Buck Stink: One November morning I shot a 10-pointer, walked up, took a step back and said, “Man, you stink!” The buck’s hind legs and hocks were black and wet from rub-urinating in scrapes. I held my breath and started gutting. Leaves popped. I looked up and saw another 10-pointer bearing down on me, rack poised for battle and the hair bristling on his neck. I crouched behind the dead buck. A rut-crazed animal like that is unpredictable and potentially dangerous, and I figured staying put was my best bet. The intruder marched within 10 yards, grunting and giving me the sideways evil eye. When my deer didn’t pose a threat, the bad buck whirled and trotted off. Ever since that day, I set a [...]

The big-buck hunting is just about to get good, really good. To confirm that a shooter buck you've been seeing is still in your woods, or to learn that a "new" buck has rolled in and is searching for does, look for 3 things: Tracks: Ordinary-looking tracks 2 to 2 ½” long tell you little (could be a buck or an adult doe). But a deep, splayed print 2½ to 3 1/2” long screams buck, although the size of his rack is anybody’s guess. Lots of big, fresh tracks in the mud in a small area indicate good buck activity in that area—move in and hunt that spot. Rubs: The buck that blazed the first big rubs you found back in mid-September might still be around—or he might be 2 miles away. [...]

Some really good buck hunters I know don’t hunt their best covers and stands until around Halloween and into November, as the rut starts rocking. Their strategy is sound—put no pressure on the bucks until there are moving more with their guard down, and especially in daylight. But I don’t believe that kind of thinking and approach are best for most guys. You’re busy, and you hunt when you can. If that happens to be now in early October, great. The woods are turning beautiful, there are fewer hunters roaming around than there will be in November, and there are good opportunities to get your buck. My friend Grant Woods, one of the premier whitetail scientists in the U.S. and [...]

In the book Deer Cameras: The Science of Scouting, Wisconsin bowhunter and QDMA member Todd Reabe reveals where he gets amazing daytime photos of monster bucks on his small, well-managed property. And day images are what you want, because that shows when and where you might arrow a whopper when he’s on his feet in shooting light. Todd stays away from field edges and instead aims his cameras into hidden pockets and strips of security cover. “Small funnels and bottlenecks of thick cover between feeding and bedding areas are the best spots for my cams,” he says. Look for these secret cam hotspots on aerial photos and then go in, ground scout and hang your cameras for images of big [...]