Over the years I have started to get a little bored with deer hunting. It really comes as no surprise, yet I hated to admit that, even to myself… Why? Because I consider myself a deer hunter, and a deer hunter should not be bored with deer hunting right? Wrong! Of course a deer hunter can get bored with deer hunting. If you sit in the same stands, on the same property every single year for 16 years of course hunting can become monotonous. You have to get out and try new things, see new places, and have new struggles. That’s how you grow and evolve as a hunter. This is the story of a new beginning, and rekindling the excitement I had as a 12 year old boy going out with my dad on my first hunt with bow in hand!

Check out these top five critical terrain features common to virtually anywhere in whitetail country and setup for the ultimate rut-time ambush.

The best time of year for whitetail hunting is right now. My dad always told me that you hunting whitetails in October can be spotty, but by the time it’s Halloween, you better be in the woods. He said this for good reason: this is when things really start to heat up. Rising testosterone levels mean bucks will still frequent scrapes and rubs but they also begin checking does to see if they’ve gone into heat yet, which means you’re much more likely to see them during the daylight doing any of these things.

The whitetail deer rut is upon us. Bucks are running ridges and field edges in search of receptive does. This is the highlight of deer season for most. It’s the time of year we deer hunters dream about during the other 11 months.

Accessing a likely big buck hot spot must be done with stealth and oftentimes, must be done on the fly to adjust for changing deer patterns during the peak of rut activity and even as it begins to taper off. Remember the following so you don’t blow a monster out of the area before you even climb into your stand.

Most of the woods have yet to be trampled by gun hunters yet, with the smaller stick-and-string crowd still on the hunt and muzzleloader hunters finally getting their chance as well. Meanwhile, deer activity is starting to kick into high gear throughout much of the whitetail’s range. As big bucks leave their bachelor groups and begin prowling for those first does ready to breed, it’s also time for deer hunters to take time off from work and get into the woods. And when they do, these are eight of the best places for them to set up to have the best opportunity for a trophy this hunting season.

The old green Mansfield canoe glides silently through the bay its bow pointing toward the narrow ribbon of moonlight reflecting on the water. Reeds brush gently by the gunwales as we maneuver our way down the murky channel and into the cattails.

We can hear the raucous laughter of mallards from a pool deep in the swale grass behind the trees.

We whisper to one another “That’s Right!” at the same time. Whistling wings whiz by our heads as we turn into the small slot in the puckerbrush. The sides of the canoe squeak uncomfortably loudly against the ragged edges of the woody branches, like nails on a chalkboard.

Perhaps more so than in any other year of my life, I am ready for archery deer season to open. Thankfully, the wait is just about over. 

We all know them. Those people who seem to collect trophy deer almost every season. They say roughly 75 percent of all big game animals are taken by only 10 percent of bow hunters. I am not sure if this is true but what I do know is there are people who seem to take trophy animals on a consistent basis.

The day before a hunt is one of the great joys left in the world. Sometimes the anticipation can be more important to the experience than the hunt itself.