 80's and early 90's. Unfortunatly, they do not publish this Mag any more. There was always a lot of useful information in listed in it.

BTW, I took my largest buck to date on my 12th hunt in a row in the same stand. 182 gross typical. Lucky? Sure. Did I know his travel route? You bet I did. This may not work for everybody but it works for me.

2Poppa

Wow! Both of you guys have given me a lot of valuable information to digest... I couldn't let another year go buy without seeking some first hand knowledge!

Frustration comes much easier when opportunity knocks at your door and no ones home... I passed on a large buck in the 170's, 180's during big gun season,to get a late season shot at Ol Grand- Dad to no avail.

This bad boy has tines over a foot long and a two foot plusspread. When he snorts it is breath taking, and I've never heard him snort less than eight times. This occured during this past spring turkey season.

Two years ago I took my twelve year old on a youth hunt to the same farm. We seen him at 1:10 in the afternoonpass quickly betweenthree of my tree stands. He was headed to the spring fed pond and to meet up with his three does...

Half hour after dark he shows up at the pond. God! What a magnificient creature... I'm ate up , that's all there is to it. I hope to get him on my trail cam or with my bow, either way I'll be giving credit, where credit is due. Thanks guys for your input. I pray frustration gives way to confidence.

As a side note I once asked a Godly man, a missionary in a foreign landwhat he attributed his success too. He simply replied,"I surround myself with Godly men!"

Thanks guys for surrounding me with your wisdom...

texas8point

I hunt near Buffalo, Texas and we are lucky enough to have a pretty big chunk of land to hunt on so we can do some stalking if we want to.......However, this year I have taken the extra step (unfortunatly my area is not blessed with large number of deer) in planting a summer and winter food plot, feeding protien and corn mix, and keeping my area pretty quiet. If the deer aren't coming its because lack of numbers and not lack of luster. Now I wait.............4 months to go.