In January (or whenever the rut is in your area), the amount of time spent on stand is more important than when you get to your stand.

Bucks can be tall, wide, or heavy - shooter's have 2 of the 3 qualities.

If you don't think he's a shooter (to you), he probably isn't. When you first see a 'shooter,' you know immediately, especially during the rut, and you better be ready. 3 of the 4 bucks I've killed, I've shot within 10 seconds of seeing them, the other was leisurely eating in a green field on opening day and I got lucky.