Sitting in my ground blind, I gazed at the once-beautiful stand of hardwoods and pondered how Hurricane Katrina had altered the landscape a few years back. Lost in thought, enjoying the morning, I heard a twig snap and peered out the window to see a nice 8-point Mississippi whitetail paralleling the edge of the debris that used to be a thriving, mature forest. As the buck moved closer, I positioned myself for a shot, and when he stopped at 32 yards, I sent an arrow through his vitals. He expired in short order.

Taking that buck was gratifying, but even more fulfilling was the fact that I had devised a plan that worked. For a bowhunter, nothing compares to the satisfaction of scouting and analyzing, and then executing well-laid plans. Hunters use many different strategies for bagging whitetails, of course, but I have developed an approach that has consistently produced southern whitetails for me and will work anywhere.

It’s based on predictability, a significant word in hunting. In my 20-plus years of bowhunting for whitetails, I’ve learned that whitetails are predictably unpredictable. Admittedly, a small part of whitetail success relates to the mystical mojo that brings good or bad luck. However, far more important is understanding why deer do what they do. It is in this sense that deer are, to a certain degree, predictable.

While the analogy might not be perfect, I think my approach to travel might have some relevance. When taking a trip, I choose the shortest, fastest route to my destination. If possible, I take the freeway. Or I take a primary route with a freshly paved, smooth surface. In short, human nature leads me, like most people, to take the easiest and most comfortable path to my destination.

Whitetail deer choose trails based on similar principles. My common-sense approach to taking whitetails centers on understanding the preferred travel routes of deer. Follow a few of the setups I have outlined below and you will draw the string on deer a little more often.

THE STORM EDGE
While I would not wish a natural disaster on anyone, Mother Nature makes up her own mind about where she will wreak havoc. In Central and South Mississippi, Hurricane Katrina left most of the mature hardwoods looking like a stack of matchsticks. The younger trees fared better, as they were more flexible and swayed with the winds.

Since Katrina, many hunters have become so frustrated with the mess of timber that they resort to hunting open fields. The downed timber has created awesome bedding areas, but getting a shot at a deer in there is a major task. It took a little out-of-the-box thinking, but I finally developed a strategy for hunting the new landscape.

Spooked or pressured deer will take the road less traveled, of course, which means they will put up with the aggravation of climbing through, around, and over downed timber. However, if undisturbed, they will take the easier routes along the edge of downed timber -- just as I take the four-lane highway instead of winding country roads. Last year, I took two nice deer as they followed the edge of the downed storm timber and a young stand of plantation pine trees.