The rewards of diligent observation can be much more than quality time afield. Proper scouting produces hard results.

Hearing the unmistakable gait of an approaching buck, I turned slowly to catch a glimpse. After investing numerous preseason hours patterning this animal, he was coming in on a rope.

With my bow in hand, I was ready. When the opening occurred I delivered the arrow squarely into his vitals. As he did the donkey kick and exploded into flight, I knew his last journey would be brief. Well before the first signs of rut began to show, my Wisconsin buck tag was full. A rough tape job put the mature 10-point at a gross green score of 146 4/8.

Over the years, I have been blessed to realize my share of successful pre- and post-rut hunts. Frankly, during these periods when bucks limit their travels, identifying individual animals and learning their patterns is the most effective way I have found of harvesting mature bucks.

SEEING IS BELIEVING
As many will attest, the first step to taking big deer is finding them. It's also not news that observing food sources is a common and often effective method of locating trophies. Coursing back roads or slipping in for an afternoon observation of a remote food source is common practice among many serious hunters.

Unfortunately, most bucks that frequent open areas during daylight don't get old enough to sport impressive headgear. Because of this, options such as shining with spotlights, where legal, and infrared cameras make perfect sense.

A seldom-used option is infrared night vision optics. The advantage these beauties provide is that they allow late afternoon observation techniques to be used during darkness. Night vision technology can provide obvious advantages for scouting. Not only is it far less intrusive than shining, but it also opens the door for nighttime scouting in the areas where using a spotlight isn't legal. However, as with shining, it should go without question that one never carries a weapon while utilizing this tool.

As is the case with daylight observation, popup blinds, placed in locations that provide low impact entrance and exit routes, as well as a good upwind field of view of the food source can provide nighttime information. Now, just as is the case with afternoon observations, it is possible to both identify the quality of bucks using the food source and peg the trail used for entering and exiting.

Continued -- click on page link below.