Early preparation is the key to successful hunting.

• Learn as much as possible about the habits of your deer by studying the hunting land and knowing where your buck beds through field scouting, aerial photos, and topographic maps. These scenarios our not a sure fire way ,but yet another tactic you can ad to your arsenal

• Make sure you are adequately clean before entering the woods by using a good scent-eliminating product such as soaps, shampoos and odor reducing hair gel. Shower with cool to cold water - this eliminates sweating after you get out of the shower. Dry off with a towel that you have previously washed in a scent free detergent.

• Always wash all of your hunting clothes in a scent free detergent with no UV brighteners. Hang clothes out to dry. Be sure to store all clothes in an air-tight container. Spray scent killer on your clothing, boots, and any other equipment before arriving at your final hunting location.

• The scenarios provided are best performed during the rut.

Scenario 1

Try this 30 minutes before light when whitetail deer are more apt to be moving back to their beds. Typically, in the early morning hours it is calm with little to no wind. Falling thermals will force the scent that you atomized toward the creek beds. As the sun rises, the thermals rise and the wind generally picks up to a light breeze, drifting the scent even further to the opposing ridge. This plays an important part in getting the scent to the deer's nose. Deer typically move back to their beds at this time or have already bedded; it is common for deer to hear sound and movement during these early morning hours. Learn your area well enough to where you can travel under the cover of darkness.

Strategically selecting a point of entry into this hunting location and getting set up quickly will greatly help in this scenario. (See graphic below).

Key Tip: Early season when temperatures are warmer, big bucks will bed in lower areas such as creek bottoms. Later in the season, bucks will bed in area such as ridge tops and areas where they expose themselves to the sun. Always remember to call with feeling and emotion.

Scenario 1 Illustration

Yellow dotted lines on the aerial photograph indicate point of entry and white dots indicate buck bedding areas.

Scenario 2

The graphic below shows the point of travel down the creek bed. Set up across the field from where the deer will enter into the bottom field. Move 50 yards on either side so you are not in direct path from where the deer will be entering the field. This will help just in case there is a swirling wind. Once at your location, set the decoy up so that the decoy is looking in the opposite direction from where the deer will be entering the field. This gives the appearance that the decoy may be looking at another deer and spark curiosity. Add non-typical scent to the decoy and disburse into the air while in your stand. Do not over call when using decoys. Do not be alarmed if the deer does not respond or does not come running in. This does not necessarily mean that the deer did not hear you. Be patient, some deer may come running in immediately while others may take over two hours to present themselves after seeing the decoy.

Key Tip: Ridges are the areas in which the deer have a tendency to bed and funnel down in the evening to the open bottom field. Deer typically only make it to the bottom field when the wind direction is in your favor. Most of the time deer will enter the field totally dependent upon their eyesight. The wind direction and the falling temperature (thermals) will help the deer detect any danger coming from behind.

Scenario 2 Illustration

Scenario 3

Wait until the wind direction cuts across the timber so the wind and falling thermals work to your advantage. While en route to your location, atomize Dominant Buck scent into the air to effectively get the scent to the deer's nose. At the same time, snort wheeze and make a few light grunts to peek the deer's interest. The steep embankment located in the creek bottom will force the buck to circle around and trail you right into your position.

Key Tip: The moon and the sun are two sources of energy on earth. The cycle of the new moon and the full moon greatly influence whitetail activity. Since big bucks like to move under the cover of darkness, new moons are excellent deer harvesting opportunities. Do your best to plan your hunts around these new moon and full moon cycles for increased success in the field. Cold fronts and falling barometric pressure will also intensify whitetail movement at this time.

Scenario 3 Illustration

Tips:

Understanding how a buck utilizes the terrain and their sense of smell and eyesight to his advantage during a specific time of the season to alert him to predators and intruders is a key factor in successful hunting. Most big bucks generally will bed in an areas where timber meets the edge of a clearing or a strip of timber overlooking a huge field, or any other place where they may watch a house, highway, or some sort of other daily activity. In big timbered country, "wide open ridge tops are common". These are areas that the buck has a secure visual on what is going on in his surroundings. There is a good chance that his eyesight will detect any movement coming from a much greater distance while the wind direction blows to his backside. This allows the buck is to detect danger approaching from behind normally from the thicker areas or from the front side of a ridge to the opposing bench located on the opposite side.

“Early season scent applications”

At this time, whitetails concentrate on their summer feeding patterns and generally bed relatively close to where they feed. If you are fortunate enough, you may get the opportunity to watch several bucks feeding in bachelor groups. Many hunters believe at this time of the season scent products are not effective. This is not true, as whitetails just respond slower with a much more timid attitude. More importantly, we come to realize using buck scent in a scrape in late August is an excellent time to get pictures of all the bucks in your area. You may even be lucky enough to have several bucks in one photo.

"Late season scent applications"

During late season, many hunters prefer to use an estrus type of hunting scent hoping to have a greater chance in luring a buck within bow range. Although this is a great time for that type of scent application, our experiences state that challenging mature bucks at this time of the year has shown to be much more productive. Whitetail bucks have waited all year to breed. A mature buck will not tolerate another buck invading his territory, stripping away his breeding rights. When a mature buck smells another mature buck his thought process twofold: 1) there is a good chance a hot doe may be in that buck's presence or 2) there may be a hot doe somewhere within the area. The thought process of the buck offers the hunter a greater advantage without unnecessary dissemination of scent. In many instances, mature does are also drawn to the smell of dominant buck urine when breeder bucks are unavailable, especially if the doe is ready to be bred. If a doe is not ready to be bred, she will avoid the area. Further, using dominant buck scent during the breeding season this will intimidate, scare or make insubordinate bucks skittish. If your task is just to harvest any deer, try using regular doe or immature buck scents, as this will not threaten any whitetails within your area and offer them a sense of comfort.

Comfort zone is not to be confused with a bucks core area, as it is NEITHER SOMETHING YOU CAN HEAR, FEEL, TOUCH, NOR SEE. “Comfort zone” is in relation to how close a hunter is able to get within the bucks core area undetected, or detected as if we were mimicking another deer. “Comfort zones” will vary in size depending upon if it is early or late in the season when leaves are on or off the trees. Just as a bass has a strike zone, a whitetail has a comfort zone! Comfort zones come in two parts “sight comfort zone” and “smell comfort zone”.

“Typical late season sight comfort zones” On evening hunts, take precaution and stay on the inside edge of the wooded timber or corridor and try doing the same after daybreak, mid morning or mid day. This helps avoid giving away your location and may give you the opportunity to stalk any deer that may already be in the field. Typically, whitetails will notice movement in these open areas they will generally drift over to the adjoining property to feed or stay clear of your position. Therefore, do your best to utilize this rule of thumb on your evening hunts on a field's edge… out of sight is out of mind. (Scenario 2)

“Late season smell comfort zones” . Any type of odor at this time of the year flows free and travels further in open timber. Try taking a whitetail's strongest sense and use it to your advantage. With today's technology, this is not as crazy as it may sound, especially when you know what the wind and thermals will be doing in your area on a given day. Just as a deer's nose is able to detect age of urine, gland secretions, saliva, age, sex and the distance and time when the last deer strolled through his area, a deer can detect your human scent the same way. Your human scent will not be stronger at 300 yards then it will be at 50 yards. Any scent particles over greater distances are broken down, minimized, and become fainter. In keeping a safe distance as a hunter outside a whitetail's “comfort zone”, you pose no real threat.