At some point in my hunting “career” I tired of hunting average size bucks and became interested in shooting only trophy bucks. There was quite a learning curve in moving my hunt to good bucks to monster bucks, but I got all the deer hunting tips I could from some of the best deer hunters in the nation. I found that the tactics to hunt the average deer don’t always translate to the much more elusive giant antlered mature bucks. After much trial and error I found the true secrets to finding the great deer, and my success has multiplied year after year.
Are there big bucks where you hunt? Most extremely large bucks are never seen. Just because there have not been reports of large bucks being seen in an area does not necessarily mean they are not there. That being said there are certain areas which seem to be hotbeds for the giant racked deer. To have a chance at bagging the elusive giant racked deer you must hunt where the big deer are. It is a hard fact that not all areas hold even one really big buck, let alone many. It is true however that certain factors lead to a greater concentration of giant bucks within an area.
The best way to find out if there are any big bucks in an area that you plan to hunt is to ask around. If you are looking for an area to hunt the best people to ask about the local deer population are other hunters, local farmers and ranchers, county agents, game wardens, feed store owners and even the people at the closest coffee shop or cafe. You are trying to find out if there are any big deer in the area and where they are. remember you are looking for big bucks, not a lot of deer. Some places are teeming with small bucks, this is not our goal. We are looking for that monster. If you are already on a lease or are committed in some way to one particular area find out the areas or stands where the biggest bucks have been harvested there the last few years, and if anyone has seen any big bucks in any one particular location. This is a good starting point. One word of caution though, deer stories can be as unreliable as fishing tales so try to get as much confirmation as you can.
