Thanksgiving evening I was bowhunting my favorite stand when my regular 8 point came in for his dinner. I was standing up (15ft tripod has a shooting rail that you have to stand up to be able to draw a bow) holding my bow watching him when a HUGE buck came in from my right... I had never seen this buck in person or on camera. He did follow the exact route that my normal buck uses to get to the feeder. He walked in and immediately started staring at me. He knew I was there . Anyways... While I was trying to get in position to draw on him the other buck started getting nervous and my big buck walked back out the way he came. He didn't snort or RUN outta there, but I think he knew something was up. My question is, do you think he will come back to that same feeder?

Yes it might be at night now.

if i was to guess, i would say he knew you where there onece and he will know when your there again. he didnt get big and old by being stupid. sorry i would guess no unless there some doe pie around.

No one can answer that.

One thing is definite however, if you are not out there hunting, it won't matter if he shows back up or not.

If you are out there hunting, at least you will be looking for him and if he does show up you might be able to get set up and get off a shot. JMO.

he will come back. Just try to get a little more cover and make sure wind is right.

Let him come to you in his own time. If I were you, I would go in there and put just enough camo in the place that you were to hold his attention as he comes in, maybe a shirt or pair of pants and hide them as good as you can. If he seees them, they will hold his attention, if he does not see them, he will not be at attention. With this to concentrate on for the buck, move back up the trail he came in on a little and get an angle where you can get a quartering forward shot of him, meaning he will be past you when you shoot. He must feel secure with the trail he came in on, as he left the same way. If he is concentrating on where you were, then you should be able to get a shot. A lot of our bucks are checking the feed pens for hot does, but not really feeding in them themself.

I am by no means any kind of deer hunting expert but I've spent the last 5 or 6 years locating and pursuing 1 specific mature buck each year (of course, a different deer most years). That's probably the least effective way to fill a tag but if I don't kill a deer one year, I'm not crushed. I'd like to kill a 150 class buck just like everyone else but to me, age is more important than headgear.

Where I hunt, there are 9 of us on 2,500 acres. Some of it is so rough that a Jeep can't get into it and 600 acres is so rough that it hasn't been hunted at all for over 15 years. You could crawl around on your hands and knees in it if you wanted to but any shot would be 10 feet or less. Not much chance of that happening. So we leave that as the "Big Buck Sanctuary". Mostly because we don't have much choice.

My personal experience with mature bucks on our place is...once they know you are there, they are gone. Sometimes I'll see one 3 or 4 times but the first time he sees me, he's gone for the year. I'm sure different deer act differently on different properties so you may see him again. Just don't bet your only tag on it unless you're prepared to go buck-less this year.

On a more positive note, you might be able to relocate your stand 100 yards back up his path and catch him looking for you in your old location. I've done that bunches of times with does.

We don't have any feeders or stands so it's not like you can sit by the feeder and hope.

Don't count on it. Had the biggest buck I have ever seen come into a wheatfield last year. It was near dark and all I could see was his outline in the scope. I passed on the shot knowing that no one else would kill him back there, and counting on the fact that he'd be back. That was the first week of December I hunted every day until the end of February except two and never saw hide nor hair of him again. This dude was a beast. I guessed him 22" wide my father in law guessed him at over 24". G-2's at least 14" and I'm not exagerating. I've got dark video of this behemoth. He's an 8 point freak of nature!

If the deer are rutting still, it is very possible. In another thread recently I was devastated about a nice Buck that I missed on Tuesday Evening. It had been chasing a Doe just before. Friday evening I had the same buck trot through the same clearing at the same time of day. I would have been back yesterday evening and today, but home sick. Was low sick last night. So I am in the same boat, afraid he will have moved on or been killed by the time I get back.

If he didn't wind you, you are probably ok.
I would take the rails of the tripod for sure; Maybe hunt the trail he came in on further back.