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 [...]

  Here are 4 places where you can’t go wrong hanging tree stands in the coming weeks. Break Lines: Look for linear strips where dark pine timber and/or hardwoods come together with brush, tall grass, second-growth saplings, etc. Deer love to walk and browse on these edges year-round; bucks rub and scrape like mad on the lines as the rut approaches. Oak Ridges. A narrow hogback with acorn trees within 100 yards of a corn or bean field is one of my favorite spots. Deer cut around points, ditches and gullies on the ridges; hang stands on or near these terrains to funnel bucks close for shots. Does and bucks eat acorns and browse in ridge thickets not only in the evenings, [...]