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Jim Forbes sent in this shot of a great national forest buck he killed in Craig County during the early muzzleloader season.

The buck was moving back up the mountain from the valley when Jim shot it about 8:30 a.m. He said his hunting buddy killed a bigger buck in the same area.

The method is a great way to kill some big bucks on public land, especially if you can locate areas above farms that are carefully managed for trophy deer, of which there are quite a few in Craig County (and other counties with lots of mountainous national forest land).

It's rarely easy hunting as reaching those areas can mean covering lots of ground from the nearest access points. Forbes is one of those guys who doesn't mind putting in the effort.

Not only does he get to remote areas, his deer season never really ends. As in, after Jan. 5, he'll start seriously preparing for next season by scouting, locating potential stand sites and even preparing trees for stands.

That approach, which John and Chris Eberhart advocate in their excellent book "Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails," won't guarantee a buck like this every season. But it helps.

When Forbes sent in this shot he reported that he passed a couple other bucks in this class in hopes they'll be around next season.

Again, thinking ahead. That's what you have to do.