The tactic of clashing deer antlers together to lure in a competitive buck has enjoyed mixed success across the country. Rattling started in Texas and was soon tried in other areas.

Different areas showed different degrees of effectiveness. The key words are "competitive buck." In well-managed areas with a low doe-to-buck ratio, the bucks must truly compete for the available does and both rattling and other forms of deer calling are more effective. In areas where there are too many does there is usually a strung-out rut and both rattling and calling are less effective because the bucks are less competitive. Basically, with plenty of does to go around, the bucks don't have to be so aggressive.

Timing also has an influence. The most competitive periods associated with the rut are the immediate pre- and post-rut periods. Both rattling and calling work best at this time. However, even at the peak of rut, a buck without a doe can be vulnerable to rattling and calling.

Everyone knows that you should be quiet and still while on your deer stand, but that also goes for going to it.

Always approach your stand site carefully and cautiously. By crashing through the brush, you will alert any deer in the immediate area to your presence. Not only will these deer not come in the direction of the noise, their nervous attitude may alert any other deer that might be moving your way.

If you spook a deer in the immediate vicinity of your stand, that deer will remember it as a bad experience and associate it with that area. Bucks are very easy to spook out of an area once they realize hunting pressure is on.

Hunting a single site for several days in a row is a bad idea. No matter how careful you are, the deer will get wise to your constant presence. If you have a big buck figured out, hunt him sparingly unless you want him to figure you out.

Ducks Unlimited has been a vital part of one of the greatest wildlife management success stories in modern history. DU was organized in 1937 when a series of drought years (the same ones that brought us the Dust Bowl) had decimated prairie breeding grounds and our national waterfowl population had plummeted.

Since then, DU has been a large and constant force for waterfowl conservation in both words and action. They have demanded good wildlife management on the part of public agencies that control wildlife on both public and private land. At the same time, DU has raised much money that they have directly plowed into both research and on-the-ground management to conserve wetlands that are home to many species of wildlife, including waterfowl.
I am proud to donate a part of the revenues from the sale of camouflage products to such a worthy conservation organization. I urge anyone who is serious about waterfowling and/or wetlands conservation to join Ducks Unlimited. Learn more at www.ducks.org.

As with the pre-rut, watch the progression of the rut itself to make the right moves. Conventional wisdom says that bucks are all chasing does and all bets are off. Well, a buck that has just successfully bred a doe or lost her to a more dominant buck will often return to his old haunts and freshen up his scrapes.

This is more often the case in areas where the rut is a long, drawn-out affair. When previously neglected scrapes suddenly look fresh again, you are in the neighborhood with a lonely buck.

All during the rut, watch where does travel and concentrate. Bucks are looking for does and tend to hang out, usually in heavy cover, near areas of high doe use.

When a buck is actually on a hot doe's trail, he will follow her and very well may be caught on main trails, away from heavy cover and in unfamiliar territories. Keep your eyes open during the rut because a buck may turn up anywhere.

It's not just wind that can betray the hunter's scent to deer. Normal air currents called thermals can also do you in. These are caused by the air warming and cooling during the day. It's a simple fact of basic physics; warm air rises and cool air falls. If one of these thermals carries your scent to a wary buck, he'll be gone.
Thermals are particularly pronounced in mountainous country. Typically, as the day warms up, the thermals rise. In the evening, the cooling air "falls" into the valleys. It is usually recommended that you place your stand site higher on the mountain or ridgeline for morning hunting and at lower elevations in the evenings.
Another quirk of mountain air currents is that the steep topography often causes the wind to swirl. Even if the prevailing wind is from one direction, the air around you may be going in another. Keep your eye on wind direction and thermals when hunting in the mountains.