And, believe it or not, this could actually be a good bump. You knew squat about this deer when you left the truck; now you've stumbled into one of his sanctuaries.

Big bucks choose bedding areas carefully and are faithful to them as long as they feel safe there. Georgia whitetail researcher Larry Marchinton once told me about a big radio-collared buck they bumped from his bed with tracking dogs. The buck ran for 11 miles in a straight line--and was back to his bedding area the next day.

Noted Iowa deer expert Don Kisky will often walk through suspected bedding areas, intentionally trying to bump a big buck he's hunting so he knows where the buck's core area is. And then he'll devise a plan for killing him.

So get out your topo maps and aerial photos, analyze the landscape, and determine how Buck A moves between this known bedding area and his feeding spots. Then set up an ambush along these routes. But don't return to this spot unless you're certain you can slip up on the deer or push him out in a carefully planned drive.

Buck B You've spent hours behind a binocular and a spotting scope, nailing down the feeding pattern of a whopper buck. Your intel reveals that he's most vulnerable at the remote corner of an alfalfa field, where the farmer has conveniently dumped a half-dozen round bales of hay. After three days of waiting for the proper wind, you grab your trusty muzzleloader, wiggle among the bales and wait. But when dark comes, your monster is a no-show, so you start the long walk back to the truck. Topping a rise in the field, you come face-to-face with Mr. Big, who used a different entry point to his favorite salad bar.

Analysis
OK, getting pegged is never good news, but there are several bright sides to this picture. First, the buck wasn't in his pet corner. This is important because he won't associate your looming silhouette and noxious odor with that specific entry point into the field. Some bucks remember details like this and some don't, so until you know what you're dealing with, this is a good thing.

Even better, the buck didn't see you emerge from the bales. If he had, the buck may have changed his pattern to avoid the field altogether or use it only late at night. Finally, you were just a bumbling human who walked through his hayfield after dark, and while it is a time when people are generally not active, since the field is in use by the farmer it's not like the deer has never seen a person in the area.

The fix-it for this bumping is fairly simple; rest the field for a couple nights and give this buck some time to build his sense of security there. Remember, whitetails get spooked off food sources all the time, especially in farm country. What's more important than a bumping itself is the amount and frequency; as long as they're not getting bothered every other day, deer won't view getting spooked off a food source as catastrophic. I'd give this alfalfa honey hole at least three days before a return visit.

Most important, have a better exit strategy in place when you hunt again. Probably the most fail-safe plan is to have a buddy drive a vehicle into the hayfield and motor as close to your hay bale blind as possible. Vehicles are a common sight for ag-land whitetails, so they'll run like mad to vacate the field, then relax and return to feeding as soon as the truck (with you in it) leaves.

If the vehicle escape isn't an option, find a covert exit route that will take you back to your vehicle or camp without passing near the food source itself. Often this will involve a substantial walk, but it's the only sure way to keep this honey hole productive.