In previous weeks we wrote about mowed trails and creating bedding areas. So now it’s late summer, what more can a deer hunter do to better their odds? Deer are in their summer feeding mode, a smart hunter would scout a food source from a distance with binoculars in late evening to take note of the trails bucks use to enter the field.  He or she would also note antler size.  Although the bucks still have several more weeks of antler growth any buck who is going to be a big buck would show multiple points and a wider spread. If the hunter is watching an agricultural field everything will change in time, but if they are watching a food plot planted with such things as Imperial Whitetail clover or Alfa-Rack or any other type food that will not be harvested, these habits stay the same well into early archery season.  A buck’s core area encompasses several hundred acres, which makes it hard to pattern a buck beyond what a hunter notes during their evening watch, especially since very few farms have that large acreage and the hunter does not have the luxury of legally crossing boundary lines. But the good news is, as a buck matures and ages his core area shrinks dramatically.  Which means safety becomes his main goal and he is less apt to move about much to maintain his life cycle, food, water, safety, and reproduction.  So if you note a big buck using the same run to enter the food source several times his predictability becomes your opportunity.

    Note Antler Size

    Deer in Imperial Clover Food Plot

    Maintained Food Plot

    Success