SA
First of I must say that the type and quantity of hunting pressure within the entire core area of where a mature buck resides and moves in has a ton to do with the type of security cover he may require to bed in or transition through during daylight. Hunters that pay attention to TV and video personalities, most writers, and like style hunters that exclusively hunt in managed areas, need to quit doing that because they have totally screwed up everything concerning security cover requirements because they hunt in areas with kill criteria's either in the form of age class or antler size.
A buck fortunate enough to have survived 2 antlered deer seasons in a heavily hunted area where nearly all hunters are targeting any legal antlered buck, is going to move very little during daylight hours during season and is going to require much more security cover for where he beds and areas he transitions through during daylight hours as he's likely been wounded before or shot at.
Bucks in managed areas with kill criteria's typically don't get shot at until they are at least 3 1/2 years old so they have had no negative consequences with any previous hunter encounters so they require less security cover to both bed in and transition through and they definitely move much more frequently during daylight hours and through much more open ground.
So your question has to be based on your areas amount of and type of hunting pressure.
Concerning aerials they are extremely vague and to me they act as a simple scouting reference and as a good map to mark my locations and entry and exit routes on. The same TV, video, writers, managed area hunters, etc. that hunt micro-managed areas put a lot into aerials as for them they show points, openings, funnels, etc. and because the mature bucks they hunt are rather stupid when compared to a mature buck residing in a heavy consequential hunting pressured area, they use all the typical points, openings, funnels, etc. because they don't fear as much with their movements during daylight.
The best way to describe the consequential hunting pressure thought process is to relate it to you. As an adult you feel comfortable moving after dark in areas that you know are safe just as mature deer feel comfortable moving during daylight in areas where they have grown up feeling safe. Now lets throw in known danger. Would you walk through a crime-laden inner city neighborhood in Detroit or Chicago in the middle of the night knowing what the potential consequences might be? Likely not. You know to avoid places where the history of danger is high. Just as the feeling of vulnerability affects your security precautions and movement habits, so does heavy consequential hunting pressure affect mature bucks daytime movement habits, survival rates, how they react to hunter tactics, when and how they socially interact with other deer within their core area, and where and especially when they make or re-visit signposts.
Unlike competitive sports where all participants compete on the same playing field or under the same exact circumstances, in our countries vast whitetail landscape the playing fields (hunting properties) and circumstances (consequential hunting pressure) are far from equal. Bowhunters should be cognizant of the undisputed differences and know the amount and type of hunting pressure their area receives before considering instructional information from any so-called expert, including myself.
So I need to know a little more info like what state are you in, what's the general hunting pressure in the area, is there any large managed properties with kill criteria's bordering you, and what is the general make-up of the property you hunt (swamp, timber, crops, hills, etc.).
