Location, Location, Location!
While Colorado has millions of acres of public land, some of the states'best hunting lies in the agricultural regions. I have hunted the same alfalfafields for almost 20 years now, so on our properties we know the deer movementsreally well. If you are looking for new hunting spots, here is one of mybest scouting tips; I hop in my truck and just drive through farmland andriver bottoms, take the family on a Sunday afternoon cruise! 

You can do some pretty effective scouting from behind the wheel of thefamily SUV! Early season buck activity mimics summertime patterns, so youcan find a buck in early July, and there is a good chance he is in thesame area come late August. 

Use these outings as a way to possibly get your wife and kids involvedin your hunt. This is one of the ways I got my wife into archery. I justhad her tag along, until finally now she is leading our scouting trips!

A buck that I took a few years ago was taken using just this type ofscouting. I had permission to hunt a field that bordered a large drainagecanal that was about 30 feet wide. With large cottonwoods and willows onboth sides of the canal, making for perfect cover for the deer in thisarea. I had observed a bachelor group of five or six bucks using this field.

One in particular caught my eye, (a 5x5 that would score in the mid160's) and I decided I wouldn't be happy until I got within bow range ofhim. The field hadn't been farmed in quite a few years, so it was nothingbut weeds probably four to five feet high. 

This field was bordered on two sides by one of the major rural roadsin the area, so cars were constantly driving by, making these bucks almostimmune to human scent and activity. I observed these bucks (from the road)using a bedding area right out in the middle of the field, they would getup and feed and then just bed back down. 

My family spent many countless hours glassing and calculating the bestapproach on these bucks.  I waited until a stormy, windy evening whenthese bucks couldn't hear as well, and I could be sure that the wind wouldn'tswirl and alert them. 

I prefer stalking bedded animals, as it is easier to keep an eye onthem when bedded. The real game starts when you are within bow range ofa shooter buck! 

Over the years I have seen bowhunters that get in this position andaren't patient enough. Some decide to throw a rock and get the bucks up,or maybe a light whistle. I have found that patience is a much better toolat this point. When you toss that rock, there is no guarantee that he willjust stand up and stretch his legs. The opposite usually happens, especiallywith a seasoned mature buck, he will jump and run, and then look back oncehe is at a safe distance. This would be fine for gun hunters, but not withstick and string! The whistle trick works at times, but I have found thatyou can never predict what a wily old buck will do. 

So, armed with patience and my bow, I crept to within my effective rangeof the before mentioned bucks. Once within that range the waiting gamebegins, I don't have to wait long and the big buck stands to feed. A tough51 yard shot and a short tracking job later, my Father is helping loadhim in the back of the same truck I used to pattern him! 

Obtaining Permission 
Most of these river bottoms and farm country are privately owned, butdon't let this scare you away. I once hunted a small farm that bordereda large gravel pit and quarry, every day I would observe huge bucks movingall about this property. I would sit in my stand and just hope that onewould come my way. 

I sat and stewed about this for two years, thinking, who would I evenget a hold of to obtain permission for this area? Finally one day I decidedto call the gravel company. A short phone call later I wound up with notonly permission for this place, but with all of their property! 

The landowner told me that in all his time owning the company I wasthe first to ask for permission. Don't underestimate yourself! Most landowners,especially farmers, are down-to-earth people. What appears to you and meas merely deer, are actually profit-eaters to the farming community. Iknow many farmers that will give permission to hunt their land on nothingmore than a name and a hand-shake. 

But don't be disrespectful to  them, if a farmer asks you not togo in a certain pasture, and then you do, not only will you probably losepermission, but you make it harder for the next bowhunter that would liketo hunt his property! He will become skeptical of bowhunters and will shutdown his farm to bowhunting. 

I have heard of more hunters losing permission by leaving gates openthan probably any other factor. A farmer or rancher doesn't want to haveto baby sit you, so you have to police yourself. 

Hold yourself to a higher standard! 

I have a large ranch where every year the owner's best friend comesout bowhunting. On this ranch I set up maybe five treestands, but I letthe owner know that his friend can use them while he is here. During theweek that he is here I don't hunt that ranch, it is almost 3000 acres,but how would it look if he wanted to hunt a certain treestand and I wasalready in it? Granted it may be my treestand, but most bowhunters haveat least three or four pieces of property that could produce. I could justbutt right in and mess his hunt up, but would that benefit me? 

You have to see the big picture, he is only there for one week. In factduring this particular week every year in September for the last eightyears, I have got to hunt with a friend or loved-one where an animal wastaken. I would have missed out on this had I been consumed with huntingthe ranch while that guest was here. 

This unselfishness has earned not only more properties to hunt, butrespect among the local farmers. Believe me if you impress a farmer hewill give your name to his friends and business associates. If you trythis, the next time you call a local farmer he may have already heard goodthings about you! Be optimistic. The glass really is half-full! 

 It's the little things! (and places)
Of all the property I have to hunt, my favorite is a forty acre alfalfafield with about five acres of Russian olive trees that border the field.The city limits to my hometown is right across the river, and when I sitin my stand I am facing the back of a trailer park! 

This field has produced many bucks in the past, as I'm sure it willcontinue too. There is very little human activity on the actual property,but I can sit there and hear kids in town, playing at the park. With humanintrusion being ever present, the deer that live in this little slice ofheaven aren't even bothered at all. At any time of the day you can driveby and see a 150 inch buck out feeding. 

Deer are amazingly resilient animals, I recall a time when I hunteda 110 acre parcel surrounded by national forest lands. When the land ownerdecided to log his place, I thought that the hunting would suffer, butthe exact opposite happened! I saw deer and elk every time I went in there,even with the loaders and bulldozers all around. On the landowner's advice,I sat in the cab of one of the loaders, and had it not been for a straylimb from a downed tree, I would have taken a huge buck (it's kind of atouchy subject). 

Here is my latest and greatest example. Last season I traveled to Ohioto hunt with my close friend Jeremiah Upp, he set me in a stand nestledin the heart of fifteen acres. He knows me, and that I like to hunt wherethe bucks are! On my second morning, I was lucky enough to harvest thelargest buck of my life, a 186 5/8 gross monster! 

If you play your cards right, you can hunt that small woodlot effectively.During the 2002 seasons alone, we used this type of hunting to harvestfive Pope and Young trophies, three mule deer, and two whitetails. Thisrecipe for success can work for you regardless of the size of your huntingarea! 

Conclusion 
If you have only a small area to hunt, don't be discouraged. If youwill not tromp around spreading scent in these little "honey holes", theywill produce bucks year after year. 

Spend your time patterning these deer from ridge tops and high vantagepoints, if these high vantage points don't exist, use your vehicle to jumpfrom area to area quickly. Glass one field until dark one evening, andthen jump to another field the next. I personally use a calendar to keeptrack of deer movements in my areas. I quickly jot down notes about thingsI have seen, which may include a particular trail they are using or possiblya specific bucks' movements. 

By using a calendar I can quickly see patterns developing, this willtell me where a buck will be on any given day. Put in your time scoutingand on stand, and good things will happen for you. I have used this techniqueto harvest many P&Y bucks, and I think it will work for you.