If it is your goal to finds that records class buck then look to the record books for just what areas produce them. Records of big deer and press stories about hunter success are available online. Scientists tell us that there are three elements in deer growing big antlers. They are genetics, nutrition and age. You might also add isolation.
Deer growing up in isolation tend to reach their genetic potential at younger age. Pressured bucks never get that chance. Not only do they die at a younger age but they also live their life under stress. Stress seems to retard natural antler growth.
Study of the record books shows that if you can find a place where all these conditions exist, you stand a good chance of harvesting a great deer.
Once you identify an area it is time to find a landowner there who will allow you to hunt his property. You might need to pay a trespass fee. Or do some work in exchange for gaining permission to hunt. Other land owners will allow you to hunt their property with no strings attached. But, they are getting fewer each year. Continue reading ……