Outthink the Buck Deer and the Hunters
Day 1: The Most-Overlooked Aspect of Deer Hunting
Editor’s Note: To bag more and bigger bucks this season, you have to understand the minds of the other hunters as well as know what deer think. If deer always do what we expect them to do, hunters may have the ability to wipe-out all the deer in one season. However, deer don't read the same magazines, newspapers and books that we do, watch outdoor TV shows, rent videos and/or go to deer-hunting seminars. But deer do have very-keen instincts that cause them to react to hunting pressure in ways that allow them to survive.
 "If you want to take the biggest buck on any property, be the last member of your hunting lease to pick a stand," says Dr. Keith Causey, retired professor of wildlife science at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. "The worst stand on any property usually will offer you the best chance to take a buck, because no one wants to hunt there. Probably it's the most-likely place for a buck to live without feeling hunting pressure."
 For deer-hunting success this season, don't overlook the pressure hunters put on deer on a certain property or in a specific area. The more you understand about where and when the other hunters on your property try and take deer, the better your odds of bagging a buck. Once you've learned what the buck knows about hunters, the better you can predict the location of a buck. "The deer's survival instinct will supersede his need for food and sex,"  Dr. Causey reports. "Most bucks will become nocturnal (only move after dark) if they experience intense hunting pressures. By restricting the amount of hunting pressure on any piece of property, you greatly increase your odds for seeing bucks. In the areas with the most hunting pressure, generally you're less likely to see a buck. You're most likely to spot a buck in places with the least or no amount of hunting pressure."
Tomorrow: What Buck Deer Know About Hunters
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