“When I started writing this stuff down, I started to see what works and what doesn’t, which I think helps make me a better hunter in the long run,” Sommers added.

TRY NEW TACTICS
There isn’t really an off-season for Sommers, and he likes it that way. He is always trying to find the next small piece of ground that has been overlooked by everyone else. He is always searching for shed antlers to find clues about the monster that made it through the season. He is always reading magazines to learn better methods of outsmarting bucks. If he thinks something new is out there that will work, he is willing to give it a try.

“For instance, I have never used decoys, but I have heard they can work really well,” he said. “This year, I will give them a try. I remember other hunters poking fun at the lengths I take to be scent-free and how I do everything by the book, but I think that trying new things to give myself an edge like being scent-free 10 years ago when no one else was doing it really helps.”

In addition to God and his family, killing trophy-class whitetails is what makes Sommers tick. He readily admits that he is obsessed with killing big bucks. After talking with him for a few hours, I realized there isn’t one thing Sommers does that makes him successful. What makes him successful is a routine he refuses to deviate from. He is successful because he is always willing to try something new. He is successful because of his willingness to work hard and go the extra mile -- if that is what it takes to arrow the big one.

Sommers readily admits he is no rocket scientist. He is a no-nonsense guy who consistently kills big deer. He has no secret for success. He has no secret potion he uses that whitetails can’t resist. What he does have is a list of things he knows he must do if he wants to take a trophy. History has taught him if he does everything on that list each time hunting season rolls around, he stands a pretty good chance of being successful. If he deviates from the things on his list, if he cuts a corner, if he forgets a step in the routine, his chances of success decrease dramatically.

If you are reading this and you think killing a big buck every year is nothing more than a distant dream, realize that it can be done. It will take hard work, dedication and placing the importance of arrowing a big buck right up there with eating every day.

Matt Sommers reminds me of well-known trophy hunters we all know and respect, those who pay attention to every little detail and leave nothing to chance. By devouring everything the masters before him have written, Sommers has been able to achieve success. The rest of us can read Sommers’ story and increase our odds by realizing the biggest thing all whitetail fanatics have in common is the obsession with the details. Putting an arrow in the heart of a trophy buck is the result of paying attention to all of the little things that most of us overlook.