-By Brandon Wikman
The whitetails at Bluff Bucks Outfitters have been really working the Moultrie setups. During the early part of August the owner, Butch Fox, and I set four trail cameras up and we’ve been getting some crazy pictures of gigantic bucks. Buffalo County Wisconsin is known for record class whitetails due to several variables, which include first and foremost, a Quality Deer Management program. They’ve also been lucky enough to have a hearty soil locking in essential minerals and creating several thousand acres of food. From an all-you-can-eat corn buffet to a soybean fest; food is practically everywhere. Having so many food sources actually posed the problem of where exactly to place the cameras.
Some of the cameras were placed along field edges where we’d be able to get a general idea of the amount of deer tearin’ up the food source. Another camera was hung near a waterhole. A waterhole is a unique spot to place a camera because your money shots are going to come from food plots, agriculture fields and anywhere you can bait. Yet, waterholes are places that I consider “secondary” hot spots, where deer are apt to go sooner or later, and with droughts in many parts of the country, “sooner”. You must remember: Deer get a lot of their water from the food that they eat. Especially early season corn and alfalfa.
I’ve been keeping my eye on a particular buck that’s been showing up recently and we’ve seen him in the field the last few evenings. He is a quality 8-point that I’d estimate at 3 ½ years of age. He’s a definite choice for me and if he happens to walk past the stand within 30 yards, he’ll be toast or I can guarantee an arrow will be flung at him!
As a rule of thumb, if you can photograph the same buck on a consistent manner, you’ve obviously done something right.
- You’ve found his usual travel route.
- You’ve remained anonymous to his presence.
- You’ve found a general location that’s going to be hot for a few weeks, depending on what food source he’s hitting.
As I told you last week, now that I’ve killed my doe I’m preparing this week to go on a buck hunt. This weekend is going to significantly drop in temperature, a possible 20 degrees according to Mr. Weatherman... which can always be a tossup! With a cold front moving in towards Wisconsin and that full moon beginning to gradually fade; it should be a spectacular weekend. I can’t get my mind off of the buck images we captured. Taking into account several variables, it’s a week like this that big brutes typically hit the ground. It’s early enough that bucks are still coming out to the fields without being too pressured and also (fairly) easy to pattern because the peak rut is a good month away. With the combination of appropriate weather, moon phase and stand location (mine will be in the woods 60 yards from a soybean field) conditions aught to be considered ideal. And I will soon find out...
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