Seven hot deer hunting tips to help take that monster buck!

Looking to harvest that elusive big buck? Are you sold out to getting one or do you just dream about it? There is no education better than being out in the wilds seeing, experiencing, reading signs, adjusting to seasons, weather and other factors. You must understand that your ability to harvest a big buck will completely rely on your willingness to adjust your thinking, your tactics and your determination to find and ultimately harvest that animal you have your mind set on. Let start:

1. Taking Big Bucks Requires Exceptional Tactics. You will not bag a trophy buck by using standard techniques like everyone else. In fact, it probably does not matter if there are big bucks in the area you hunt. The truth is that if you’re using all the normal tactics you will not get the monster. The really BIG bucks are old bucks. They do not grow old by falling prey to the normal tactics the majority of hunters use. Make sense?

2. You must hunt where big bucks live! It is so obvious, yet how many days or seasons have you spent hunting in areas where you never saw a really big buck? You must realize that not all areas hold even one really big buck, let alone a few. But it is a fact that some parts of different counties in the country hold many large bucks within a given area due to quite a few factors. Things like cover, food sources and other nutrition, hunting pressure, and genetics play a huge role in finding areas that hold big bucks. We sometimes deceive ourselves. We HOPE they are there. If your overriding goal is to find that monster – you need to find out where they are and hunt there. You cannot shoot what does not exist.

3. Be selective in what you shoot – do not shoot small bucks. Think about this – in most cases after you harvest your buck you are done for the season – so if your goal is to shoot a monster why do you harvest a smaller one? Let the smaller ones go, let them mature into bigger bucks, and wait for your monster to appear. Most veteran hunters that shoot big bucks will tell you that the larger bucks follow the smaller ones out – the big ones are much more weary. That is how they get to be monsters. If you are satisfied with shooting a smaller buck than you set your goal to shoot, then you are compromising and your interest and desire are lacking. If you are committed to taking the big one, do not take the first buck you see unless it meets your goal!

4. You will find that big bucks will frequently have wet feet. Huh? Yep – find areas where there is a creek bottom or lowland wet areas such as a swamp and other wetlands. Talk to the experienced hunters who have shot big bucks…. most of them will tell you that big bucks like to frequent the heavy cover and are loners in these areas. They like the thick cover the wetlands produce because it gives them security. Also, deer are excellent swimmers. It is nothing for them to swim major rivers, let alone creeks and lakes. When pressure increases the big bucks head for cover.

5. Let the experienced and successful hunters be your role models. It is no different than any sport or avocation. If you want to be great, if you want the big prize, if you really want that big buck you need to learn and do what other successful whitetail hunters have done to harvest their big bucks. While no situation is identical, remember that the 1% or 2% of the top deer hunters are very disciplined and have developed methods and skills that work consistently. They know and talk to others about deer locations, sightings, behavior, etc. Luck has helped some over time but by and large the hunters who take the big ones year after year know things you do not. Or perhaps they are more persistent.

6. Big, Old Bucks are unique and you must adjust your hunting accordingly. Some say you have to treat them like a different animal or a different species if you’re going to take one. Besides being older, they are wiser, heavier, more mellow, slower, and much more deliberate in their actions. The fact that they got to 4, 5, or 6 years old is an indication that they found a safe way to exist and avoid the hunters. These big boys will not typically run at the slightest pressure – they may hold tight. I have heard story after story about how smart the old bucks can be – they will swim, crawl, hold tight in cover, and use their natural color and stealth methods to avoid even the most experienced hunters. You must use different tactics for these big boys.

7. Hunt long and often. There is no exception to this rule. Big bucks are seldom taken by hunters who don’t spend lots of time in the field. If you only hunt a couple hours in the morning and a couple more in the evening you’re missing some of the best hours to bag a big buck! Lots of B+C bucks are taken in the late morning and noon hours. Surprised? Also, during the rut lots of big bucks have been seen checking their scrapes during the noon hour.

The Rut

The rut is the mating or estrous time period for whitetail deer. This period usually last 2 to 3 weeks. Deer mate sometime in the later portions of the year so there offspring will be born during the spring time. In the spring time new green growth is abundant and the weather is starting to warm up. This makes survival for the young deer much easier. The rut is triggered in the fall when the daylight hours start shortening and the nights get longer. A doe can stay in estrous up to 72 hours. If the doe is not breed during their first estrous period she will keep coming into estrous up to 6 or 7 times until she is breed. Though I believe it is rare, in areas where doe populations are high, a doe may go through the entire mating season without being breed. Depending upon what area you live in will determine what time frame you will notice rut activity. In most northern states rut activity can began as early as late September and early October. In the southern states and the states in the northwest of the U.S. rut activity will usually start later in the year around the months of November and December.
During the rut deer are more active and generally less cautious than usual. It is during this time that deer become more susceptible to deer hunters and motorists. Deer sightings and vehicle accidents involving deer are always higher in these winter months surrounding the rut.
The time period surrounding the rut is an exciting time period for deer hunters. Those wallhangers that never move about in the daylight hours are now letting there hormones do the walking. Its the period of time before the rut that hunters call “The Chase” that I enjoy hunting the most. A buck will constantly be on the move searching for a doe in estrous. At times does will even play hard to get and lead bucks on a wild goose chase before allowing them to mate. At each doe sighting you have the chance to catch that trailing buck. Stay ready and alert. Your next mature buck may just be coming around the bend.

Antler Rattling Tips: How to Call In Big Bucks During The Rut

Rattling is most productive during the rut—when bucks are more aggressive—in areas where the buck-to-doe ratio is close to even. (In areas with a high doe count, bucks have far less competition and therefore have less need to challenge another buck for breeding rights.) The simulated sound of two bucks fighting over a doe may attract another buck. Some bucks literally charge to the mock battle; others take their sweet time moving in. Here are three tips to help you maximize rattling’s effectiveness.(1) Check wind direction before setting up. A buck’s natural inclination is to approach the sound of fighting from downwind. A good spot to set up is at the edge of a field, with the wind at your back. Take precautions to minimize your scent.
(2) Start slowly and quietly. You don’t want to spook any nearby deer, so rattle antlers lightly for only about 90 seconds. Wait five minutes, then repeat, but make the sound louder and longer (two minutes or so). Wait for a half hour before rattling again to give a cautious buck time to move into range.
(3) Before rattling again, rake the ground or scrape the antlers against a tree trunk. To give the impression of moving deer, rotate your body as you begin rattling. Wait at least 30 minutes before moving.

Five Keys to Hunting a Whitetail Sanctuary

1. THINK LIKE A MONSTER BUCK
First of all, in order to locate and pattern wall-hangers you really need to start thinking more like a thick-racked buck. What would you do on opening day when an army of hunters floods the woods? Would you turn and run into a different time zone or search for a safe place somewhere close by to hide? It’s highly unlikely the buck you’re after is going to completely leave the country. The only logical answer is that Mr. Big simply is going to switch over to a strict nocturnal schedule. This move will enable him to avoid those two-legged predators dangling from the treetops during the daylight hours.

With this aggravating scenario, textbook setups that rely on intercepting the deer somewhere between their feeding and bedding areas are practically useless. Traditional ambush points like these will typically only produce encounters with a lot of slick-heads and small basket-racks. The really mature monsters will already be safe in the bed by the time you climb into your morning stand, which completely eliminates any window of opportunity. During evening hunts, these same bucks will stay stubbornly locked to the bed until after nightfall. As a result, you’re stuck hunting a combination of ghost sign that has been left behind by the heavy-racked shadows of the dark.

When you think like a monster buck, another sneaky strategy to avoid hunters would be to make overlooked or hard-to-reach locations your core living areas. A few days of pressure is usually all it takes for a long-tined giant to pattern the habits, routines, and common tendencies of hunters. An educated whitetail will utilize this knowledge to modify and adapt their survival skills. They learn how to stay away from highly pressured stand locations and the key times to move through the woods without being detected.

As hardcore whitetail addicts, we all know veteran bucks that drastically restrict their daylight activity and strategically choose core areas or safe zones in which to live can cause major problems. In most cases, traditional hunting techniques and ordinary strategies are just going to make big bucks smarter and harder to hunt. This is exactly why you’d better be prepared to switch gears and adjust your tactics to meet these demanding challenges.

2. IDENTIFY CORE AREAS & COMFORT ZONES
Consequently, one of the first steps that must be taken in order to solve these problems is to pinpoint big buck core areas and comfort zones. These key locations are exactly where the bad boys that are packing around rocking chairs on their heads will spend the bulk of the daylight hours. The majority of these daytime hideouts and sanctuaries have been chosen because they create a sense of security among skittish bucks. For good reason, most core areas and comfort zones are well protected, overlooked by other hunters and very tough to hunt.

As you can imagine, infiltrating these sensitive locations without being detected by a buck’s nose, eyes, or ears is no easy task. All of these hangouts will generally offer suitable cover, good visibility, multiple escape routes and reasonable access to a current food source. In most areas, impenetrable thickets, hard-to-reach sanctuaries and overlooked hotspots will be the perfect places to find a wise old bruiser that has survived several seasons. Some of my personal favorites would have to be brush-choked draws, small islands of cover in the middle of an open area, abandoned home places, overgrown power lines, aged clear-cuts and backwater swamps.

In addition, isolated pockets of cover that are protected by natural barriers should also be at the top of your hit list. It’s amazing how cliff lines, thickets, deep-water creeks, rivers, or rugged terrain can hide and protect some target-rich environments. The trick is to pinpoint locations that encompass adequate cover with limited human traffic or outside interference. As mentioned earlier, focusing on overlooked areas like small tracts of woods along the edges of heavily populated cities, towns, subdivisions, golf courses, hospitals, and businesses can pay huge dividends. For the most part, these overlooked safe havens receive little to no outside hunting pressure, which allows bucks to survive and live long enough to grow some jaw-dropping racks.

3. PRECISION SCOUTING
Without question, hunting these highly sensitive locations requires stealth and precision scouting techniques. Being able to get in and out of mature buck core areas and comfort zones without being detected is very crucial. The golden rule is to always scout the way you hunt. In other words, take painstaking measures to be scent-free, quiet and invisible when checking out a possible big buck core area or comfort zone. The last thing you want is to educate the deer of your dreams before you even get a chance to climb into the stand. Precision scouting strategies will enable you to pattern bucks without allowing them to pattern you in the process.

Next, quietly ease into these areas and use binoculars to glass potential hotspots from a safe distance. Look for actual deer movement and fresh sign like heavily worn trails, buck rubs and scrapes. This type of legwork can help you confirm current food sources, travel corridors and core areas that you located on the map. The last step involves setting up a series of trail cameras along key points to locate shooter bucks and establish patterns. Strategically position cameras over each food source, possible buck travel routes and core areas to nail down daily routines.

For starters, thoroughly research your favorite hunting area by simply logging on to Google Maps. Within minutes, you will be able to pinpoint likely feeding locations, travel routes, staging points, core areas, and comfort zones. All of this can be accomplished without disturbing wary bucks or contaminating the entire area with a lot of unnecessary scent and noise. Studying these maps will allow you to carefully plan possible entry and exit routes that won’t bump deer.

If possible, invest in a couple of the new trail cameras that remotely upload pictures directly to your computer or personal Web site account like the Moultrie Game Spy Management System. These technologically advanced scouting tools allow you to monitor a top-heavy buck’s every move without stepping foot into a highly sensitive area. Placing at least two of these units along the edges of core areas and comfort zones will provide up-to-date information relating to red-hot setups and the prime activity periods that you need to hunt. One of the best times to either hang or move trail cameras within these sensitive areas is during rainy and windy conditions. Adverse weather can be a lifesaver by shielding your movement, dampening noise and eliminating scent.

4. SIDESTEP POSSIBLE LANDMINES
Consequently, there are always risks involved when infiltrating big buck core areas and comfort zones. After locating a core area and establishing a predictable pattern, it’s time to choose the best possible ambush points. Picking tree stand or ground-blind sites should depend heavily upon prevailing seasonal wind directions, current buck behavior, travel patterns and the availability of safe hunter access routes. All of these factors must meticulously be considered and carefully planned out to avoid making a mistake that could dramatically decrease your odds of success.

Furthermore, the ability to sneak in and out of your setups quietly can be the difference between an action-packed trip and total frustration. Waiting on a rainy day to clean up trails with a rake and hand sheers can save you a lot of aggravation in the long run. Clipping away overhanging limbs and removing noise-makers like leaves, sticks and pointy briar patches will enable you to move through the woods in stealth mode. It’s also important to remember that completing prep-work like this during adverse weather conditions can prevent you from ruining a productive core area with major potential.

In addition, hunting mature bucks inside their core areas and comfort zones requires you to take your scent-control practices to a whole new level. The bucks that call these protected areas home are wizards with their noses and it only takes one swirling wind to set off the entire alarm system. Sidestepping past a whitetail’s main line of defense is definitely not going to be a walk in the park. However, the following tips just might be enough to keep you out of trouble when the moment of truth finally arrives.

Start out by washing all of your hunting clothes with a scent-eliminating detergent and store them in a plastic bag or container. Always shower with odor-neutralizing soap and shampoo before entering the field. In order to cut down on perspiration, wear light clothing and carry your main outerwear to the stand. Next, throw on a pair of knee-high rubber boots and gloves to prevent alarming scent trails from forming when walking to and from your setup. Finally, thoroughly spray down with a scent-eliminating spray and rub a handful of leaves, dirt, or cedar branches over your clothing to help mask any leftover odors. All of these steps coupled with keeping the wind in your favor will ultimately generate more shot opportunities when hunting these sensitive locations.

5. SUPER SETUPS & STRATEGIES
Undoubtedly, aggressive setups and hard-hitting hunting tactics are required to pull the big dogs out of a safe zone and into a cleared shooting lane. Hanging stands or positioning ground blinds along the edges of core areas and comfort zones can place you right in the middle of all the action. Fine-tuning these setups even further to exploit bucks near their main travel routes that lead into the heart of these locations is very productive. Stand locations that are placed extremely close to known bedding areas can also be the perfect remedy for those nocturnal nightmares that refuse to move much at all during the day.

On the other hand, terrain features, location, and other factors may prevent you from setting up close to primary bedding areas. In this situation, stand locations positioned along the perimeter of these core areas and safe zones will be the safer bet. This type of setup will require you to draw the bucks out with a variety of customized strategies. For example, constructing mock scrapes close to your stand, setting up decoys and periodically calling can coax a mature buck right into your lap. Adding a mineral lick, watering hole, or small shade-tolerant food plot (check state hunting laws) along the edges of core areas may also help create a shot opportunity.

Over the past few seasons, focusing on big buck core areas and applying these aggressive strategies has allowed me to pinpoint, pattern and connect with some really good bucks. In fact, I tagged a giant Oklahoma bruiser last fall during a five-day muzzleloading hunt directly above a textbook comfort zone. Without question, breaking into protected sanctuaries and safe havens can definitely crank up the action when things get tough.

When the monster you’re after this season seems to disappear, be sure to take your game to the next level by targeting bucks in the heart of their core areas and comfort zones.

VENSION CHILI

   WHAT YOU WILL NEED ..4LB CUBED VENSION ..3TB BACON GREASE..2 ONIONS CHOPPED..2 JALAPENOS SEEDED & CHOPPED..1/2 HALF CHOPPED GREENBELL PEPPER..1 1/2 BEER NOT LIGHT..1OZ JACK DANIELS WHISKEY..1/2 TS CAYENNE PEPPER..3 TB SOY SAUCE..1/2 TS SALT..2 TB CORNFLOUR OR CORNMEAL IF DESIRED..8OZ CAN TOMATOE SAUCE..2 CANS STEW TOMATOES.OK WHEN YOU READY TO START 1ST YOU BROWN YOUR VENSION IN BACON GREASE ADD YOUR ONIONS,JALAPENOS,BELLPEPPERS IN COOK TILL ONIONS ARE TRANSPARENT.THEN BRING BEER AND WHISKEY TO A BOIL ADD YOUR VENSION ,SEASONINGS,ONIONS,PEPPERS,TO THE POT.BOIL FOR 5 TO 7 MINUTES REDUCE HEAT TO MEDIUM THEN ADD TOMATOES AND TOMATOE SAUCE STIR OCCASIONALLY WHILE COOKING FOR 30 MINUTES .REDUCE HEAT TO SIMMER & COOK FOR 1 HOUR...YOUR DONE ENJOY   

You must hunt where big bucks live!

Now don't start groaning… it's so obvious, yet how many days or seasons have you spent hunting in areas where you never saw a really big buck? Part of bagging a huge buck is maximizing your chances of finding one or more. You must realize that not all areas hold even one really big buck, let alone a few. But it is a fact that some parts of different counties in the country hold many large bucks within a given area due to quite a few factors. Things like cover, food sources and other nutrition, hunting pressure, and genetics play a huge role in finding areas that hold big bucks. If your own scouting, or the testimonies from trusted sources, can't verify the existence of large bucks in the area then your chances are getting real slim for finding that monster buck. It is so obvious - but we sometimes deceive ourselves. We HOPE they're there. If your overriding goal is to find that monster - you need to find out where they are and hunt there. You can't shoot what doesn't exist.

Turnip Food Plot

Turnips are both cold-hardy and drought-tolerant. They can be planted late-even as a second crop-and provide high-quality grazing late in the fall. Turnip planted in July will provide grazing from September to November. The most vigorous root growth takes place during periods of low temperature (40 to 60 F) in the fall. The leaves maintain their nutritional quality even after repeated exposure to frost. Turnips grows best in a moderately deep loam, fertile and slightly acid soil. Turnip does not do well in soils that are of high clay texture, wet or poorly drained. For good root growth turnip needs a loose, well aerated soil.