Being in the top 10 percent in any category of human endeavor takes commitment, effort, time and sacrifice. It also brings with it a greater level of success. There's always a reward for those willing to make the effort. If you've always wondered why the same handful of guys always seem to have their photos holding a big set of antlers on the bulletin board at the local sports shop every year, I'm about to tell you. This is what they know that other hunters don't.

The real test of your hunting ability is whether you can anticipate where mature bucks will hole-up when hunting pressure is heavy during opening weekend.

Start With The Obvious
Without question, the two most important reasons some deer hunters shoot more mature bucks than others is location and time. These guys hunt better spots and they spend more time doing it. Just these two simple elements alone can make up for a truckload of other shortcomings.

It might be convenient to say that guys with great spots and seemingly easy schedules came by them through luck, and you don't have the same genetics, so why try. Not true. Rather than "I can't do that," you should be asking, "How can I do that?" Most of the best deer hunters that I know are not wealthy and they were not born into families with lots of land. They are working people committed to the goal of hunting mature bucks whenever possible. Through sheer effort, they have found ways to be in the right place at the right time.

One of my friends, for example, works a regular job, raised two beautiful daughters and is a good husband. Yet, he's shot many big bucks in his lifetime. He did this by working hard to find good hunting and then using his precious hunting time carefully. Don't just assume you can't find a great place to hunt because a few farmers say no. It takes more effort than that.

Sometimes you have to use your network of friends to get in the door, or trade labor or skill for hunting rights. As a young man, I bailed hay and built fence to gain access to the best farms. When other farmers heard what I was willing to do, they started calling me out of the blue. They were looking for hunters who didn't take the privilege for granted. Soon, I became the free farm hand of choice throughout northeast Iowa. I hated to say no. Eventually, I bought some land because that was cheaper than all the time I was spending in the haymow. But, man, I hunted some awesome farms in those early days.

The most consistent deer hunters are masters with maps and aerial photos, and spend many hours planning their hunts so they can reduce the risk that deer will detect them.

If my friends and I were able to do it, you can too. Start by setting a goal. If you really want to shoot more mature bucks, you have to get serious about finding the best hunting areas around. You may have to be more creative than other hunters, think more, work harder and go deeper into the public sites. You may need to hunt a different part of the state for a week each year, or hunt a different state. It all starts with a great spot--priority number one.

Finding time to hunt can be challenging. If you're primarily a firearms hunter, time is not quite as critical since the opening weekend will likely produce most of your action. In that case, location and the method of hunting are more important than the amount of available time, assuming your ability to hunt the first two or three days of the season.