So you found THE buck you want this coming season...now what

[mheichelbech]

Wondering what you guys do when you have id'd a specific buck you really want to kill...what do you do from now till opening day and what if you don't see him on your first sit? How often do you scout him in the woods, how often will you glass him, how would you use trail cams, what else would you do...

- I have one...I have set my stand this Spring where I am highly confident he will be travelling to get to the beans, the beans aren't even the ground yet so I am hopeful they will still be green come October 1.

-I plan to glass him every chance I get...probably 1-2 times per week. I saw him a week ago...6 pointer right now - he should at least be a 12 or better with high tines, it was a long ways off but looked like out by or past the ears...my plan is to place a plot watcher cam to verify that he is continuing to come out where I think he is, what times and under what conditions. It hasn't been real predictable but once the farmer plants his beans I think this will pick up.

- I am ambivalent about placing interior cams for fear of scenting things up but may place one or 2 and check monthly....no more frequently.

- Am currently planning to hunt opening evening in the stand assuming it goes like I hope...I should have a South wind which will be good for me and a cross wind for him as long as he beds where I expect him to...my entry/exit is no closer than 20 yards from any trail so I am hopeful I may have more than one sit in this stand if he doesn't come by.

[UPbowhunter]

For me in my state it would be find a couple more bucks first. Then keep tabs on him, study maps, gain permission to as many neiboring properties as posibble. If you can talk to farmers around the area figure out crops and harvest times. Water sources, no cameras all long distance scouting. If you have him locked in the go kill first time in. I would have to set up yo kill a doe first to earn my buck tag. Shoot your bow and keep him under your hat. Wait for the right wind and use your planned entrance/ exits. Be ready to eat a tag if you want to hold out.

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[ihookem]

If he is an old buck I wouldn't go near the place. No trail cams or scouting at all. I wouldn't even stop my truck if I saw him. Just keep on driving. Those old bucks are skiddish buggers. I hunted a little bit for a big buck up north. I had little time but tried a few times cause I was always convinced a bruiser was holed up in an area. I found some real big sheds a year ago in the area, so I hunted him in the fall to no avail. I looked for his sheds, looked for some big tracks and droppings and nothing in that area this spring . I wonder if he left cause he knoew I was back there in the spring and then in the fall 2 times. He may be dead from a tough winter, but he may have left for deeper woods, where noone goes. There are places noone goes in Price co.

[iowa whitetail]

wait till the beans are about 1 foot tall put your cam out on a hot windy day it will tell you everything you want to know. I say a foot tall because thats when they really start hitting them hard. Good luck

[BigHills BuckHunter]

If you know where he is at why would you do anything further to lower your chances? I say be very careful with him especially if he is mature.

[Terry]

I am in the give him space school of thought. And I also agree with finding more bucks now. You never know whats going to happen and you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. You don't want to be half way through your season and find out your buck is dead and not have a back up or three.

[mheichelbech]

If you know where he is at why would you do anything further to lower your chances? I say be very careful with him especially if he is mature.

Because he is like hot girl after the first date that went well...can't stand not seeing...I do agree with you guys though...I will use a plotwatcher cam as it is easy to get it in and out undetected. Fair amount of human activity in the area (non-hunting) so that would be okay.

Btw...am hitting a new spot today that looks to be very promising. And yes, I have been scouting several other areas, not putting all my eggs in one basket.

I was more curious about what everyone else would do when they have a target buck, if anything besides long range glassing at this point to the season opener.

[gatorbait42]

If your fairly confident you know where he beds then I don't think there is any reason to hang cams or plot watchers etc. I would just long range glass as much as you can and take note of weather and wind, and what trails he enters the field on

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[HoosierG5]

Id hone in on several bucks to chase. A car deer accident, CWD, or any other issue could mean a dead buck and you with no backup plan. Some years I only have one to target but I always try for 2-3 on places I can hunt.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[JoeRE]

This is what I do for what its worth. As soon as I think a buck will be worth going after I try to identify his tracks - in the winter or spring scouting or whenever I find him. A lot of the time I know a buck from past years, maybe found his shed, and know he will make the list. I try to not go into an area,obviously stay away from the bedding, more than a couple times summer through early fall, maybe hang a cam on the most likely food source for a few weeks, often beans but also maybe new seeding or clover, or just walk the field edges looking for his tracks, to confirm he is in the area. I make sure I check any oaks in the area as well for acorns. Then when season comes I set up on the best early season buck bedding in relation to whatever food I think the buck is using - once or twice that's it because I think if you don't have luck quick early season then you might as well wait a couple weeks. I let other guys pressure a buck around the early season food, if I didn't get a chance at him right away chances are they will not either this time of year. Come late October I start targeting the best buck bedding (more often thicker nastier areas he will retreat to once pressure is on, the crops come out, and leaf drop starts) in the area closer to doe concentrations, he will be around starting to shadow the local doe groups.

What I would stress is there are lots of things that can go wrong in the plan so I try to have several bucks picked out in different spots. Doing that I have had a lot of success getting one of them...when I set my sights on just one then it typically doesn't pan out, I bust the deer out of his bed, other hunters move in too close, food sources are different than I thought, acorns no acorns, the buck just disappears for whatever reason etc. Play the odds.

[mheichelbech]

Good post Joe...that is what I was looking for...all good replies really.

[KLEMZ]

Outstanding post JoeRE! Any time you offer advice, I listen. I agree 100% about learning the track of a buck you wouid like to kill. I take pictures of all big tracks I see while scouting or hunting and reference it back to an aerial photo. Over time, I can see patterns that certain areas always have big tracks, and other areas sometimes have big tracks, and some areas never have big tracks. I know of a few areas that have very big, similar looking tracks in bedding areas that are perhaps 1/4 mile apart as the crow flies (farm country). I am not sure if this is one buck with several prime bedding areas that are spread apart, or just two different big bucks with similar lookig tracks. Do you think each track is individual enough to tell a specific buck or are some too similar to tell for sure? Maybe I just need to be more observant of the fine details of each track?

[JoeRE]

Do you think each track is individual enough to tell a specific buck or are some too similar to tell for sure? Maybe I just need to be more observant of the fine details of each track?

Thanks - yea I think most fully mature bucks have tracks distinctive enough to tell apart, when I started really looking at tracks and taking pictures of tracks it was kind of surprising how rare it was to see an "average" big buck track. I think the older a buck gets the more unique its track gets, just like racks tend to be more unique on older bucks. I think tracks tend to get more unique around the age of 4. One thing that helped me identify tracks was looking at the curve of the front part of the hoof. Some are blunt, some have a nice gentle curve and some are almost square. The front part of a hoof seems to be different on every buck. I'm not exactly an expert at it yet though, just last fall I got all excited because I thought I recognized a buck's track in some scrapes, a deer I called the Ox buck because he had a big almost square track, but then I got the buck on cam and he ended up being a completely different buck and I never found out what happened to the Ox buck, he disappeared - somebody probably got him. Usually though tracks are unique enough and mature bucks are rare/spread out enough that this doesn't happen.

If you found two bedding spots with similar tracks 1/4 mile apart I think its probably the same buck, to me that's not all that far apart for a farm country buck. I am used to seeing a buck in one spot then seeing him or getting him on cam up to half a mile away the next evening by another bedding area. There is a lot of variation in how much different bucks range around.

[wiscbowhntr]

If you're already glassing him and have a stand set I wouldn't even bother setting a camera anywhere. Watch from a distance, let him feel safe and dive in when the wind is right.

[dan]

Do you think each track is individual enough to tell a specific buck or are some too similar to tell for sure? Maybe I just need to be more observant of the fine details of each track?

Thanks - yea I think most fully mature bucks have tracks distinctive enough to tell apart, when I started really looking at tracks and taking pictures of tracks it was kind of surprising how rare it was to see an "average" big buck track. I think the older a buck gets the more unique its track gets, just like racks tend to be more unique on older bucks. I think tracks tend to get more unique around the age of 4. One thing that helped me identify tracks was looking at the curve of the front part of the hoof. Some are blunt, some have a nice gentle curve and some are almost square. The front part of a hoof seems to be different on every buck. I'm not exactly an expert at it yet though, just last fall I got all excited because I thought I recognized a buck's track in some scrapes, a deer I called the Ox buck because he had a big almost square track, but then I got the buck on cam and he ended up being a completely different buck and I never found out what happened to the Ox buck, he disappeared - somebody probably got him. Usually though tracks are unique enough and mature bucks are rare/spread out enough that this doesn't happen.

If you found two bedding spots with similar tracks 1/4 mile apart I think its probably the same buck, to me that's not all that far apart for a farm country buck. I am used to seeing a buck in one spot then seeing him or getting him on cam up to half a mile away the next evening by another bedding area. There is a lot of variation in how much different bucks range around.

I agree with Joe... Mature buck tracks are about as unique as there racks if you take the time to look close and be observant.