Hunting whitetails any time of year can be tough, no matter where you’re hunting. So many factors are at play, it may seem as if bagging a trophy buck is impossible. For hunters who want to bring home a buck that hasn’t shed its velvet, the task is even more difficult. The time between the start of hunting season and bucks shedding their velvet is short, so hunters must plan ahead and hunt smart. A new Field and Stream article says hunters who want to drop a velvet buck had better act fast.

fuzzybucks Photo by Field and Stream

Mark Petrantoni and his son Mark Jr. of South Carolina Trophy Whitetails swear by a four-day, full-plot press for chasing their biggest shaggy-horned deer. “Down here in our zone we have the earliest gun opener in the country, Aug. 15,” says the senior Petrantoni. “Guys travel a long way to cross the velvet buck off their bucket list. We have to hit the deer hard and fast.” Wherever you’re chasing trophy velvets, the same rules apply.

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Photos: Arizona Game and Fish Department (top); Field and Stream (above)