[Kurt505]

The key to killing big bucks is you have to hunt them where they are. To hunt them where they are you have to understand their patterns, not just daily patterns but yearly patterns.

Early season, August-September before the rut and while the crops are still standing, glass them then set up between their food sources and their beds. Things change once the crops come off, October-early November, I set up a little ways in from food sources and set up on scrape lines, this is when I find grunts and rattles work the best. Often I’ve seen bucks taken in the mid morning to noon type times.

Trail cams are great to see what’s in the area, but when the rut hits in Alberta, that area can consist of 100sq miles. Sounds crazy? I watched a buck one evening, then the next morning I saw the same buck 7 miles away..... and that was just over night! After seeing that it changed my way of thinking. Instead of hunting the areas I seen bucks in August through October, when the rut hits I set up on key travel routes. This can be something as simple as fence rows in between fields, creek beds that run through wide open fields, natural corridors in bushes is a no brainer. This is my favorite time to hunt whitetail, it’s often the time you’ll see deer you haven’t seen all year, not even on trail cams.

My favorite style of hunting is still hunting, however it’s no where near as effective as ambush hunting. Watching your wind and waiting them out is your best bet.