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Even though the early season can test hunters’ patience and knowledge, more hunters seem to far prefer this time over the post-rut period. But as I wrote in my book, “Rub-Line Secrets”, I actually enjoy hunting big whitetails at this time of year. Here’s why.

First, as many northern deer hunters know, snow always makes it easier to scout for and locate mature bucks. Second, I seldom have to worry about interference from other hunters. And finally, whitetails adopt very predictable food oriented movement patterns during the post-rut period. Put simply, find the food and you find the deer!

Obviously then, the best place to start post-season rub-line scouting is near feeding areas. And the best way to find active rub-lines is by walking the perimeters of feeding areas. Remember, by the time the post rut arrives, bucks will have been working their rub-lines at least two months. Fresh and reworked rubs are dead giveaways as to which routes are playing host to the most travel.

This next bit of information is crucial for post-rut hunters. Due to the fact that they’ve been hounded and harassed for at least a couple months already, post-rut bucks can be extremely sensitive to even the slightest amount of pressure. For this reason I believe it’s imperative that late season hunters start out by setting up along rub-lines near the very edges of feeding areas. If these initial hunts don’t produce any mature buck sightings, THEN it’s time to make a move.

But the trick here is making the right move. And that “right move” involves setting up some distance back from the feeding area, but still somewhere along an active rub-line. Keep moving a little at a time until you start seeing some mature buck activity. And that my friends is the post rut rub-line hunting in a nutshell.

Hey remember, hunt hard, but always hunt safe!

As I wrote in my book “Proven Whitetail Tactics”, core areas are those places inhabited by big bucks during non-breeding or non-stressful times. When they’re not chasing hot does or struggling to survive life-threatening situations or harsh elements, bucks will spend the majority of the time feeding, watering and traveling within the boundaries of an established range.

Now it’s pretty much a given that no two core areas are the exact same size. Many factors can dictate just how much acreage each individual buck will include in his core area. The single largest factor, however, has to be the location of adequate bedding cover in relation to the location of preferred foods and, sometimes, watering spots.

For the most part, especially during late summer and early fall, whitetail bucks are pretty much homebodies. To our benefit is the fact that bucks usually adopt fairly predictable lifestyles during this time. And this is exactly why so many serious hunters prefer to hunt targeted bucks now, rather than during the rut–when those same deer could be chasing hot does miles away from their core areas.

I’m certainly not discouraging hunters from being in the woods during the rut. I’m merely saying that, because of their nomadic lifestyles, rutting bucks often are impossible to pattern. But have faith, provided they survive the rigors of the rut, big bucks almost always return to their home core areas once breeding is over. To our benefit, they oftentimes adopt the exact same patterns they displayed during the pre-rut. Which makes them pattern-able.

Hey remember, hunt hard, but always hunt safe!

If I’ve learned one thing from my many talks with deer hunters, it’s that hunters everywhere are steadily being forced to pursue whitetails on smaller and smaller tracts of land. As I wrote in my book, “Aggressive Whitetail Hunting”, there are a number of reasons for this phenomenon. But destruction of habitat, urbanization and the increasingly popular “No Trespassing” sign are the main reasons.

The biggest problem facing small tract hunters is the danger of completely burning out a piece of property in a short period of time. Only a little pressure can prompt small tract whitetails to relocate. In many instances a big buck can effectively evade your every effort merely by jumping a fence and taking up residence on adjoining land that’s off-limits to you.

In order to become an effective small tract hunter you must first know exactly what the deer that reside on those lands are doing—at all times during the season. And the best way to learn what they’re doing is through first-hand observations. I’m talking pre-season, early season, mid-season and late-season observation.

Remember, when it comes to trying to take monster bucks from small tracts of land, you must first have a thorough understanding of how the resident antlerless deer are utilizing those tracts. The remaining pieces of the puzzle will naturally fall into place after that.

Hey remember, hunt hard, but always hunt safe!

If there was one chapter from any of my five books that I would consider to be required reading for every aspiring trophy whitetail hunter, it would be a chapter from my first book, “Aggressive Whitetail Hunting”. That chapter is entitled “Pursuing Individual Bucks”.

In my opinion, one of the costliest mistakes a deer hunter can make is singling out one buck and then dedicating every bit of his available free time to just that one deer. From what I’ve seen, this mistake is seems to be more common among people who are just getting into the trophy hunting end of this sport. But I’ve also seen even veteran hunters fall into the trap of hunting just one buck. Heck, it even happened to me some years back. And trust me, it was one of the worst experiences of my deer hunting career.

I can’t stress enough just how special mature whitetail bucks really are. It doesn’t matter how big an area you’re hunting or how many different stand sites you’ve scattered about their home range. If you spend every bit of your free time scouting and hunting only one of these amazing creatures, there’s an excellent chance he’s going to have you figured out long before you figure him out. In short, the harder you hunt, the smarter he’ll get.

The biggest reason many hunters decide to dedicate all their time to a single big buck is because these animals are becoming increasingly more difficult to find. So once hunters learn the whereabouts of a true giant whitetail, many of them absolutely refuse to even look for any other big deer. In their opinion, doing so is just a waste of time and energy anyway.

I doubt seriously if the root of any hunter’s problem is the lack of big bucks in some of the areas they’re hunting. The way I see it, the problem for most hunters is that as soon as they find one big buck, they quit looking for others. Having the option of being able to split your time with even one other big deer is definitely in your best interest. And that’s a fact!

Hey remember, hunt hard, but always hunt safe!