I'm getting ready to put fresh batteries in my cameras and try to pattern a deer that I'd like to kill opening day of bow season. I've been reading the" hot trees" post and I'm gonna look for some good acorn producing trees to set up my cameras near but any other suggestions on scouting that early buck? The other folks that hunt this lease don't bow hunt and don't start planning food plots til bow season has started. Any suggestions on making a kill plan for a nice buck would be appreciated. Thanks!

I found a nice trail running through some persimmons yesterday. some ripe on the trees and just a few on the ground. tracks and dropping along the trail. found it after setting up 4 cameras but ill move a camera to it in 2 weeks if there is still fruit

Hunt where most people dont hunt if you can.
Majority of the time most gun hunters dont venture off too far from plots and powerlines ect.
Lot of times the hot spots may be where there are no good trees for a stand, especially after gun season starts.
I try to sit all day if I'm in a good spot.
Good luck, hope you get a shot at a biggun

That's because they don't stink up the woods like bow hunters do

Wait until a day or two before the season comes in and setup a stand on the hottest buck sign. This works best for me, but what do I know.

Lol, and hope ole Filthy Mcnasty aint hunting no where close by.

I throw out 3 bags of corn in front of a camera in areas where I know bucks
congregate in bachelor groups in September.

I can usually get a pic of most of them in 2 weeks time.

Then I try to figure out what they are doing.

Wake up... Put a good dip in..poke one in tha ribs

I use a similar strategy ...

I stay outta the woods till season gets here, and when season opens, i walk through a spot between where I think the deer are feeding and bedding with a climber on my back and find a hot trail and set up on it or I will find a hot white oak and set up on it. You have the highest likelihood of killing a mature buck in a spot that you have never been in or hunted before. In my opinion, in Alabama, scouting is wayyyyy overrated. Meandering through the woods before season does nothing but spook and relocate deer. Every deer that's on my wall except for 1 was killed the first time I ever hunted the spot.

I am scouting some up until September and hang my stands around the end of August. When I say scout, I have places picked out that are easy to get to and put up a camera and some minerals or protein and get out as quick as I can. I have one stand I hung with the thoughts of it being a rut stand so I won't go back to it until December. I don't really have a plan right now for early season other than hunting sign. I had a few cams up but didn't get anything other than one decent 8 and several does. I hunt in Jackson County just east of Little Coon and before season we never really get many bucks on camera. The reason is, they're lazy and agriculture fields surround our property on 3 sides. Basically most of the bucks aren't moving high enough right now. I have one spot where I got the 8 and it is pretty accessible from the main trail so I'll get out there opening morning and check it real quick. If nothing is on it, I have another stand on a white oak flat next to a draw they move up and if you see deer out of that spot, which is about 75% of the time, you'll see some bucks. Either way, I have no deer meat and if a doe moves in range of the stick bow, she's going down.