Whitetail Strategies

The Giant Is Down !

For those that followed along. It took numerous scouting trips all summer to narrow this buck down. What most don’t know and what makes this the most special. I took our 5 year old son, Logan on every scouting trip and made it a point to have him hunt with me every sit for this buck.

The first two days we were close but it was brutal hot. Logan would climb the ladders with me then I had a stand hung to the side at each setup. He walked and sat in miserable conditions. And for 5 he did amazing not talking or moving, just watching.

The third night was perfect. Logan and I snuck it later at 6pm due to the heat and roasting the night before from 3pm to dark. It was slow at first but then a half hour before dark the giant appeared from 100 yards away. We were sitting over a scrape he recently worked over. The giant came on a mission right to us to work that scrape. 50 yards he stopped and that was my chance before he winded us.

A great shot and 90 yards crashing through the field he was down. I’ll be 40 years old in one month and this will be my 4th 200 as he came in at 217 inches. By far my biggest and the best one yet with Logan being there for the whole thing.

Giant update: I had to make one last move this weekend as I wasn’t happy with how little I was getting the giant on camera. I snuck in there mid morning yesterday and searched softly around the edges of cover looking for scrapes and new sign.

I found several rubs shredded and one big scrape freshly ripped open. All within 100 yards of where I think he’s bedding. I placed a few cameras high in trees and one over looking the new scrape. And here he is out of velvet.

I have to say he didn’t shrink and this is probably the biggest deer I’ll have the opportunity to hunt in my 20 years living in the Midwest. As for now, I’ll hunt only on the big temperature drops this week and adjust accordingly as the season goes on.

A side note. Anyone seriously looking for land in Missouri. Pm me or text me 716 860 6869 and let’s get a conversation going. I’ve lived all over the Midwest and moved several times to find the best areas. I have hands on experience on where the best overlooked areas are and where to avoid the places I moved away from as they were getting too crowded with pressure and shot down.

It’s almost go time for myself and those of you that live in Missouri or Kansas. If you haven’t noticed the temps in the Midwest. The last two weeks have been stupidly hot, pure hell, questioning why I live here. I’m sure a lot of your cameras have slowed way down as did mine. Don’t worry that’s normal with this heat.

But there’s good news! Next week for our opening week. We have a huge temperature drop from where we been. So if you haven’t considered it much, you better this year.

Get out find a food source and hunt the first 4 evenings of the season. Temps in the low 80s and 70s falling off before dark will get the big deer on their feet.

I will be definitely be out there the 15th to Friday every evening. These kind of temps don’t come often during the first week so make the most of it. Find food hunt food.

As for the giant, he’s still around mostly at night. But hopefully these cool temps will be enough to get a chance.

Good luck next week !

Giant update:

The giant was off camera for 7 days and this was my first photo of him back. Did he leave for a fall run, probably. I’m not getting him as much on camera now. There seems to be an old 10 point that is pushing deer around on camera.

I think once the giant sheds velvet he will take over. In the mean time, stands are all set for when the season progresses. I have hung sets in all the major corridors and trimmed what was needed. I have shifted cameras to fall areas so I won’t have to go back and disturb them.

As we get into the first weeks of September start thinking of getting your cameras back in the thicker bedding, further away from food. Getting ahead of the shift.

Giant update:

I went back 5 days ago, on a hot midday excursion. I moved cameras closer to bedding within what I thought was 100 yards or so. I simply back tracked trails off the fields where I was getting his pictures and found an area where 3 trails came together. And where I felt comfortable I wasn’t pushing in too far.

This time i placed all the cameras 8 to 9 feet up in the trees angled down.

I had to hang a stand near by where I knew I could get a shot at him if he slips past me the first week. This required alot of chainsawing to get lanes one. But it had to be done as this was the kill spot come mid season.

The last 3 days the giant was MIA. Which I figured due to all the commotion I made cutting trees.

But here he is back and daylight heading back to bed. Now I’m set for stands and will just wait. As you can see from the picture below the camera is high in a tree and angled down. I have several pics of him and other deer using this spot the last few days and not one has stopped to notice the camera.

I’m not one to generally share where I hunt and what’s there. But I’ve had great success all across Missouri and it’s time share my knowledge and give others opportunities that I’ve had over the years.

Missouri could be better with a few regulation changes. But coming from the east coast and spending 20 years slugging it out over 100 inch 8 points. Missouri was a dream for me.

I’ve taken multiple giants here, all across northern Missouri. I can say anything north of US 36 will put you in the money for good deer. But there’s definitely better counties within that region that have better genetics, less pressure and better habitat. I’ve personally hunted and consulted in them all.

If you’re looking for land anywhere in northern Missouri, reach out to me. I’ll work with you to find you the right place in the right area. And you and I will work together to get you on a hunting plan that will work for this area. I’ll show and teach you exactly how i would setup and hunt your new farm.

The pictures below are all Missouri bucks I’ve taken over the years. Truly some special deer. In the right areas Missouri can be just as good as Iowa and Kansas.

And if anyone wants to sell a property we currently have a buyer looking for a good size tract north of US 36.

I'm excited to announce that I've joined Premier Land & Auction Group as a Land Specialist!

This is an exciting new chapter for me, and I can't wait to put my experience to work helping buyers and sellers throughout Missouri, and eventually Kansas.

For over 20 years, I've had the opportunity to hunt, consult, and help landowners improve properties throughout the Midwest. During that time, I've learned that buying or selling recreational land is about much more than just closing a deal.

When you're buying a property, I don't just want to show you a farm, I want to help you understand it. I'll show you how I would develop it, hunt it, and maximize its potential. I'll also help guide you toward the areas of Missouri that consistently produce great hunting based on firsthand experience. I've personally moved across northern Missouri four different times in pursuit of giant whitetails, and I'll share the knowledge I've gained along the way so you can make a confident investment.

If you're selling, I want to help you showcase your property in the best possible way. With years of consulting experience and a large network of landowners, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts across the Midwest, I'll work hard to market your property to the right buyers.

One thing you'll never hear from me is that every farm is "turnkey" or "the best." The truth is, every property has strengths and weaknesses. I'll give you my honest assessment of what a property offers, what improvements could make it even better, and whether it's the right investment for your hard earned money.

Whether you're buying your dream hunting property or selling a farm you've invested years into, I'd be honored to help you through the process.

I'm looking forward to meeting new people, building lasting relationships, and helping you achieve your real estate goals. If I can help in any way, don't hesitate to reach out!

📞 Chad Dollard

☎️ 716-860-6869
[email protected]

Premier Land & Auction Group
Real Broker, LLC

Giant update. I have stated in the past you have to study your deer as you get them on camera. Each deer is different and how they tolerate cameras. Most deer I encounter are not bothered by them.

But every now and then I’ll notice a buck that doesn’t like them. How do I notice this. If everytime you get him on camera he’s locking eyes at it with almost a death stare. Or on high alert.

He will be further from the camera next time he comes by. Or he won’t come by again. Once I see this behavior. I go back and move my cameras to new areas. Even 50 yards up the trail or field can make the difference. The buck will start cutting around the cameras before he gets to them.

I set the cameras 7 to 9 feet up in a tree and angle them down. I’ve noticed once I do this, getting the cameras out of the bucks line of sight. I start picking him up again.

So as for the giant. I’m noticing him staying about 30 yards out from the camera as he walks by. Or he’s staring right at the camera and I’ve stopped getting him at that location. So now I will go back this week and adjust all the cameras and start hiding them up in the trees. I’ll take a 3 foot climbing stick to do this.

Good luck and pay attention to those deer behaviors.

If you look at the picture below you’ll zoom in and see a buck in the blue lines. This is another buck we’re trying to pattern for early season.

As you can see by the time, 7pm we are close to his bedding. My guess within 150 yards or so. The red circle is a hidden bean field about 60 yards away.

This trail camera sits at a fence crossing where several trails merge to cross the fence. This is a great timestamp and spot to set a stand if he keeps this pattern until September. I will have a stand here. But I’m not happy with that yet.

I’ll go back in a week and I’ll back track on the trail he’s coming in on. I’ll go about 50 to 100 yards depending on where I start hitting cover down the trail. I’ll place a camera there and wait. If several other trials veer off in different directions I’ll set some there as well. That distance may not seem very far. But that’s the difference of him coming out at dark or enough light to get a shot.

I want to get as close as possible without blowing the the whole thing up. Sometimes I bump them but that’s part of it. Do what your there to do and back out. He’ll be back. Again, this isn’t something we do repeatedly. I’m trying to gather as much daylight movement as I can of him. And narrow him down enough to know if the weathers right and he gets on his feet he will be at my stand within the last 20 mins or so.

I could set up on the bean field and that works in areas. But more times than not it will be at last light when he steps out. This is the whole reason I like to back track deer in tight to their bedding areas. To have to those daylight opportunities on the good weather days.

Giant Update. This weekend was hot over 100 degrees. So yes it was the perfect time to go slip more cameras in and hang some early season sets for the giant.

We slipped in within a few hundred yards of where I think he could be bedding and placed several cameras. I now have 3 different potential bedding areas covered.

We also hung two stands for the first week only, over some bean fields he could be hitting before dark.

To my surprise here he is this morning daylight walking past my camera and the stand in the background. Now it’s still early and things can change. But this is huge and important information, I always talk about.

Things to take away from this post. He’s on camera at 630 am going back to bed. This means he’s close and I now have a direction to push towards to move in a little closer for the evening hunt the first week. So in a few weeks I’ll go back when it’s hot and nasty and move some cameras closer. Deer don’t move far between now and then. So you really do need to be within that 100 yard bubble to have a daylight shot of them the first few days of season.

Also I get asked a lot if I’m intruding too much. My answer is no. Here’s proof, there’s three of us in this pic scouting for this buck. We use terrain, we always go in and out never walk through where you think he might be. We take long ways around instead of the quick cut through to avoid bumping them. I try to pick hot days, rain day and windy days to move and setup. And I don’t do this repeatedly. I go as needed every few weeks to adjust if need be. Deer tolerate more than you think if you are smart about your movements.

Also this deer is over an hour away from anywheres some of my local favorite followers believe I am lol. Good luck scouting I’ll keep you all posted.