25 deer-hunting lessons from 25 years of pursuing big bucks

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6. When the rut is on, bucks are always cruising, searching 24-7 for receptive does. The only exception is when they’re in the midst of the tending phase, that 48-hour honeymoon with a doe in heat. The long hours of waiting will vanish from your memory as soon as the cruising resumes and a heavy-beamed buck fills your scope.

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7. Bucks are the most responsive when you rattle average-sized antlers. If the antlers are too big, some bucks will be intimidated. If they’re too small, trophy bucks won’t take the rattling seriously. Tickle the tines for one or two 15- to 20-second bouts, then break for at least 20 minutes before resuming.

8. Do not over-scout a property—bucks know when you’ve been around. Use trail cams to minimize your presence when sizing up a new hunting haven. Modern e-cams are the hands-down best option to drastically reduce the impact of scouting. The challenge is to discover where best to place the cams on any given property.

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9. Bucks don’t like having their picture taken, so maximum stealth is important when it comes to trail cams. The goal is detection, not deterrence. These days, black infrared or no-glow trail cams are the way to go (above). To say that the evolution of trail cameras has greatly added to our knowledge of local herds is an understatement. Each generation has improved on the last, but it’s taken many years for cams to evolve to the point that I can now repeatedly capture images of the same buck at the same location from the same cam. The old film cameras were too noisy, while the obtrusive nighttime flash models would typically fool a bruiser only once. Infrared cams were far less noticeable than flash models, but I was surprised to see the red glow from the LEDs the first time I strolled past one at night. Mature bucks were seemingly surprised and suspicious of that, too. Then came along the black IR camera, which veils the red glow of the LEDs and leaves big bucks none the wiser. From mid-September through to early winter, all my cams are aimed at active scrapes, harnessed to trees 15 feet or so off to the downwind side. Never place a cam on the tree that holds the licking branch. That’s far too central and will only draw the attention of wary bucks, making them avoid the scrape on future passes.

10. Repeat visits are not tolerated. Never scout deer trails more than once. When you’ve found an active area to hang a stand, always sneak in and out at least 40 yards downwind from the trail. Deer will return to their home sanctuary if it has been subtly disturbed just once, but anything more will put the big boys on edge.