"The big bucks, the ones that survive a few hunting seasons, are going to use all the natural elements in the woods to their advantage," Chapman said. "Big bucks want some cover around them all the time. I like to hunt off on the side of the mountain in the ivy thickets. There might be a lot of general deer sign up on top of the ridge, but you need to look for faint deer trails in the ivy thickets. That's where the big bucks like to travel."

Ivy thickets, for the botanically challenged, are one of the most important terrain features in the mountains. "Ivy" or "mountain laurel" is the dominant shrub in the Southern mountains. It occurs both in scattered patches and in dense tangled colonies known as ivy "hells." Sometimes an ivy thicket may be small, an acre or less, but sometimes it may cover an entire slope, or maybe even an entire side of a mountain. Yes, thick places, and especially ivy thickets, are tough to hunt, but the deer seem to know that, and that's where wise old bucks feel secure enough to move around in daylight.

Chapman suggests that after you have found the trails or corridors of movement that big bucks use as they amble through the thickets, you need to look around for little openings or gaps in the vegetation, and get up a tree looking down into the brush.

This is where you can actually use the terrain in the mountains to your advantage. You can often locate your stand, or even sit on the ground on the opposing ridge, or somewhere upslope from the trails, and gain a real advantage. Chapman said that in almost all situations he likes to get up above the deer trails, looking down. Since he primarily hunts in the mornings and since it is common knowledge that scent rises in the morning, that's a good strategy.

Above everything else, Chapman cautions that once you've done your scouting and you've found the place you want to hunt, you absolutely must stay focused. Pay attention to everything going on around you. This is not the time for daydreaming, napping, fidgeting or trying to solve problems you might have at work or home.

"Sometimes I'm so focused that when I get home from hunting I'm just worn out, my muscles are sore from sitting there holding perfectly still all morning. I try to not even move my head when I'm in a stand. I'll just move my eyes from side to side to check for movement.

"You need to stay focused. You need to stay ready all the time you're in your stand," Chapman said. "When that buck finally does come through, you're probably only going to have a minute or two to size him up and decide whether he's a shooter or not, and actually make the shot. He may be the buck of a lifetime, but if he winds you, or sees movement, or just senses that something is wrong, it's all over. He'll just disappear in the brush. You might not ever see him again.

"Squirrels can be a hunter's best friend. Squirrels are nature's burglar alarms and will often let you know when a deer is coming. Chapman said that he knows from personal experience the origin of an old expression among veteran mountain deer hunters. "Sometimes a big buck will 'take a tree' on you," Chapman said. What that means is that a buck that senses something is wrong will stand behind a tree, seemingly for hours, and then just disappear into the brush. The best defense against having a buck "take a tree" on you is to see him before he sees you. To do that, you have got to stay alert.