SIKESTON -- If you're like me or any other hunter in Southeast Missouri, then you know that firearm deer season is rapidly approaching.
For most area hunters, Nov. 10 will rekindle their dream of bagging that trophy buck. With that in mind, I decided to talk to two area hunters to see what methods work the best towards making that dream a reality.
"To be honest, I think scouting is the best," Patrick Murphy of Farmer's Insurance in Sikeston said. Murphy has hunted whitetail in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky taking close to 25 deer during his hunting days.
It is probably too late to start scouting right now, but when you should scout is early and often. Scouting your hunting area should be done at least a month before the season opens up.
When scouting, you normally look for bedding and feeding areas and simply watch deer. Knowing their trails and how they move help you locate and know where to set up your stand or blind.
Also, look for tree rubs and scrapes. These are signs that bucks are marking their territory. When a buck rubs his antlers up and down a tree trunk knocking the bark off, is called a rub. Rub lines are signs that bucks are either rubbing the spring velvet off their antlers of taking out frustration due to the rut. The rut is when deer mate.
"Something else that I use, when scouting, quite frequently are trail cameras," Murphy said.
Trail cameras are a piece of equipment that is becoming essential if scouting for whitetail. They are motion-sensored, so if a deer would happen to walk by it would snap a picture and log the time that it passed. This lets the hunter know when and where their prize trophy is located.
"If you have three or four of those things going, they give you valuable information," Murphy said. "It tells you the time that they are typically coming through, if they're nocturnal, also it will let you know if you need to move closer of move away."
Another strategy to whitetail hunting is deciding whether to hunt in the air or on the ground.
"Tree stands give you the most advantages as far as what you can see and also for camouflage," he said. "But, hunting on the ground or in a blind really gets you closer to the deer, and that's an awesome feeling."
Avid hunter Eddie McDowell of McDowell Cabinets in Sikeston, stressed patience as the most important aspect of hunting.
"The best thing that I can tell you is to stay put, and be patient," McDowell said. "If you sit there, they're going to come by especially during the rut because they're on the move."
McDowell, during the first and second mornings, will usually sit in his ground blind from daylight till dark. "I'll sit there all day long, and I'll see anywhere from one to fifty (deer) maybe in one day. I'll let the small ones go and wait for the one I want to get."
He also will put out scent around his blind to grab deer's attention. "A lot of the time if they're on the move and they smell it, they will stop and take a second look."
Most hunters will say it's alright to put different scents around their stands or blinds, but as far as your body is concerned, both Murphy and McDowell agreed to be as scent free as possible.
Hunting that prized trophy buck can be a fun, challenging and rewarding experience. Especially if you put as much time and effort as these buck hunters have.
Hopefully, they have given you insight on how to approach your hunting style, so you too, can cash in on that dream whitetail.