BIG BUCK KILLERS, what are your top 5 contributing factors to your success?

Lay it on the line, why is your trophy room littered with big mature bucks? If you would, please share with the rest of us what your top 5 factors of success include. Thanks!

I'm not really looking for what you "think" it is, I want to know what has worked for you personally.

 

I quit killing them in '08. Wish I could contribute.


When I was killing some, the #1 reason was location. Can't kill them if they're not there.

 

Number one... You have to have big deer.
Number two... You have to know where they are.
Number three... You have to go.
Number four... You have to be clean... quiet and patient.
Number five... You have to be able to make the shot.

 

I'll throw mine out there for what it's worth, some would say I'm not a MONSTER BUCK killer, but having 2 P&Y (one had 95% of teeth gone and aged at 7+, other a 4 1/2 yr old) and one just shy of P&Y (aged to 3 1/2) off of only 9.8 acres of land in the last few years I guess I'm not doing everything wrong, still got a lot of improving to do though.

If I listed my 5 it'd be this:

-Confidence, without this nothing is bound to happen and you're bound to stay in when it drizzles and get down when it's hot/windy or you're tired. If you don't have this...well you nearly have nothing. *This is confidence in area, equipment and yourself.

-Habitat Improvement, this is one which some of us are limited if at all, but making the habitat more whitetail appealing is the biggest part of being confident for me.

-Constant studying and reading up on the whitetail deer...building the knowledge base cannot be underestimated.

-Taking advice from those who've done it, been there...never assuming I know more.

-Prayer...yeah you heard me. Honestly hunting has become my theraputic time with God, in His creation. Now I'm not saying I pray for a buck or anything like that because I don't....but I truly feel He has answered the ones I do ask like when He's given me warmth on those cold days, strength for those long sits, steadiness for those tricky shots and the very ability to enjoy it all.

 

- Having a property that holds big deer
- Putting in the time in a tree (all day hunts)
- Be able to close the deal when the deer shows (this is the biggest difference between me and my buddies)
- Proficient with your bow (practice, practice, practice)
- Experience on where to hunt on a given property (funnels and pinch points are where you'll find me)

 

1. Hunting property where a couple big bucks live. (If one is doing it, there is another.)
2. Know what the deer do in that area.
3. Low human contact in the area.
4. Know when its time to push the subject.
5. Put your time in when it is right.

 

One thing I learned this past season was not to hunt where you have been seeing deer in previous years, but to hunt where you believe the deer currently are. I killed this years buck in a spot where I have never really seen much for bucks, but it had a ridiculous number of acorns dropping this year. Also, the bucks I hunt like using the draws when there is a cross wind instead of parallel with the draw.

 

Hunt hard but hunt smart. Sometimes it is just better to stay home. Uncooperative winds etc etc

Time on stand. You have to be there to kill one.

When you get your opportunity . . Cash in. It doesn't happen everyday make it count.

Most recent information is priceless. If you can get to them without bumping the deer, check cameras more often during season that helps to stay on patterns that develop during the season.

Keep it fun. The mental part of the game is just as important as the physical part. When it's gets to be work or frustrating take a break. :D

 

1. Patience
2. Scent-Elimination
3. Position
4. Food Plot
5. Attractants

 

I have taken a few mature bucks,
For me number one thing is scouting!
You have to find a big buck to hunt a big buck. So I spend the last 10 evenings leading up to season opener scouting. I don't want to know where they where and what they were eating in august I want to know where they are feeding and what they are eating september 30th.

Once I find the buck i want, I watch from a long ways off, if he enters food source tthree times in a row over a few days from same area, I set up right on him, down wind side.

I hang the stand the day I want to kill him, as absolutely stealthy as i can, he will be beded within a few hundred yards, so there can be zero metal to metal contact.

THen i go home shower up, and get back there quick, cuase odds are great he comes right by me that night. odds die off fast after first night.

I always hang all my clothes outside to air out for a few days ahead. Also cut fresh cedar limbs and put them in my clothing tote.

I have my most success in the first three days of season. I do live in a very high pressure area so the big boys go completely nocturnal by the second week. But i have gotten on my share of them in the first few days!

 

I'll play.. although I'm not sure I qualify as a big buck killer. This list assumes I found a buck I like.

1. Entrance/exit are key.. you can have all the location in the world and never get a chance if you blow this.

2. Location.. you can have the most perfect entrance/exit in the world but it matters not if he don't live there.

3. Wind.. know it.. utilize it.. get intimate with it on all aspects of the hunt.. not just in a tree but while using entrance/exit.. scouting.. etc etc

4. Get close to his daylight movement (his bed.. travel corridor.. etc)... in order to kill an older deer he must feel comfortable to move in daylight where you are.. otherwise you can have the perfect location.. entrance and exit and he still won't show... not until after dark.

5. Hang to kill.. often you get one chance to make it count.. its not enough to see him on his feet if you cannot kill him.. when you hang your stand make sure he can't walk out of range or at an awkward angle that doesn't allow a clean 'death' shot.

 

What you must have is the deer on the ground you are hunting and i mean what ever a trophy means to you ,some it is 140,150,200 class deer and thats up to you.And some areas just dont have it period you need this factor year after year.
Know when to hunt and when to stay home and just because you worked at your craft doesnt mean your neighbor is not a idiot and bumped the deer or sent him into being nocturnal after that you dont have a chance.

Your best chance is to get him before he knows the season has opened and that happens fast so dont just wait for the rut to kick in be all in from day 1

Know what is the next crop to come in and be there ie. deer will leave the beans for acorns when they start to fall dont wait to find out where the deer went be waiting for them to drop.

There is a BIG difference in a deer that lives in highly pressured hunting area then a lets say "lee and tiff" area know what your up against,This is not the same animal they may score the same but not the same deer by any standard.

 

My father always said its better to be lucky then good. Sometimes i think he's right.

 

That's it! It's all luck.



I might be retired.

 

In no order, as all 5 most times must be met for a successful hunt.

Access to where bucks bed.
Weather conditions.
Time of year.
Correct entry and exit route for wind and noise.
Execute a solid shot.

 

Just so we are all on the same page. Is a guy from Florida who kills 100 inch bucks every year considered a "Big Buck Killer" or does one have to kill 140+ inch bucks to qualify?

 

Take time to find properties that have Big Bucks
Scout that property after season and learn it like the back of your hand
Plan correct entry and exit routes after finding a core area
Dont be afraid to get agressive and think outside of the box
Never rely soley on those ole reliable stand sights, be very mobile

 

I say big bucks for your area Brett

 

Note mature :D

 

Ive been bow hunting for 13years now. The last 3 years ive takin 5 bucks over 150. (150 7/8th,153 2/8ths,160 1/8ths, 167 4/8ths, the monster 180 3/8ths)
1. The major thing I changed 3 years ago is I stopped hunting my good spots during the morning. All though you might think you are not being scented in the morning by big bucks, I bet you are because you never know when deer are going to bed down. They could bed at 2am or 10 am , you never know. If your scent is blowing into their bedding area, you will not see them. I won't hunt my good stands till rut.
2. Scouting I do most of my scouting right after season is done. I think its the best time because all plants are dead and you can see where they have been hanging out. I set up cameras starting in july and I pull them when there antlers turn hard. I give it a break till close to rut.
3. I have spots I hunt does only. I do this during october. I dont waste time on bucks in october because they are mostly nocturnal and hiding in the corn fields. If you are in your good stands in october , there is a good chance you will not see the big boys during november rut.
4. confidence is very important. You have to think that a big buck will show, and you have to feel that you are going to make a perfect shot. if you dont , you will not make a perfect shot. 5. Just experience...you learn from all the mistakes you made in the past. You have to think like a deer, know what they will be acting like in any situation. You learn not to let them smell you, use the wind. Know how to walk to your stand with out leaving any trace you were there. Dont sit in trees with no branches, you want to hide , not stick out like a sore thumb. Practice your shots, know when to draw on a deer. THese are things I live by and its worked well for me the last few years