As the season gets closer I think more and more. And today while sitting at a work meeting I was thinking of little tips and tricks and trying to refresh them In my head for the up coming season.
Those of you who have a good hunting tip post one up! ESP those that have earned a place in your arsenal or personal bag of tricks.  I know you guys have some good advice and ideas.

I think it was Barry  who said about recording info in a journal. That was one of the best tips I ever got. How easy to do and I don't forget from one year to the next all the info ninja accumulated in my brain from the previous season. It's all on paper for me to review now. Thanks Barry!

I had an older and more experienced gentleman give me this advice 25 years ago.

"When the deer is approaching your stand, relax...chill out...and focus.  If the deer knew you were there they wouldn't be".  

I still think of that every time a deer comes in, helps calm the nerves and not rush the shot.

Find a good spot, point your nose into the wind, sit down, be still, be quiet, shoot straight.

Hard to boil it down to one best tip since I am not a believer in anything is the best.  But when I give advice one that I give first is to spend as much time in the woods as you can without your bow.  Sit in a blind, tree stand or in the car with your kids and glass.  You can not over emphasize the amount of education you get by just watching the animal you intend to hunt.  I learn more from the deer that pass me by than the ones I shoot.

Best advice I was ever given - put your time in..... no tip or technique will ever matter if he walks by when you are not there.

It don't have to be just one tip. Can be as many as you want!

Another I have is to wrap you bow pull up rope in a figure 8 around your thumb and little finger. You can search the internet for pic but it works awesome!

During the full moon near the end of October hunt late mornings. Till around 1:30 has payed off. Evenings was never good for us during full moon. Ever...

If your not getting what you want with what your doing....then change what your doing ! Doing something different always produces different results ! Change is good and works both in hunting and in life itself !

The years that I worked in an archery shop we always had a few guys hanging around that just never seemed to be able to pull off a successful hunt. Always buying the latest "thing" that was going to insure a dead deer in the back of the truck. At some point in time I would tell each and every one of them to put their wallets back in their pocket and try one thing for me.Hunt fresh sign. Don't hunt a spot that "looks good". Deer know where they are going, they have been there before, and sign of their passing in on the ground. Make the commitment to never sit a stand that didn't have good fresh sign right in front of it. I helped many of those men track and recover their first deer.

Your path to a stand should be chosen as carefully as the stand spot itself.

A good set of ratcheting pruners will open up a chest cavity as easy as they will trim a shooting lane.

QuoteOriginally posted by Nathan Killen:
If your not getting what you want with what your doing....then change what your doing ! Doing something different always produces different results ! Change is good and works both in hunting and in life itself !

I did just this last year... I was walking far hunting deep and not seeing deer. I started hunting close to the. Parking areas n roads and started seeing way!! More deer. Puls the drag is nice

This is more a shooting tip:
Imagine all the directions a deer might approach and where you will take the shot. Then test-draw your bow to make sure you have clearance.

Hunting Tip:
This is very basic but I taught my son the difference between red and white oaks.

Okay one more for now...
Buy a kids plastc sled. Go burry it in the woods in a central location to where you hunt. Mark it. When you get a deer go get your sled and enjoy an easy drag. Wet leaves? Snow? Even better. It's amazing how well that plastic Sled works.

Keep the wind in your face ...

Scout as much as you can ... so you can hunt where the critters are not where they are not ...

Be safe and responsible ...

Practice, practice, practice and know your gear

and don't forget, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good ... but you need to be out there

Good luck this season and be safe

I think getting into your stand w/o spooking deer is #1.

Getting your shot before they cross your foot trail is a strong #2. Having them never cross your trail while walking thru is possible. There is no better education than seeing a deer out of range hitting your trail and turning around and going back.

Read Barry Wenzel's  Forcing luck. I have been doing many of what he suggests for years (but w/o his success).

I haven't hinged any trees yet but wouldn't hesitate to do it. I have placed brush piles to move deer for a better shot and seen them jump over it.  

-Know your effective range

-Hunt within your effective range

-Acknowledge and recognize the possibly volatile changes under the given circumstance, position, condition and the animals state of alert.

-Ascertaining your effective hunting range at the given moment may significantly increase your harvest success rate.

Keep the sun at you back and the wind in your face.  

Remember they are just as afraid of you as you are of them.
  :D

Always keep toilet paper and sanitizer in a ziplock bag in your pack.  You only have two sleeves. And wives get angry when you come home looking like you've been mauled cause you needed fabric. Just my two cents.

Use deer scents (brand doesn't matter). A few drops in a shooting lane can make a deer stop to inspect.
Especially downwind. Put some out so that the deer come to it before crossing your scent stream. Kind of a last chance thing.

Hunt where the deer are.

Just because a patch of land 'looks' perfect, doesn't mean there is anything there to hunt.
Junky, garbage strewn patches of tangled crap that are overlooked because they don't look like deer woods often hold the largest numbers.
Now that I think about it, the last 5 deer I've killed have been in sight of a rusty refrigerator or washing machine guts. I can usually smell people grilling & hear there stereos too!