If you’re like many hunters, you’ve gone out year after year, dreaming that one day you’ll get a shot at the whitetail buck of your dreams…you know, the one that you have a spot all cleared for above the mantle. And if you’re like most who hunt whitetails, you’ve probably come back disappointed not having taken that ultimate trophy.
Part of the excitement of hunting is the anticipation, never knowing whether this will be the yearthat you’ll finally have that monster buck in your peep sight or crosshairs.
We could fill volumes with the best whitetail deer hunting tips(heck, there are entire magazines and TV shows dedicated to the best whitetail deer hunting tips), but for our purposes here, we’re going to assume that (like most hunters), you’ve already read just about all of the free advice that you can handle and skip to the one piece of advice that all hunters who have ever had successful whitetail hunts have followed.
That’s right: one piece of advice and it’s an incredibly simple piece of advice at that. Here it is: The key to successful trophy whitetail deer hunting is that you have to hunt where there is the greatest chance to take a trophy whitetail deer.
That’s it. It’s as simple as that. Sort of. Of course, you still need to consider all the things that lead to a successful hunt-scent and noise control, proper equipment, patience. All of that put together, though, won’t help you take a trophy buck if there aren’t any trophy bucks where you’re hunting.
There are several ways you can put yourself in the right place at the right time to take trophy whitetails. You could:
- Spend several hours every week scouting, ramping up your efforts considerably as the hunting season draws near. This assumed that you actually have the time to do this.
- Buy your own hunting property, put a lot of time and effort into studying food plots and how to manage them, then put a lot of money into managing the property, in the hopes that you’ll be able to raise trophy whitetails.
- Hunt on a preserve. While some people get a case of sticker shock when they first see game ranch prices, this is actually a much more economical way to bag and tag a trophy whitetail than buying your own property is. Unless you’re in a position to manage your property full time, you’re much better off hunting on property that IS managed full time by people who know what it takes to produce trophy whitetails. In addition to putting you in a better position to see trophy bucks, the better preserves l offer guided hunts in which you will benefit from the experience of a professional guide.