Author Travis Faulkner with two of his public land trophies. Attention to details -- and to other hunters -- are a big part of his success. Photo courtesy of Travis Faulkner

Let's face it, not everyone's pockets are deep enough to shell out the money necessary to go on an out-of-state guided hunt for big deer. However, trophy bucks can successfully be taken consistently from public land in state with the proper approach. The following five tactics can help you pattern and increase your chances of bagging that ivory-tined monster this upcoming season.

FINDING AND DETERMINING FOOD SOURCES
Pinpointing the available food source represents an integral part of patterning public land whitetails. The most consistent daily activity of deer is the consumption of food. This vital process requires deer to move to and from bedding and feeding areas, making him vulnerable to hunters who know when and where to hunt.

It is of extreme importance to remember that food choices inevitably change as the season progresses. In early season, if the terrain you are hunting consists of wood lots, locate succulent plants, old orchards or oak trees yielding generous crops. Oak trees that have an abundance of mast will be easy to locate because of the sign left by deer, turkeys and squirrels that eagerly scratch at the forest floor.

Furthermore, a hunter who finds a potential food source should search for tracks, droppings and trails that expose the deer community within that area. Heavily used trails that lack ground cover indicate how the deer are entering and leaving the designated food source. If tracks are leading in both directions on these trails, then you have hit the jackpot. Obviously your next move should be to locate a tree that is downwind and high enough to be out of the buck's line of sight.

UTILIZE HUNTING PRESSURE
Another factor that public land hunters must deal with is intense hunting pressure. Ironically, when pursuing Mr. Big on public land you have to scout the deer and your fellow hunters. Try to uncover the areas that will be hardest hit during the season. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), patterning other hunters is much easier than pinpointing the daily activities of trophy deer.

The habits of other hunters can be revealed through parked vehicles, tree stands, trail markers and ground blinds. With this knowledge you can determine the entrance and exit routes hunters will inevitably use throughout the season. This enables a wise hunter to exploit the hunting pressure to his or her advantage by setting up along known whitetail escape routes away from high traffic areas.

Obvious deer sign located near or around easy access tracts will be heavily hunted. Imagine after a hard week of work you finally find yourself positioned high in your tree stand staring into the morning darkness. Anticipation battles with patience as you wait for light. Then out of nowhere a small beam of light and the sound of crunching leaves breaks the silence. Another hunter has invaded your secret spot and ruined your hunt.

However, you can avoid this scenario. These days it seems that most hunters won't bother hunting an area they can't drive their truck or four-wheeler to. This is why when hunting public land you should always condition yourself to hunt areas that lack easy access and require the hunter to exert some energy to get there. These are the key areas that mature bucks will use during the most pressured parts of the season. In most cases, you will have these sanctuaries all to yourself because the lazy hunter is barred from entering.

For two years running I have hunted an escape route that has enabled me to harvest some of my bigger bucks on opening morning of gun season. I simply used the other hunters to push the deer to my position far away from the obvious hunting pressure. In addition, over the course of these two years, I have never been disturbed by another hunter. For good reason: The escape route is nestled deep within the interior of rough country with no vehicle access. The terrain is rugged, making almost any hunter question reaching it in the wee hours of the morning.

HUNT THE THICKEST AND UGLIEST COVER
Instinctively, deer feel safe in areas that provide thick cover and that are almost impenetrable to two-legged predators. These thick entanglements do not offer areas of high visibility but do increase your chances of harvesting a trophy buck. When hunting public land, I always seek the thickest cover around the prevailing food source that deer are frequently using.