Hunting one target buck

[Terry]

For you guys who successfully target one buck, what special techniques do you use to kill him? I have a buck frequenting the property I hunt that is larger than average and I want him in the worse way. My biggest worry is burning the spot.

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[Master Chief]

I've done it once and it was a deer I was completely obsessed with for all three years we had pics of him. That started post season 2012 and lasted til this Nov. Before him I had specifically targeted one other deer. We had pics of him in 2010 and 2011, but 2012 he grew into a much more impressive deer and I really wanted to try to kill him. I hunted him hard... Too hard. Opening morning of bow season I started after him. No concern about wind direction or anything. I did the same thing every day I could until I gave up on him that Nov.

After that epic fail of an attempt at targeting a deer, in 2013 he didn't show up on cams and the one I soon shifted focus on grew into a larger deer anyways even though he was only 3.5. I decided to lay off bow hunting him . Come November I hunted him hard. No concern about wind and over pressuring a stand site. I obviously did not kill him-he was only 3.5 then just to give you an idea of how wrong I hunted the deer.

2014 came and I knew the day I wanted to start after him. Nov. 15th. I picked three spots to alternate until our peak rut came around (right at the end of Nov). My go to spot didn't produce ANY sightings for three sits.. Flat out discouraging. The spot I chose across the trail I was seeing several deer in and a few decent bucks. The wind only allowed for me to hunt the third spot once. No luck on the big buck there. On Nov. 20th I had a NE wind and it was good for my go to spot, but like I said, I had already sat in three times. The morning I killed a 158" TN public land buck, I sat and contemplated whether or not I should even get up. Thankfully, I went. What's my advice on getting your target buck? Hunt smart, but don't buy into the only sitting good spots one or two times-that is nonsense. If you have a dang good spot picked out and you are confident that it is a good spot, utilize the confidence wisely. What hurts is when you sit there carelessly. I did my best not to touch anything or wander around. I set a camera and checked it three times, but two of those times were when I hunted the spot (and one was only because I had to replace a dead camera from my last check)

Quick summary:

1.) Be determined
2.)Keep pressure low
3.) I haven't mentioned the most important yet.. Know your surroundings. Not as in "there's some rubs on that old logging trail over there". Know it as in you inspected every inch of the place

Like I said, I have had two specific target deer that I went i to a season with my mind on. The first one, I avoided everything except determination. It made a difference when I actually hunted using my head a bit!

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[iowa whitetail]

How old is he? Makes a diff how to approach him.

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[mheichelbech]

This will be going on my 3rd year chasing one presuming he made it through. I didn't see his tracks today so not sure just yet. Watched him all Summer last year but only one visual during the season.

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[Terry]

I would have guessed him at 3.5/4.5 last season. His rack approached the 120's, not big to some but for this area it's about as big as it gets.

He made it through the season, I have been all over his tracks narrowing down his travel routes. He isn't bedding on my land, but I don't believe he is bedding too far off it.

Are there any good books on targeting one buck written by someone who actually knows what he is doing?

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[iowa whitetail]

Not sure about a book. I love targeting a few bucks for the season. If it's a buck I really want I will put a few cams out on the outskirts and seeing what part of the property I get more pics of him. I also pay attention to the doe activity. The hard part is being patient. I will most of the time wait till pre rut to go after him the further it gets into the rut the more I get aggressive. I will hunt other stands early to satisfy my want to hunt. When I hunt pre rut I plan to watch deer movement rather than kill him just to try to gather more info so I don't try to get to aggressive and screw it up. I think the main things to killing a target buck that is truly mature is to be patient gather present season info and watch your does. Don't get frustrated if you don't get pics of him early season it really means nothing.

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[Master Chief]

Just out of curiosity-how do you know they are "his" tracks?

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[mheichelbech]

What can a hunter do this time of year to prepare for the coming season with regard to a specific buck?

It looks to me like the most important thing would be to find where he is bedding. However, what if you know he travels the property but you don't find his bedding? The one I am after, I believe he beds in a small woodlot but switches to bedding in corn once leaves start falling.

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[mheichelbech]

Just out of curiosity-how do you know they are "his" tracks?

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MC, the way I figured it out was to observe him from afar entering a bean field and then go look at where he walked. I did this over 2 separate seasons and took pics of the tracks and they matched precisely. Also, when I saw the tracks, common sense said it had to be his as they were the biggest, deepest tracks at the field entry point.

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[iowa whitetail]

This time of year in my opinion has nothing to do with ware the buck will be come next hunting season. I do a little shed hunting not much but that's it. I start hanging my cams mid July.

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[Terry]

Just out of curiosity-how do you know they are "his" tracks?

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Because the first thing I do after an encounter with a buck is check his tracks out and memorize them.

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[Terry]

This time of year in my opinion has nothing to do with ware the buck will be come next hunting season. I do a little shed hunting not much but that's it. I start hanging my cams mid July.

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I have been tracking him since the end of gun season, his pattern hasn't changed yet, but we also haven't gotten much snow. So maybe that is why.

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[Terry]

I have been scouting for him about once a week.

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[iowa whitetail]

I've found most with most bucks there pattern now isn't the same when you go to hunting them. That's why I think getting the Intel during current hunting season is the most important. That's why cams are good you can look back to the previous year and see what he was doing that time of year and it gets you one step closer.

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[Terry]

I have noticed the same thing, especially after we get deep snow, but this year his pattern had remained consistent since October so I am taking advantage of it and trying to locate as many ambush spots as possible. I think my best bet with this deer is not to get on him till pre rut.

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