We were working our way up the old logging road to check on the conditions of our deer hunting stands when one of the fellows pointed out some movement ahead.

One moment I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary in the wooded landscape and in the next breath a nice buck materialized. He was a dandy and I could see five points on the side of his rack closest to me.

A quick look with binoculars revealed that he was sporting only three points on the other side of his rack. He was a legal buck, but, with the unusual rack, his score wasn't in a trophy class.

Not that I normally would care by the last few days of buck season, but what I'd really like is a buck like my pal Sim Grossman's.

That deer was an 11-pointer and measured out at a gross score of nearly 155. It was a trophy in any Pennsylvania hunter's personal record book. The unusual thing about this deer was that Sim had never seen it before his fortuitous afternoon hunt.

Sim had a story like many others I have heard over the years. The hunter had planned to hunt an area, but changed his or her mind in the last minute and scored a trophy of a lifetime.

Several years ago, a member of our sportsmen's club was out looking for a place to hunt for a doe when a buck big enough to beat out 300 hundred other members walked up to him and he won the largest buck score of the year.

When the random opportunity for a record deer comes along, you only get one chance at it.

Unless you are like my old high school buddy, who saw the buck of his dreams, missed him, but got a second chance when the buck spun around and ran straight toward him.

One thing all of these hunters had in common was that they were hunting close to their homes and in an area they were familiar with. Knowing the habitat and routines of the resident deer herd can be a great ally in the search for winter venison.

One of the bonuses of being afield when a great deal of hunting activity is occurring is that deer are moved into areas that haven't been in their normal patterns.

I believe that's when a monster buck can be taken by a hunter being in the right place at the right time.

Years ago, I wanted to hunt a swamp area that usually had a fair amount of pressure but still had some nice bucks calling it home. On that particular day, I decided to go into the woods at about 11 a.m. because I had just read an article about a hunter who claimed mid-day bucks were a good bet.

The theory was that hunters would be leaving their stands for lunch or giving up until late afternoon. The hunters traveling out of the woods were likely to bump a buck out of its hiding place and it would slip away from the hunters as they left the woods.

My plan was to work my way into the thickets of the swamp and be there to meet Mr. Buck. The theory of my plan worked to perfection as I saw four different bucks traveling around in the swamp. I was able to take a respectable 8-point buck by being at the right place at the right time.

The first day is anyone's bet after the first shots are fired, but one thing for sure is that you have to be ready when you get the opportunity.

Try these tips to make your experience a better one:

• Make sure your rifle is sighted in and you get some practice rounds on the range.

• If a shot presents itself, it is better to take one good shot than a string of misses.

• Lead the deer if moving, and always make a clean shot when possible.

• Above all, be safe when handling your sporting arms or taking shots at deer.

Good luck and good hunting!