It was a cold fall morning when I slipped into my tree stand. I was running late, so I rushed a little to get set up before the sun began to rise.

Just after daybreak, a small spike buck came in from the south unexpectedly. Spotting my movement, he bounded off with a snort.

Disappointed, I slumped back into my seat for the long haul.

Not long after the squirrels settled down for a midmorning nap, I saw a huge rack floating through the woods toward me. The buck was practically in my first shooting lane!

Quickly I grabbed my bow, waited for the deer to pass before moving again. I centered the 30-yard pin on his massive chest. Just before he walked out of the last shooting lane, I released. I heard the arrow connect.

Instantly the buck bolted through the woods. I saw him slow down and begin wobbling before walking slowly out of sight.

Then the realization hit me: I had just taken the biggest deer of my life! I hung onto my safety strap to settle my nerves enough just to sit down.

SCOUTING PAYS OFF
Just the day before, I had slipped into the area and immediately noticed a scattered line of big rubs. Within moments, I jumped another much smaller buck from his bed.

I spent a few minutes looking over the area and decided to hunt this location at the next opportunity. The next morning featured a perfect northwest wind, and the ensuing events changed my hunting style forever.

A whitetail’s uncanny ability to keep us guessing allows those record-book bucks to survive, many of them right under hunters’ noses.

The deer know when we come and depart from their woods, and so they either move around us or wait for the cover of darkness.

Hunters often tip off their presence by leaving scent, making noise or being spotted.

This often explains why the very first time you hunt from a stand offers your best chance for killing a buck: You have the element of surprise on your side.

Over the years, I’ve worked hard to recreate these circumstances every time I step into the woods. Once a buck knows you’re after him, your chances decrease dramatically. But hunting an animal that never knows he’s being hunted will greatly increase your odds for success.

SCOUT EARLY
Having no impact on a hunting area is impossible, of course, but minimizing your impact is always possible.

Whitetails don’t know the difference between a threatening intrusion and a recreational stroll. So whether you’re hunting small game or scouting pre-season, your presence is still viewed as a threat. In areas that are heavily hunted, even stopping along the road to lift your binoculars on a deer will causes the animal to retreat to the deep woods.

Yet down the street at the local park, you can practically feed the same deer out of your hand. That’s because those deer have been conditioned to the fact that humans in the park are no threat. But in the open woods, you are definitely seen as a danger.

Most of your scouting should be done during post-season. At this time of year, you can access your hunting property as many times as you need to. By the following fall, the deer will have forgotten all about your off-season intrusions.