Old Whitetails.

[BrushWolf]

It's all sound advice. I have been trying to get in front of a couple different deer for the last couple seasons now. Maybe I just need to start thinking out side the box.

[Keb]

So much of it depends on where you hunt, pressure wise. Ohio should have some good deer with no guns in the rut.

What's works on managed ground in Iowa, ain't gonna work on public or pressured lands in Ohio or any other OTC state.

I have hunted public in Iowa and they way I can hunt there is way different here in Missouri because of the pressure.

[Shadowhnter]

Curious, which seems more pressured, Iowa or Missouri?

[Keb]

Missouri has 10x more people, I hunt Kansas 2, it's getting about as bad over there.

[Zbone]

"2 things that are glitch in big older deer armour.

The rut and terrain, meaning funnels or restrictions"

Yep, in my opinion, the best advise... Hunt the tight travel corridors during November as much you can, especially the first half of November...

For years I got too caught up on scrapes and scrape lines... The best place to be is travel corridors between these rutting areas...

[FlintNSteel]

Originally posted by Chuck Jones:
Hunt where there actually are big, mature deer.

Hunt as much as you can without spooking the deer.

Learn when the travel routes are in your area.

Stay out as long as you can stand it. Many mature bucks are killed in the middle of the day.

Chuck said it as concisely as possible.  #1 is probably the most important...if there aren't any mature ones around a certain area, you can't kill one there!

The only things I would add are learn their home area and understand what the hunting pressure others place on deer in the area makes them do.

[BrushWolf]

Originally posted by Zbone:



For years I got too caught up on scrapes and scrape lines... The best place to be is travel corridors between these rutting areas...

Now that is something I find myself maybe lacking in. I find maybe I hunt scrapes oftentimes more than how deer get to them. I do a lot of coyote trapping and have come to be able pick set locations by terrain. I have come to think there are guys that tag old deer in the same way by being able to pick out things. Funnels are always good spots to neck game down and some are better than others.Anyone else have things they look for in a setup.

[Burly]

I allways look for terrain features such as funnels as my go to tactic.I still hunt scrape lines in the right situation. I use to get hung up on sign, but with the hunting pressure I have to put up with. I just make note of it , since the majority of it is made at night.