DISTINGUISH BOUNDARIES
When I'm advising someone without having had the benefit of actually walking their property, I often tell landowners/hunters to consider making the entire property a sanctuary except for the outer 50 to 100 yards around the perimeter. I admit this is a pretty broad-based approach, but it does allow these hunters the chance to hunt the entire property boundary and utilize every possible wind direction.

Whenever possible, use natural land features as boundaries for your sanctuary. Creeks, logging roads, field edges, power line rights of way, and fences are all good examples of features that make excellent boundaries to mark a sanctuary. Beside the obvious benefit of making it easier for hunters to distinguish the sanctuary from the rest of the property, it also serves the same purpose for the big bucks that utilize it.

While I don't give any animal too much credit for reasoning ability, I do believe that a whitetail buck can figure out that he never encounters human scent or human disturbances on a certain side of a fence, creek or road. He learns that he is safe as soon as he crosses that particular feature. Creating a boundary through the middle of terrain such as an open section of woods leaves a "gray" area where the sanctuary and the land being hunted meet.

In other words, if you have a sanctuary boundary cutting through the middle of unbroken terrain, it's difficult for a buck to determine that "imaginary line" beyond which he'll be safe. One way to offset this problem is to stretch a single strand of barbed wire through these types of areas along the edge of the sanctuary. That way a buck will know he is safe once he crosses the wire. I realize this is an extreme measure that will require some serious work in some cases, but I've found that those who are willing to put in the extra work are the ones who consistently tag good bucks.

THICK COVER IS IMPORTANT
Once you have decided on the boundaries of your sanctuary, you will need to address the cover within it. In a nutshell you want the area to be as thick and nasty as possible. Again, do whatever it takes to make it happen. If it's in a wooded area, consider logging it as heavily as possible. Find a reputable logger and tell him to cut every tree with any value at all and to leave the treetops scattered about. This will instantly create bedding cover, and as the sunlight is now allowed to hit the ground, a new growth of weeds and saplings will soon take over. With each passing season, the cover will get thicker and be more hospitable to bucks looking for seclusion.

If your sanctuary area contains open fields, consider planting them in native grasses or tree seedlings. You may even be able to get this land enrolled in a CRP program where the government will help pay for such plantings. One of the quickest ways to create great bedding cover is by planting tall native grasses such as big bluestem or Indian grass. I have seen this firsthand on my own farm, and I was amazed at how the deer not only utilized it but actually preferred these tall grass fields over wooded areas.

A well-placed and properly managed sanctuary actually does more than just improve the hunting on a particular property. It will also draw in and hold mature bucks from other surrounding properties. Think about that for a minute. If your property is located in a region where big whitetail bucks are fairly common, you can draw them in from a considerable distance just by creating a sanctuary where they feel safe.

As I stated before, every mature buck has a sanctuary. This is where he will bed down during the day. I have often said that in order to be consistently successful at hunting mature bucks, you have to hunt them where they spend their daylight hours. You stand a lot better chance of killing a mature buck if he is staying on your land. If he is only visiting it at night or on infrequent occasions, your chances are greatly reduced.

RESPECT HIS PRIVACY
While I am no longer marching around the woods with a tree,stand on my back looking to hunt a new tree on every hunt, I did have some success while doing so and learned the importance of not overhunting any one stand site. Today my success is a bit better because I have added a new twist to that old approach. I continue to hunt from fresh stands whenever possible, but I also try to have those stands positioned on the edges of known sanctuaries.

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