Something I’ve found that’s every bit as important is making room for the bucks. During the rut, it’s no problem, but spring, summer and early fall does and family groups can crowd bucks out by taking over all the better bedding areas.

Luckily, they aren’t as picky with bedding sites. At the same time, they place a higher importance on being close to the food than bucks. So, one can stack them in closer to the food, by creating bigger areas for them to bed, while encouraging the bucks to bed in more primo spots just a bit further out.

Here’s the tricky part, though. Every property is different. Some aren’t setup for that layout.

At the same time, the goals may be different from one person to the next. For one, it’s just getting bucks to bed on their property. In the case of the 8 I used this technique to relocate his bed, I needed him closer to the food.

There are all sorts of little tricks one can use to try to accommodate specific situations and goals. No, they don’t all work and none of them work every time in every situation. However, they work enough to make it worth the effort and each time a person tries, they almost always learn something, even if it’s that “this” didn’t work in “that” situation. As with anything else, if one keeps trying they generally keep getting better and having more success. I’m confident that 10 years from now I’ll look back on what I am doing now and wish I knew “this, that and the other thing,” just as I do when looking back 10, 20 and 30 years ago from today. The real key, in my opinion, is that one keeps striving to improve and try new things.