Lannom buckBob L. shot this 16-pointer (164 2/8”) a few years back in Sumner County, Tennessee. The 4½-year-old animal is a great buck anywhere, and a true giant for the area. As such, the tall-racked buck had seen at least 9 times by local hunters that fall. “I knew of at least  12 stands that had been erected prior to the season by people trying to get the big old buck,” Bob said.

Takeaway lesson: You might have heard me say it on TV, or read it here on the blog: Pressure is the #1 factor in hunting big deer. The less of it the better. Anytime you can hunt unpressured land, your odds of shooting a mature buck on natural movement go way up.

But those opportunities are few and far between. Fact is, hunting pressure, either a little or a lot, is present in 95% of the areas that we hunt. Don’t let the fact that other people  hunt in and around your woods get you down. Scout well, hang stands/set blinds in strategic spots, hunt hard and keep the faith like Bob did. Sometimes you can create your own luck, and you might be the one who ends up shooting the biggest buck in those woods.