BACHELOR TACTICS
Since you really can't appeal to the sex drive of a buck during early to mid-October to bring him within range, you have to challenge his manhood. Watch a mid-October buck approach a group of deer, and you'll probably see him head right over to other bucks, passing by does as if they didn't exist.

You can capitalize on that attitude in several ways. One of the most obvious -- and best -- is to use a grunt call. A few years ago in Minnesota, I killed a Pope and Young buck on the morning of October 3. That bachelor buck was coming into a large cattail swamp, and when he was about 125 yards away I produced a challenging grunt with my call. The buck changed course and came directly to me, and I shot him at 22 yards. That early in October, that buck was interested only in another buck. Without the grunt call, I probably never would have got that shot.

In my experience, rattling loses its effectiveness once bucks are focused on does in November. But during October, when they're interested mostly in proving their manhood, rattling can be deadly on bachelor bucks. Real antlers seem to work best, but a rattling bag or similar device is much easier to pack. If you don't give yourself the rattling option, you'll eventually regret it.

Most of my rattling sequences are of the "blind" variety, when I'm not aware of a buck in the vicinity. Because my stands at this time of year generally are in heavy cover, any buck within my sight will be close. I don't like rattling at such close-range bucks, because they will quickly pinpoint my location -- and probably spot me in the tree. If a buck starts my way but loses interest and drifts away, I will rattle my antlers, but still only if he can't see me.

If you can scan a wide area, rattling to a distant buck works well because you can time your rattling to the buck's response. Stop when he puts his head up to look. Rattle when he turns away. Quit rattling if he starts to come. Make him look for you.

Scents will pull bachelor bucks to you. At this time of year, before does come into heat, buck scents such as tarsal glands will set off a territorial response in any buck that thinks he's the big dog in his woods. Other bucks may investigate scents purely out of curiosity. I've pulled bucks right to my stands with drag rags soaked in tarsal scent. Mock scrapes can be effective at this time of year, too.

A decoy also will produce good results during mid-October. Set your decoy up as a buck and use antlers close to the same size as the buck you seek. A 150-class buck isn't likely to waste his time with a little 4x4. However, encountering a strange buck about his same size could trigger an aggressive response. Even if a buck is just looking for company, you may get a shot you otherwise wouldn't get.

DIVERSIONARY TACTICS
Besides using audio, olfactory, and visual stimuli, you can devise useful diversionary tactics. One of my favorite treestands sits about 30 yards from a riverbank, and a ridge runs between my stand tree and the water. Occasionally, deer slip along the riverbank, on the other side of the ridge, and get past me without offering a shot. If I leave my hip boots or an article of clothing at the point where I cross the river, when deer meandering along the bank come upon the item with my scent, they invariably turn and trot over the hump right into my space.

The same diversionary tactic could be used when you're playing the proverbial chess game with deer. You know the drill -- you sit in one stand, and the deer walk past your other stand 100 yards away. A strategically placed scent, whether an attractant to draw deer down your trail, or human scent to divert them away from an area you cannot hunt, can put a buck where you want him.

I've also spent time cutting down trees in one of my favorite woods, which otherwise has sparse underbrush. Taking down a few trees serves two purposes -- it lets more sunlight in for better growth, and it allows me to create funnels with the downed trees to divert deer traffic toward my stand. Unless pressured, deer usually take the easiest route. Simply positioning logs on trails can accomplish the same thing.

AFTER CALMING DOWN, I slithered from the poplar stand and went to meet my hunting buddy, Gene Harris. We found my arrow enveloped in blood, but the blood trail was meager. A trail of disturbed leaves led us up the opposite slope of the swale where we found the buck within 80 yards.

As we took photos, I remembered how we'd spent part of the afternoon hanging a new treestand on the south end of the bedding area. We had sawed limbs and made more noise than we like. I remember thinking it would be a good idea to hunt the north end. A bedded buck may have heard all the commotion. And logic told me that when a buck hears something unusual during the day, he'll likely head another direction when he gets up to feed. Did our inadvertent diversionary tactic work in my favor, causing that bachelor buck to head north that evening?

Had my rattling and grunting drawn him in?

Was it purely a chance encounter fueled by good scouting? Or was it those voices? I still hate the sound of voices in the deer woods. But I couldn't use them as an excuse for not taking a bachelor buck that day.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:
On this hunt I used a Mathews Conquest bow, Carbon Ex-press Terminator Hunter Select arrows, and a three-blade Muz-zy broadhead. Other gear included a Montana Black Gold sight, Tru-Fire release, and Day One Camouflage clothing.