By Will Primos

There is a lot involved in hunting whitetail successfully. When you "get into position" you should be as scent-free and as quiet as possible. Choose your tree stand location so you can approach your stand down wind from where you expect the buck to come.

You see, you can’t usually hunt a buck where he is. You have to hunt him where he’s going to be. You have to make him hunt you. Therefore your stand location is the most important detail.
If you set up in wide open woods and start calling to a buck that you have spotted, when that buck looks your way he’s not going to come close enough for you to make the shot because he’s not going to see another deer. He knows that he should see the deer if it were there.

Instead, choose a spot/stand that is close to some type of visual obstruction like a creek bank, downed treetop, thicket of honey suckle vines, or a cane thicket. If the buck has to come closer to get a better look, to look behind the downed treetop, behind or in the thicket, then you will have a much better opportunity to bring the buck close enough for a shot.

My favorite calling during the pre-rut, rut, and post-rut is three estrus doe bleats followed by two short grunts and two more estrus bleats. I make the estrus bleats with The CAN“ and grunt with the RubberNeck‘ strapped to my arm for easy access.

For consistent success, know what calls are most effective for the time of year you are hunting and choose a stand location that will cause the buck to hunt you after you call to him.