When those younger bucks mature into trophy animals, these hunters already know a great deal about where particular bucks spend time. You can only shoot trophies consistently if you pass up smaller bucks. When a buck comes in that is smaller than what you really want, remember where he travels and plan to hunt him again when he matures. Allow smaller deer to pass without letting them detect you. A mature buck may be following.
Older bucks are more concerned with survival than with reproduction.
Expect the biggest bucks to remain bedded in daylight hours until the peak of the rut, when they may seek does during shooting hours. Big bucks rarely use heavily traveled deer trails. Instead, they cut across these trails or check them from the downwind side, seeking the scent of a doe in estrus. If you find lots of large droppings, large buck tracks, ground scrapes, and the impressions of large single beds nearby, you have found the home core area of a big buck. It will be close to thick escape cover, on higher ground, with a good view of the surroundings.