The Transition

As I wrote in my first book, “Aggressive Whitetail Hunting”, the reason why hunting can be so tough during this time frame has to do with something I’ve come to refer to as “The Transition”. Both the dear heard and the environment in which the deer live are undergoing major changes at this time.
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Calling All Bucks

I think it's safe to say that just about all whitetail deer hunters, especially bowhunters, consider grunt calls and/or rattling antlers to be a necessary part of their deer gear. Actually, it's my opinion that, over the past 10 years especially, there isn't another aspect of hunting for trophy whitetails that has garnered more attention than calling.
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Funneling Bucks

In my first book, Aggressive Whitetail Hunting, I wrote that I've heard deer hunters refer to funnels by several different names. But whether they're called bottlenecks, choke points, narrows or funnels, one thing remains constant. They are one of the absolute best places to wait in ambush for a mature whitetail buck.
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Dedication And Persistence

I've had the unique privilege of being able to spend time and talk with many of the most successful trophy whitetail hunters in North America. If my time around these individuals has taught me one thing, it's that they all approach the sport with the same basic philosophy. Where mature bucks are concerned, there's no such thing as putting in too many hours.
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Early Rubs

One question I'm often asked by other hunters is how early in the fall do bucks establish rub lines? The short answer to that question is that bucks begin establishing their rub lines from the first second after they've finished the velvet shedding process. But let's delve into this subject a bit further.
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Curing The Post Rut Blues

In Chapter Five of my book, Aggressive Whitetail Hunting, I wrote that much of the frustration and low hunter success rates during the post rut period are simply because hunters lack understanding. Adding to this frustration and low success rates is the fact that whitetail bucks, especially mature animals, once again revert to reclusive, secretive lifestyles.
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When Bucks Disappear

In my book, "Proven Whitetail Tactics", I wrote a chapter entitled, "When Deer Disappear. That chapter chronicled what happens when the first couple days of the gun season are history, and you're still in possession of an unfilled tag. As many hunters already know, trying to find a mature buck after the guns have been going off for a couple days can be like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack.
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Rubs And Rutting Bucks

In Chapter 11 of my book, "Rub Line Secrets", I wrote that hunters have long been led to believe that mature bucks never travel along their rub-lines during the rut. As the theory goes, big buck travel along rub-lines screeches to a halt when the first does enter estrus. And they won't resume traveling along their rub-lines until after the last doe is bred.
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Sneak And Peak

Most deer hunters know that there are any number of strategies that can prove effective during gun season. But in my book, "Proven Whitetail Tactics", I wrote about one that I've found to be especially deadly.

This strategy, which I call sneaking & peeking, involves moving stealthily through a targeted area. I prefer to call it a hyped up version of still-hunting. But even though the sneak and peek method entails covering quite a bit of ground in a relatively short period of time, you can't allow your movements to become random and careless.
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Finding Killer Stand Sites

In Chapter Seven of my book, "Rub Line Secrets", I wrote that finding active rub lines isn't a guarantee that you're going to kill monster bucks. As I've become fond of saying, there are far more unproductive than productive stand site possibilities along any rub line.

The way I see it, the major stumbling block for hunters, no matter their depth of knowledge, is that when attempting to pick killer stand sites, they believe that all rub lines are created equal. What they fail to keep in mind is that when scouting and hunting a buck's various rub lines, the productivity of one rub line will never be the same as another's.
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