6 Incredible Pro Secrets for Patterning Big Bucks This Fall

#5 Changing Behaviours

Seasoned hunters know that big bucks are rarely spotted during daylight in or along fields. Instead, the heavy-beamed bruisers stay within the shelter of wooded areas until after nightfall—unless they’re under the spell of a doe in heat. But mature whitetails are even more wary than that.

Once the leaves fall from the trees as autumn progresses—no longer providing optimal cover—the big boys become even more reclusive and resist moving through these now open spaces during daylight. So, by the time gun season rolls around, it’s time to strategically adjust to the naked woods and hunt these three key ambush sites: where there’s a dip in the topography, such as a forested ravine or drainage that hugs a field edge; low-lying funnels of evergreens; and the perimeter of wet areas such as a swamp or beaver pond.