What are you looking for while scouting?

[kaizen leader]

Ok I'm bored at work… So reading through all the responses in my Land management vs. hunting skill thread, I noticed a couple of comments that peaked my interest and I don't honestly know how we are a Hunting forum and don't have more threads like the one I am going to start here. When I joined this site in 2009, I came for one reason, to learn from all the older guys that had been there and done that, so to speak. Seeing BSKs thread about how many years you have left to hunt made me realize there are a lot more older folks on there then I realized.

I know @BSK is a data guy and @Ski seems to be that way too. I realize not everyone is, and not everyone wants to be, so while data is important, I was wondering more along the lines of what you are looking for when scouting to kill bigger more mature bucks? @beefydeer and @Ski made comments that prompted me to make this post. @beefydeer said: "My son and I exclusively hunt public land in NW TN. We spend lots of hours looking for particular things. We kill 2 or 3 bucks every year that are at least 4 years old. They are out there, you just have to know what to look for." And @ Ski said, "But like the sayings go, you don't know what you don't know.....until you do, then hindsight is 20/20."

So I am not just ask questions, I will start it off and put some of the stuff I look for. Keep in mind the biggest buck I have killed was killed at LBL and was a 10 pt that was jaw bone aged at 3.5, but weighed right at 150 dressed and by math weighed between 188-200 on the hoof, so not sure if he wasn't closer to 4 years old.

When hunting a place like LBL that has terrain features, I am looking for, terrain funnels preferably along escape routes off ag fields or obvious areas hunters will go hunt, with at least moderate cover in and around the funnel. If I find a saddle or where 2-3 draws come together, but see no cover and it is wide open I move to the next spot, until I find the terrain feature with cover.

That is how I found my spot at LBL and killed that buck. The last time we went (2nd trip) my brother killed a smaller racked but 3.5 year old 10 pt, so we are 2 for 2 in that spot.

On the WMAs around MidTN, I just hunt thick cover close to private land ideally with some acorns dropping in the area. I see some good ones but I generally only bow hunt so I generally cannot get a shot, or too far for a bow, so I haven't killed one there yet.

So, What exactly are you looking for when you are scouting that tells you this is a good area to hunt for bigger bucks?

Great post. I learned a lot. I'm a terrible deer hunter even after 50+ years. Thank you and the contributors. Be safe out there.

 

[BSK]

What I find fascinating is the number of different responses and techniques posted from hunters who are all successful at regularly killing mature bucks. What this tells you is there is no one way. Multiple techniques in multiple habitat conditions exist for outsmarting the smartest of deer.

 

[MUP]

Hunting mature bucks can be a pain in the rear and be prepared to eat a tag !

Yes some have super properties and can be easier but you have to have patience even with great property.

And how! Two years running with no bucks for me. I have very good private property, that I own, and have exclusive access to, and still, if the dominant buck doesn't pass by the stand I'm in on that given day, I can't kill him. He was there, as were a couple of others, evidenced by my neighbor killing a dandy non typical, but I just didn't get to go as much, and be out there when I needed to be to have my chance at seeing one of them. So, add time to the list of crucial things needed to be able to seal the deal on a mature animal as well.

 

[Madbowh]

I could almost quote your whole post. Once I've found a big buck I have a 3day rule of I don't get him in 3 days I'm moving on have proven this to myself over and over again, my wife is actually the one who pointed out out to me after 2 big bucks missed opportunities in the same bow season on different properties. One i was drawn on for a solid 10-15 min and no shot

Food, bed, and good travel routes. Taller rubs,bigger scrapes with branches high up been hit. I will hunt right on top of good buck sign in the right spot during bow season not after. Have to change to doe routes mid to late Oct. In also looking for consecutive years of good buck sign just one year of fresh sign is not worth it to me. After bow I'm only hunting the most beat trails with lots of fresh doe sign. I mainly hunt at bedding I just sit back a little farther in the afternoon I seem to think/ find (mainly hunt public) farther from beds the trails petter off and they wander.

Occasionally I'll do a random hunt in places without sign where you'd see them while driving, edges of roads and such. One time I picked up a huge group of all 3+yr old bucks traveling early season with minimum sign. I don't do this often but that 1 time boy it paid off.

In my experience big bucks do the same thing over & over, generation after generation. Once you find how they use a particular area you've got them by the balls because the terrain never changes and landscape rarely does, so if you kill a big buck here this year the chances are good you can kill another one next year same spot generally same time.

 

[Ski]

What I find fascinating is the number of different responses and techniques posted from hunters who are all successful at regularly killing mature bucks. What this tells you is there is no one way. Multiple techniques in multiple habitat conditions exist for outsmarting the smartest of deer.

It truly is fascinating. I think we shape our approaches according to our failures. If you try something and it works then you're sold and will do it again. But if somebody else tries it and fails, they'll move on to try something else. Growing up I was always fascinated with speaking with & prodding the big buck guys any chance I got.

Our church always had a wild game dinner after deer season closed and they'd fill the banquet room with giant mounts to show off. Not coincidentally they all belonged to just a few guys. There were some from various members but the bulk were from just a few guys. I remember being a kid sitting on pins & needles listening to those guys tell all their stories. One thing I completely missed about their stories until reflecting on them later in life was all the close calls, mishaps, and failures. That stuff didn't matter to me back then because I only wanted to know how I could kill a big buck. How to screw up wasn't something I was interested in. Only in hindsight I realized the one thing every big buck killer I've ever met have in common is lots of failures and lots of perseverance. They're undeterred.

I've tried hard to mimic that bulldog spirit but unlike them I seem to wear down & get frustrated. I think that's a huge difference between my brother & I. We grew up hunting together, learning from the same dad, and we all still hunt together whenever we get the chance. His trophy room dwarfs mine in every way, and my dad's never killed anything bigger than 100", nor cares to. I have no idea how he does it. We'll flip a coin for trees and set up 200yds apart and the bucks always walk under him. It's uncanny. No idea how or why it happens. It's like they sacrifice themselves to him while flipping me the bird. And it's always been that way. The only difference is that I get frustrated & have to change something up, while he approaches it like Forest Gump and everything just falls into place for him. The guy simply doesn't quit or give up.

 

[Ski]

Once I've found a big buck I have a 3day rule of I don't get him in 3 days I'm moving on have proven this to myself over and over again, my wife is actually the one who pointed out out to me after 2 big bucks missed opportunities in the same bow season on different properties.

Although I don't have a set rule, 3 days is about my limit before moving on. Bucks on public are notoriously spooky, plus I have no idea if he's even currently in the area or possibly been killed already. After a few days it's pretty clear I'm wasting time. It's been my experience if you're where a big buck is, you'll see him soon because he's all over the immediate area. The problem is that area is always shifting due to numerous factors and there really just aren't very many big mature bucks around. The hardest part is finding where one might be, then only with time in stand can you know for sure.

I mainly hunt at bedding I just sit back a little farther in the afternoon I seem to think/ find (mainly hunt public) farther from beds the trails petter off and they wander.

Yes! Their trails are rarely noticeable because they wander A LOT. My last 3 bow bucks were shot intersecting a trail at a pinch point, not following it. One came up out of a steep ravine and stopped to make a rub before stepping over the doe trail that circled around the rim of the ravine top. Another came downhill inside the edge of a drainage then took a dogleg turn 20yds before he hit a doe trail and walked parallel on the uphill side of it. The third came downhill on no apparent feature at all and crossed the creek to get to the doe trail in the bottom. His rack was snagged up in green briers and I shot him as he fought his way out of it and stopped to shake it off like a dog. Had he not done that I very likely wouldn't have had a shot opportunity. None of those bucks were using trails, only crossing them. All in broad daylight too, not dusk or dawn. The only sign near any of the kills was the fresh rub one of them made as I shot him. I've shot two bucks in my life while they were making rubs but never yet got one at a scrape. I can't recall any that were on a trail except for ones that were hound dog trailing a doe.

 

[Bon3_Daddy]

I'm looking for thick nasty areas that are located close to a food source, or if the terrain has features, I'm looking for natural funnels, draws, habitat changes and oak flats..

My all time favorite set up would have to be on the outer edge of a food source mid day during the rut.

There is nothing more exciting to me than covering ground during the peak and hunting bucks like turkeys.. easing along glossing and grunting here and there..it changes the game in my opinion..
Instead of him traveling to the grunt, I make it sound as the grunt is heading to him..I even rake trees with antlers, kick brush and make all kinda noise when rattling..

My fartherest shot has been 52 yards with most being 20 to 40 (which is why I'm seriously considering a red dot for my 7400 carbine!

 

[beefydeer]

Makes for an enjoyable boat ride out too. Here's a picture of a buck from this bow season. He is walking through the nastiest crap on the place. I saw 7 different bucks that day. A couple mature ones, it is just hard to get a shot in that stuff with a bow. Only hunted that particular spot one more time and did not see a deer. I will probably hunt 20 to 25 different spots in a season and next season I may hunt 20 different spots from this season. I am constantly looking at maps and marking spots. A lot of the time I will go in to a pin on the map and hunt never actually being there before. My son went in to a new spot this year blind and killed the buck on the left. The taxi estimated him at 5.5 by the tooth wear.

 

[348Winchester]

I'm looking for thick nasty areas that are located close to a food source, or if the terrain has features, I'm looking for natural funnels, draws, habitat changes and oak flats..

My all time favorite set up would have to be on the outer edge of a food source mid day during the rut.

There is nothing more exciting to me than covering ground during the peak and hunting bucks like turkeys.. easing along glossing and grunting here and there..it changes the game in my opinion..
Instead of him traveling to the grunt, I make it sound as the grunt is heading to him..I even rake trees with antlers, kick brush and make all kinda noise when rattling..

My fartherest shot has been 52 yards with most being 20 to 40 (which is why I'm seriously considering a red dot for my 7400 carbine!

Forget the red dot. It will hinder the balance and pointability. Get yourself a good receiver sight like a Williams, Lyman, or Redfield. Use it without an aperture. It is lightening quick, deadly accurate, very rugged, and not battery dependent.

 

[Madbowh]

Although I don't have a set rule, 3 days is about my limit before moving on. Bucks on public are notoriously spooky, plus I have no idea if he's even currently in the area or possibly been killed already. After a few days it's pretty clear I'm wasting time. It's been my experience if you're where a big buck is, you'll see him soon because he's all over the immediate area. The problem is that area is always shifting due to numerous factors and there really just aren't very many big mature bucks around. The hardest part is finding where one might be, then only with time in stand can you know for sure.


Yes! Their trails are rarely noticeable because they wander A LOT. My last 3 bow bucks were shot intersecting a trail at a pinch point, not following it. One came up out of a steep ravine and stopped to make a rub before stepping over the doe trail that circled around the rim of the ravine top. Another came downhill inside the edge of a drainage then took a dogleg turn 20yds before he hit a doe trail and walked parallel on the uphill side of it. The third came downhill on no apparent feature at all and crossed the creek to get to the doe trail in the bottom. His rack was snagged up in green briers and I shot him as he fought his way out of it and stopped to shake it off like a dog. Had he not done that I very likely wouldn't have had a shot opportunity. None of those bucks were using trails, only crossing them. All in broad daylight too, not dusk or dawn. The only sign near any of the kills was the fresh rub one of them made as I shot him. I've shot two bucks in my life while they were making rubs but never yet got one at a scrape. I can't recall any that were on a trail except for ones that were hound dog trailing a doe.

Very weird to have come across such similar experiences. The only time hunting not seeing what we are seeing is in very populated areas, small tracts of land with a lot of houses around.

Just really weird reading your postwhen compared to my experiences. I've hunted with many people and like some have said every hunter, land and situations different, not to us i guess. Me and my old man haven't even come as close on thoughts like this we've hunted together or while life.

 

[BSK]

One thing I completely missed about their stories until reflecting on them later in life was all the close calls, mishaps, and failures. That stuff didn't matter to me back then because I only wanted to know how I could kill a big buck. How to screw up wasn't something I was interested in. Only in hindsight I realized the one thing every big buck killer I've ever met have in common is lots of failures and lots of perseverance.

Another example of how different everyone's experiences are:

I wouldn't classify myself as a "big buck killer," but more as someone who has lucked into a fair number of big bucks. And perhaps that is why the big difference. But I can honestly say I've had very, very few near misses. In my entire 43-year hunting career, only one big buck has survived his encounter with me. If I can finally see a big buck, I'm killing him.

Now my "failures?" Lots of those! And every year I don't see/kill a big buck is another failure, because for the last 20-odd years, there's always been at least one big buck working the area I hunt, yet I actually see/kill one of those bucks in the minority of years.

 

[philsanchez76]

And you gotta know when you've lost. If you haven't gotten him within a few days, he's onto you. Any more time and you're spitting into the wind. You're best off finding the next buck.

Your whole post was very well put and made a lot of sense. I have a question for you about knowing when to fold em (apologies if already asked by someone and I didn't see it).

When you've burned 3-4 hunts on a spot and tipped that buck off, have you burned that spot? Or just that buck in that spot? Meaning would another mature buck move in behind him that quickly for you to still capitalize? Or do you completely move spots to find another buck?

 

[MUP]

Another example of how different everyone's experiences are:

I wouldn't classify myself as a "big buck killer," but more as someone who has lucked into a fair number of big bucks. And perhaps that is why the big difference. But I can honestly say I've had very, very few near misses. In my entire 43-year hunting career, only one big buck has survived his encounter with me. If I can finally see a big buck, I'm killing him.

Now my "failures?" Lots of those! And every year I don't see/kill a big buck is another failure, because for the last 20-odd years, there's always been at least one big buck working the area I hunt, yet I actually see/kill one of those bucks in the minority of years.

I can count on 1 hand the number of BIG bucks I've missed my golden opportunity on, and those, sadly, are the ones that I seem to remember as each new deer season rolls around. I like to think of it as "reminders" of what I did wrong, or why I didn't take the shot that was presented and waited till too late.

 

[ronnycl]

Press on when adversity hits...in some cases my big bucks came from days/times when problems occurred and I could have used it as an excuse to quit. I learned to press on and more time than not it produces well for me. Car trouble, dead battery, over sleeping, wet feet, forgot the rifle, etc. find a way to press on, sometimes being late or out of routine is a good thing. Be willing to change and be agressive on the hunt & change setups on a hunt.

 

[Ski]

Me and my old man haven't even come as close on thoughts like this we've hunted together or while life.

My dad taught my brother & I how to hunt and all three of us have hunted together more times than I can count through the years. Yet each of us have completely different ideas, strategies, and approaches. My brother is like Forrest Gump. Good fortune just happens to follow him. He does work hard and he persists and like Mega, he sees deer I don't see. His natural abilities are better than mine. My dad could care less about big bucks. He enjoys seeing my brother & I kill them but he's good with any 2yr+ buck or an old doe. He really gets a kick out of being involved in retrievals though!

 

[BSK]

I know @BSK is a data guy and @Ski seems to be that way too. I realize not everyone is, and not everyone wants to be, so while data is important, I was wondering more along the lines of what you are looking for when scouting to kill bigger more mature bucks?

So, What exactly are you looking for when you are scouting that tells you this is a good area to hunt for bigger bucks?

Don't know if my input is of value or not. As I stated previously, I don't consider myself a big buck killer, just someone who has killed their fair share of mature bucks. I'm also not one of those mature buck hunters that picks out a particular buck and hunts just him. Because I'm hunting private land where I'm running detailed camera censuses each year, I know what bucks are using the property. Each year I will have a mental list of 3-5 bucks I would be happy to kill. The first one of those bucks that wanders by is going to get killed. Some years it's the top buck on the list and some years it isn't.

Let me explain why I'm a data head - because it taught me how to scout. It's just the way my brain works. I seem to have an uncanny ability to see patterns in numbers that others don't. I can be going through reams of data and small repeat occurrences in thousands of lines of data jump out at me. Once I've found a pattern in the data, I can put together why that pattern exists. The downside to learning this way is that I'm just accumulating little bits and pieces of the big picture - individual pieces of a much larger puzzle. Like Megalomaniac said in his post, I never have and probably never will put together the entire puzzle of a mature buck's movements. And perhaps that is because I've specialized my hunting skill in just one type of situation - extensive ridge-and-hollow hardwoods. In that situation bucks do not have specific bedding and feeding areas, nor travel routes. They will have preferred types of bedding, feeding and travel routes, but there will be many, many options for them to do so in their range and they will utilize all of them eventually. They will display very little fidelity to one particular feeding area, bedding area or travel route. They will either be feeding on acorns, which will be either everywhere or nowhere (acorn failure year), and when acorns are nowhere, then feeding will be spread around to anywhere where there is a plethora of browse (not always food plots).

However, what older bucks do have are preferred ways of moving across the landscape, especially in rugged terrain. In addition, because I primarily hunt mature bucks only around the rut, they are spending an inordinate amount of time simply "covering ground," trying to interact with as many doe social groups as possible just before and during peak breeding (especially just before). And that is where all of the data has helped me to scout for the best "ambush" opportunities for mature bucks. All of the rub studies, and scrape studies, and camera censuses, and years of hunter observations have helped me to isolate bits and pieces of these rut travels: as bucks cover ground, what features do they like to utilize in their travels? Once I know which features, or combinations of features, mature bucks like to utilize in their travels, most of my scouting can be done with a topo map and an aerial photograph or satellite image of the habitat. Then, once I have a list of potential buck movement/concentration points derived from maps, I can ground scout each potential location to look for sign that those locations actually are being used that year (and which potential area that is being used changes year to year - one year a feature is hot, the next it's not).

Once I've put together a list of about a dozen spots I really like for that year, it's simply a matter of playing the shell game of hunting those different locations based on wind that day as well as past pressure. Maybe a mature buck goes by that set-up on the day you're there and maybe 3 days after you hunted it. But in the type of situation I hunt (where encounters/shooting opportunities are almost always at point-blank range), the death knell for potentially killing a particular mature buck is to over-hunt a spot. And although I'll be the first to admit I try not to ignore fresh hot sign, I've by far had the most success when I live by my #1 rule: hunt where no one else has been hunting. Sometimes there are ways to hunt hot sign that everyone else is all over from ways others are not trying.

 

[Snake]

Hunted this buck that I thought was a huge one for three years on a lease we had in Lewis Co . Being the good part of 4 to 4 1/2 hours away the scouting was limited to on a good year a couple of times . Kept hunting this one area and killing decent bucks but not the one big one I thought was using the area . Late the first year on the last weekend I missed a huge buck by body comparison hitting a sapling . Felt bad all year but couldn't wait for next season. Hunting a couple times during muzzleloader and killed a small buck pretty close to the area I'm speaking of just trying different areas on the 1580 acre lease. Come rifle opening morning. Drove over that morning to keep from getting a motel an extra day . Got to lease little before daybreak and wind was whipping . Carried my treestand to the tree I'd missed the buck the year before but just left it on the ground thinking I'd still hunt with the wind whipping . Still hunting and scouting as well . Jumped one deer on the next ridge so I slowly headed that way. Down in a hollow fixing to head up the next ridge heard a twig break in behind me , slowly turned to see a doe headed my way . I had a small sapling in between me and the doe hoping she wouldn't see me and the wind was taking my scent down the hollow so that was good . Caught a glimpse of something up the ridge behind the doe on the ridge I just came down . It was another doe with a buck in tow moving pretty fast . Brought my gun up got on the buck and shot , down he tumbled towards me . He got up but I put two more rounds through him and down he went for good . My thoughts finally got you bud ! Wasn't a monster but a good 120 "+ eight point with long tines but not much mass 3.5 yr old I guessed but he probably was at least a year older . But to the point preserverance killed that buck not my hunting abilities, shooting abilities yes but not hunting abilities. It was an accomplishment for me so I mounted him . So being fortunate or lucky some say plays a role at times but being persistent is the key .
One more bit of advice I can add come from a question my wife asked me once . She asked me once knowing who was hunting with me cause we worked together but she asked " how come so and so never kills a good buck " ? She also said you all "hunt the same areas" ! My response came quick as it was God given ... I said "honey they must be consistently doing something wrong" not given to the fact I was this great hunter she thought I was .

 

[Ski]

Your whole post was very well put and made a lot of sense. I have a question for you about knowing when to fold em (apologies if already asked by someone and I didn't see it).

When you've burned 3-4 hunts on a spot and tipped that buck off, have you burned that spot? Or just that buck in that spot? Meaning would another mature buck move in behind him that quickly for you to still capitalize? Or do you completely move spots to find another buck?

That's a great question and it's a twofold answer, so please bare with me if it gets long winded.

It wasn't until I owned land & began managing habitat that I learned my limits while hunting. By running many cams year round on a small acreage I have been able to learn so much more about deer behavior than I ever did from only hunting. I started it thinking I'd be able to put in a food plot & shoot giants when they step out to eat. Not the case. Reality hit me like a mack truck. Old bucks are SENSITIVE and acutely aware of their environment. Pretty quick I realized that having a stand near a plot would kill activity there......for weeks. Then I learned that hunting the same stands over & over would kill he area .... for weeks. Every deer is affected but mature bucks are the first and most dramatically affected. Furthermore, if I hunted a stand at the wrong time & saw nothing at all, the area was still affected.

What I learned to key in on was that a mature buck doesn't tend to hang out in any one area for long. If he stays at all it will only be a few days or maybe couple weeks if you're lucky, then he'll move on. If he comes in to an area and smells my presence, even if I've not been there for days, he'll keep on moving. Doesn't matter that I provided good green food when everything else is brown, or that there are thickets for cover. The land is tainted with human presence and he won't tolerate it. So even though I own the land & work the habitat, I can't just willy nilly hunt it whenever I want. I have to wait until there is a buck hanging around before I can hunt, then it's a tightrope walk trying to kill him before he realizes I'm there and/or moves on with his life. The good thing is that if he doesn't know I'm there he will be everywhere all over the property all times of day, so they're actually pretty easy to kill once you have one to hunt. That's why I often talk about hunting a specific deer for multiple years before killing him, yet it only took a couple sits to get it done. It's because I'm learning his habits & timing & tendencies before I ever try going after him. When I finally climb a tree to hunt him, I fully intend and believe I'll get him. Sometimes it just takes awhile before I have enough knowledge to be confident.

Carrying those lessons forward to public land, and the bucks do the same things. They shift around area to area, spending however many days before moving on to the next. And if at any time they ever feel threatened because of human presence they'll vacate. If I find a spot where I suspect a big buck is, has been, or will be then I give it a shot. Just like with private land if he's around I'll more than likely see him fairly quick. He'll be easy to kill because he'll be all over the area all times of day. But if I'm there too early or too late then he's not there at all and it's a waste of time hunting a deer that doesn't exist. Worse yet if I'm too early but hang out too long then I saturate the area with my presence and when he does show up he won't stay. He'll keep on going. On my private land I can't hunt except for inside a tiny window of time and for one specific deer. But on public land I'm free to roam & hunt all season long because I can go spot to spot, sometimes hitting a spot multiple times at different intervals. If I blow a deer out then I either follow him or move on to hunt another deer somewhere else. I love bow hunting. If all I had was my own private ground I'd be miserable because I wouldn't be able to hunt much. Public land has its challenges for sure but man we're blessed to have so much of it.

The key to getting on & killing an old mature buck isn't by being a great hunter. It's really as simple as hunting in an area that currently holds one. If he's there you'll find out within a couple days because he'll be visible. If he's not then move on. All you're doing by hanging around is ruining a good spot that might otherwise be a great spot later in the season or even a week later. They move around inside their range so much and leave sign literally everywhere that you have no idea where he's at without strapping a GPS collar on him, and he KNOWS his range like you know your home. Just check in periodically until you're there when he's there and you'll get him. Bucks are used to human odor. They don't leave an entire area because they smell where you walked. Otherwise they'd all fall into the ocean trying to get away from us. What causes them to leave and/or avoid an area is when that human(or any predator) odor saturates the area with cumulative volume, such as hunting a spot too often. He's a prey animal so he's plenty used to being stalked & hunted. He can handle that. But he's not foolish enough to live with a predator and in his mind when he steps into a place you're at a lot, he thinks you live there. That's why I only hunt a spot a couple days & move on. I'll come back to it periodically but I won't sit & wait all season long thinking a big buck will eventually step out. He won't.

 

[harv418]

Thick cover is your friend. Find a good bedding area in Thick Cover, then find the first feeding area around it in each of the primary wind directions. Big Mature Bucks don't get Big and Mature by being dumb. When the pressure is on, he will be in the thickest, nastiest stuff around. BUT HE WILL FEED at least once in daylight. you have to know where, and be there for the when. Best for me is on the coldest mornings, slip in playing the wind, and cut him off heading to the feed spot. It will be between 11 am and Sunset. He is going to lay there until he can't stand it anymore. (This is the wisdom from 21 yrs hunting east texas... your milage may vary... it works if you give it time... good luck, stay safe)

 

[Ski]

I don't consider myself a big buck killer, just someone who has killed their fair share of mature bucks. I'm also not one of those mature buck hunters that picks out a particular buck and hunts just him.

You're a stone cold big buck killer. Just a humble one. IMO there are no set rules or parameters for defining a "big buck killer" aside from somebody who kills a lion's share of them in comparison to most other hunters. You easily fit that criteria.

I never have and probably never will put together the entire puzzle of a mature buck's movements. And perhaps that is because I've specialized my hunting skill in just one type of situation - extensive ridge-and-hollow hardwoods. In that situation bucks do not have specific bedding and feeding areas, nor travel routes. They will have preferred types of bedding, feeding and travel routes, but there will be many, many options for them to do so in their range and they will utilize all of them eventually. They will display very little fidelity to one particular feeding area, bedding area or travel route. They will either be feeding on acorns, which will be either everywhere or nowhere (acorn failure year), and when acorns are nowhere, then feeding will be spread around to anywhere where there is a plethora of browse (not always food plots).

Yes yes and yes. Their range is so much larger than most of us with private property can encompass, and they shift around inside it more regularly than I think folks like to admit. I hear guys talk about a buck's core. I know exactly what that means but it's not static. It lasts a number of days then moves. And when it moves it might be MILES away. Still inside his "range" but nowhere near where you can hunt him. My property is a small bubble that numerous bucks' ranges may encompass, and at certain times each of those bucks' core at the moment will encompass my property. That's my only chance at killing him. Not only do I not know where else he goes when not on me, but I have no idea how long he'll be around or when/if he'll ever come back when he leaves. The best indicator I've found is estrus does. If I have a doe in estrus today and a particular buck is tending her, there's a very real plausibility she'll be estrus same time next year and if he's still alive he'll be in the area. I've also noticed the "same place same time" phenomenon to some degree with certain bucks. But otherwise predicting or understanding a buck's activity is a crap shoot.

That's why I love hunting public ground as much as my own. I can go find the bucks. It's kind of like a door to door salesman. Knock on enough doors and eventually somebody will be home.