Now let's look at another scenario. Let's assume you are hunting not one, but three travel corridors at the same time. Would that not increase your odds three-fold? "Yes," you answer, "but how can one person possibly do that?" Simple: If you are hunting a funnel where three travel corridors merge together, you can hunt three corridors at once! Wouldn't this give you the same odds in one day as you would have hunting individual corridors over three days?

Now that you are covering several travel corridors during the time of year when mature bucks are moving during daylight hours, what else can you do to increase your chances?

POINT 4
INVESTING THE TIME
It's important to hunt every day you can during the rut. I realize that because of jobs and other obligations most of us can't possibly hunt every day during the breeding season. However, on the days we can hunt, we must realize the importance of hunting every hour possible. This means sitting in your stand all day long if your schedule allows.

I realize it is not easy to sit in a stand from daylight until dark. But I believe you will find it easier if you understand why it's worth the extra effort. Basically it's like most other things in life: If you see the benefits, you'll find a way to defeat the negative issues associated with the endeavor. I can personally assure you that mature bucks move in the middle of the day during the rut. I've killed quite a few and I've seen many more.

In fact, the last two mature bucks I killed were shot during midday hours. One was a 13-pointer that I arrowed in 2005 at 12:35 p.m. My stand was located in a doe bedding area, and a doe in heat lured him into bow range from thick cover.

The second mature buck referred to was taken on Nov. 7, 2007, the very day that Scott and I had the conversation over breakfast mentioned at the beginning of this story. I was hunting on land owned by my good friend Rob Saunders of Whitetail Properties. A huge-bodied buck had been seen by a hunter on Rob's property. This hunter described the deer as "a horse with horns." Of course, I was interested in getting a closer look at that buck. (Note: Whitetail Properties assists buyers in locating and purchasing recreational hunting properties throughout the country. Look for the popular TV show "Dreams To Reality" on the Outdoor Channel.)

Rob told me there was a good-size creek running through that particular property. I decided this would be a good starting point. I walked the creek bank, looking for the right creek crossing to hunt. As soon as I found a place with huge rubs on two different travel corridors that merged together at a shallow place in the creek, I knew I had found a good funnel.

At 11:05 that morning, just as I was contemplating having a sandwich, I heard a deer coming up the bank on my side of the creek. When I looked around I saw a large old doe standing in a small opening 25 yards away. I noticed her mouth was open and she was breathing hard. That was all I needed to see! I immediately reached for my Mathews LD.

As the doe moved from the opening, I heard water splashing. When I looked back at the creek crossing, I saw a huge buck wading the water. As he moved through the small opening where the doe had been standing, my arrow was on its way to his rib cage. The horse with horns went down 200 yards away.

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