You can't just go to any spot of woods and expect to have a parade of big trophy bucks walk in front of your sights! You gotta actually confirm the existence of big trophy bucks in the area you are hunting or you are wasting your time. This means thoroughly scouting an area or two. Big trophy bucks are solitary creatures, except during the rut. They are not hanging with the rest of the herd of deer. They'll be in the most secluded, lonely place they can find. So, when you are scouting an area you plan to hunt, think like a buck. "Where can I find a place that offers me protection on one side and I can keep an eye on what's happening in the woods on the other side. And I definitely want to find a place to get away from those deer hunters with their blaze orange".

If a wily old buck has been able to survive year after year, then he's probably had ample opportunity to observe and understand deer hunters. He's probably got an inkling of hunter habits and what are their favorite spots to hunt. So he's avoiding where the deer hunters usually go. He'll have no problem finding some remote, grown-up spot, which for the hunter would present an extra challenge just reaching. A big old buck will know what areas in his region have the least hunting pressure, because he knows deer hunters tend to flock to certain areas. If hunters get to hunting the oak bottoms a great deal, he'll move his bedding area to a secluded area of pine woods. Big trophy bucks have discovered that people don't like to spend time in cemeteries, so they just may hole up in some old forgotten, overgrown family cemetery, where no hunter would think of going - except for Halloween. And most deer hunters would not think of hunting near the sight of a heavily trafficked road or near a pasture full of grazing cows. But that may be exactly one of the likeliest places to look for big trophy bucks. Just learn the difference between cow tracks and deer tracks - Ha! Ha!

So for this season's hunt for big trophy bucks, try a different approach. Think outside the box! Start out by scouting an area or areas which would be likely places where the big boys might be holing up. You want to see actual signs of the presence of big trophy bucks - possible bedding areas, thickets with honeysuckles, acorns or other delicacies, tracks and trails leading in and out of these areas. Hunting big trophy bucks is not easy and it will require a little more than luck. If you want to bring home something worth bragging about this season, then there's only one way - to beat a buck you gotta think like a buck!