Your personal rule of thumb?

[nybuckboy]

To help educate less experienced bow hunters and even help the more experienced hunter. Every hunter has one rule he never deviates from when he bow hunts to achieve success. What is yours?

[grampy]

Hunt the wind!!!!  If the wind is wrong you are not going to get a deer close enough for a shot. Keep the wind in your face. Everything else is moot, skill with your bow, property you hunt, if the deer are catching your wind before you even see them. Have multiple set ups for different wind directions and move if the wind shifts. The #1 thing I tell new hunters, pay attention to wind direction!

[wooly]

My top rule would be to deviate from the rules you never deviate from.

Don't limit yourself by becoming overly predictable with your tactics and style.

Every hunt is different. Whether it be the wind direction, or the phase of the rut, or the day of the week... you need to be flexible and learn to adjust accordingly or risk burning out your set ups.

 

There's a reason most of the better bucks get themselves killed the first time a stand is hunted.

[Jeremy K]

Don't force a shot you are not comfortable making, it sucks to see Billy big boy keep on walking but it would suck a lot more (at least it should or you don't belong in the woods hunting) to wound him with a bad shot.

[dbHunterNY]

there's always a few things that you always read or hear about that you should do.  however, those few things may or may not seem necessary to you and you've seemed to kill deer while ignoring them just fine.  the point is those things keep coming up, because they're proven to work.  stop ignoring those few things and it'll help!  may mean a filled freezer every year, maybe big bucks on the wall, or maybe having more exciting encounters. do those things and your hunting will improve.

[growalot]

Rule of thumb..Don't over think it...You practiced, feeling confident...GO HAVE FUN...if you think your not going to have an enjoyable sit...worried about what you may or may  not see...don't bother going..because you'd probably have more fun watching someone else  on TV hunt from the comfort of your couch....

Edited August 22, 2016 by growalot

[kpkot]

For a newer hunter my advice would be like others say, play the wind. Wind would be most important, not only on stand, but walking to your stand. Another tip is to wait for the best time to draw without the game seeing you. I like to wait for them to be facing away or walking behind a tree. Lastly, If you can swing it buy a second release and keep it in your bag. 

[Buckmaster7600]

Hunt the wind and spend all the money I used to spend on scent control on beer and chew. I used to be extremely anal about scent control and I now just hunt the wind and use common sense.


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[stoneam2006]

Don't shoot over the range you set as max. Even if it's a booner standing at 40 but your only comfortable to 30 don't take it. Better to wait for another day then wound him and let yotes get him

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[Bendog]

Don't take a shot on a big buck that you wouldn't take on a doe or smaller buck.....don't let rack influence your shotmaking decision.....

[Bowguy 1]

Ive heard the wind mentioned a few times next is rest your spots. The fresher they are the easier the hunt

Edited August 22, 2016 by Bowguy 1

[ATbuckhunter]

Get out when you can, hunt till the very last second you can and never give up. Also practice with your weapon of choice, become proficient with it and learn what shots you can and cant take. Try to learn basic deer anatomy as well. 

[landtracdeerhunter]

Find a niche, special to you the hunter. Something special, maybe not many do. I prepare and eat a nice breakfast, while in the stand at least once a hunting season. So much fan to prepare and the greatest to eat.

[Core]

As good as I may think I am shooting foam my accuracy at deer is way less; no hail mary's.

[NFA-ADK]

Persistence, NEVER GIVE UP!  Number one rule!

  Be an expert marksman (or woman) with your weapon, or as good as you are capable, know its trajectory.  Be prepared.  If shooting a deer is your main goal, SCOUT!  The hunters who get deer legally every year usually scout.  

Never enter the woods without my compass, GPS and above all my basic grunt call and doe cans.  

[grampy]

45 minutes ago, NFA-ADK said:

Persistence, NEVER GIVE UP!  Number one rule!

  

This can be the difference between deer or no deer! The hunter that never gives up. They are out there when is's too cold, warm, raining, snowing, windy,  deer aren't moving, too tired to get up in the morning and a hundred other excuses. The most consistent hunters are the ones with fewer excuses!

[philoshop]

Positive attitude!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." -- Henry Ford

[DirtTime]

10 minutes ago, philoshop said:

Positive attitude!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." -- Henry Ford

Knowing the limitations of myself and my gear. If my comfortable range with a bow is 30 yards, I hope for closer then 25. Always tell people where I will be and a time I will be back.

[Core]

38 minutes ago, grampy said:

This can be the difference between deer or no deer! The hunter that never gives up. They are out there when is's too cold, warm, raining, snowing, windy,  deer aren't moving, too tired to get up in the morning and a hundred other excuses. The most consistent hunters are the ones with fewer excuses!

It's so true. I was getting burned out last year and the excitement I had on the first day of hunting in early October had turned into "ugh, I do not want to" a month later. I barely dragged my tired ass out of bed on that dark November morning but glad I did, as two hours later I had my first deer. I went out once with a guy last year. He went out twice, two hours at a pop, and got nothing. Asked him if he's going out again. He's "too busy" this year to hunt. I guarantee I'll be in the woods this year at some point while he's literally asleep in his bed. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

I'm the opposite, the bow season gets better and better as it goes. I have a hard time getting excited in October especially in the morning. Evenings early, all day or as much as I can hunt in November

[Buckmaster7600]

I'm the opposite, the bow season gets better and better as it goes. I have a hard time getting excited in October especially in the morning. Evenings early, all day or as much as I can hunt in November

Every year I tell myself I'm not hunting much in October, and every year 20 or more sits during the first month.


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[wolc123]

The rule of of thumb that concerns me most these days is keeping things right with Jesus Christ.   If you can manage to do that, everything else just seems to fall in place (not only hunting).  The Bible says He knows where every sparrow falls so you better believe He knows where all the whitetails end up.    He has helped me get 3-4 into my family's food supply (deer Heaven) for the last 10 or so years now, and filled my live-well with fish nearly every time I have been out.   If you don't know where to start, try reading the Bible a bit each day (first thing in the morning works for me).  Throw one into your pack and read it when things get slow up in the stand.   A little prayer now and then can't hurt, nor can a church service, and doing something nice for the less fortunate always pays off more than it costs.     

[nyslowhand]

Don't limit yourself by setting rules you know you'll never faithfully follow! Adrenalin has a way of over-powering sound reasoning or better judgement! Difficult to not take that shot that's beyond your effective range, the deer is oriented for a poor shot placement, a walking deer or you get hypnotized by a big rack glistening in the sun - after you've been sitting in a tree for days. weeks w/o seeing anything! Been there, done that and always wish I had that arrow back right after pulling the trigger/release. I digress....

 

Anyways, to a new bow hunter:

• Practice until you're confident and consistent out to a given range. Then shoot beyond that & you'll see what'll happens if you shoot too far. Hail Mary shots are rarely successful and have consequences!
• Hunt for the enjoyment of all it offers! If it ain't fun or you just can't roll out of bed on that rainy morning - by all means stay home and enjoy the family. As soon as you make hunting a task, it's no longer enjoyable!
• The more you hunt the better you'll understand whitetail behavior, the more successful you'll get and learn from your mistakes! There is a steep learning curve to deal with, so don't get frustrated!
• Oh yeah, buck fever! Once you've decided to shoot, range the distance, pick the point of your arrow's impact (vitals), focus on that target point and DO NOT look back at the headgear. Easier said than done!??!
• The longer you've hunted the better you'll be able to sift through the advice given by others and use what's applicable to your situation! My hunting situation probably differs from yours, so my advice may not be applicable. Feel free to call BS on my tips or tactics and disregard them!! AND... as you have seen from another topic, take those reality hunting shows on TV with a grain of salt!!!

[Chef]

The rule of of thumb that concerns me most these days is keeping things right with Jesus Christ.   If you can manage to do that, everything else just seems to fall in place (not only hunting).  The Bible says He knows where every sparrow falls so you better believe He knows where all the whitetails end up.    He has helped me get 3-4 into my family's food supply (deer Heaven) for the last 10 or so years now, and filled my live-well with fish nearly every time I have been out.   If you don't know where to start, try reading the Bible a bit each day (first thing in the morning works for me).  Throw one into your pack and read it when things get slow up in the stand.   A little prayer now and then can't hurt, nor can a church service, and doing something nice for the less fortunate always pays off more than it costs.     

Dude can you please go find a Jesus forum for this crap and let us talk about hunting I'm sick and tired of reading your religious B.S. Every time I log on to this site... Please talk about hunting not God


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[regulat0r]

good advice ITT...something I will add is...

if you see a deer out of range, or a doe you do not want to shoot, or a small buck etc...watch and study it as long as you can. i feel that i have become a much better hunter by observing first hand deer near me. some things i look for are...

-how fast is the deer walking and why

-when does it look around

-what is the tail doing

-how does it interact with other deer

=how does it react if it picks up your scent

learn as much as you can and it will make you more prepared when a deer you want to shoot comes into your area.