CORE BEDDING AREAS
If you intend to consistently tag mature whitetails on Central Florida public land, it's imperative that you identify their core bedding areas.

Check out nasty thickets, dense overgrown clearcuts or islands tucked away in swamps. In my experience, areas that are difficult to access, with the heaviest cover, typically produce the most big buck sign late in the season. Do whatever it takes to penetrate and scout these areas.

And the best time to do so is right after deer season closes, when rubs still appear fresh, and abandoned scrapes are identifiable. Depending on the size of the security cover, it's not uncommon to find 20 or 30 rubs in one single square acre. I have found areas less than 50 yards square in size where virtually every tree and bush in sight was rubbed.

A high concentration of deer droppings that are larger than average should also get you excited.

A bedding area with lots of deer sign, but lacking big buck sign, is likely an area utilized primarily by a family group of does and yearlings. Mature bucks usually bed alone, venturing into doe bedding areas only during the rut.

Also try to identify specific trails in and out of a buck's core bedding area that lead to nearby food sources. Spend as much time as practical and needed, then write down as many notes as possible -- because after this one visit, the area should be off-limits to your further scouting.

Invading the deer's refuge once is bad enough, but they'll have an entire spring and summer to get over it.

Return once more to set up stand locations, only after you have digested your information and formulated a game plan.

HUNTING CORE BEDDING AREAS?
Nocturnal bucks put the average hunter between a rock and a hard place. If you don't hunt where the mature bucks move during legal shooting hours, you won't connect with one. However, if you choose to intrude, you run the risk of bumping Ole Mossy Horns out of his core area. That will send him to an alternate bedding location that he knows about -- but you don't.

That's the risk you take. But really, what other choice do you have?

Hunting pressured bucks is tough, plain and simple. When all else fails, it is time to go in after them.

Before charging in, however, it's prudent to hunt between a known food source and the core bedding area. Mature bucks may not have adopted an absolute nocturnal habit just yet and are simply arriving at a specific food source after dark.

A good strategy for this time of year is to look for old scrapes and rub-line trails leading from a core bedding area to a food source. Bucks are no longer rubbing their antlers or making scrapes, but often they'll use the same trails late in the season as they did early on.

In fact, bucks frequently use the same trails year after year. They may alter the time of day they use these trails in response to hunting pressure. Still, it's crucial to hunt the trails leading into and out of thick bedding areas.

A late severe cold-weather event may force a crafty buck to move during the day. But other than that, keep in mind that the secure cover of his bedding area is home until the season is over.

TIME OF DAY
For me, when hunting within a mature buck's bedroom, morning stands have typically produced better than afternoon stands. In the evening, pressured bucks typically won't leave the security of their bedding area until after dark. During a period of daylight, using a stand location where you know a mature buck is resting nearby is a risky maneuver.