Your Top 10

[adrenalin]

Seems like a lot of talk lately about trying to get an advantage over the deer. Whether it's scent control,relying on your knowledge of the animal, or having the newest equipment. If you had to list 10 things in the order of importants that you rely on to be successful what would they be? I'll bet we get alot of different responses. Be honest, not what you think you should be doing but haven't yet.

[Bucky]

1. time/scouting/prep/stand time
2. access to quality spots private/public/out of state
3. topo maps
4. aerial photos
5. warm comfortable clothing & the right boots - I use Cabelas Outfitter Wool/Alaskan Wool Series/Justin Charles Merino Wool - boots I have 4 sets non insulated, insulated 800 grams, muck boots, Pac boots
6. X2 Eblerstock Pack - I can pack my Lone Wolf/Summit into the Pack + all day gear
7. Lone Wolf Hang On & Sticks
8. Summit Climber - all day sits
9. trail cameras - lots of them
10. Understanding wife

Not in that order, but those are 10 things I think are important to my hunting success... time and understanding wife are the top 2

[huntinfool14]

1. Scouting/proper stand placement/havent alot of stands to choose from
2.food plots
3.having the right weapons and faith in them
4.Scent blocker clothing..i do think it helps..i dont think it takes your scent away completely but helps
5.hunting the wind
6.trail cameras
7.the right camo pattern for certain trees
8.the right access to and from your treestands
9.www.weather.com
10.persistance..out in a tree no matter what the condition is like until i get a buck

[dan]

1) Quaulity Scouting

2) Mobile hunting / not hunting the same positions multiple times,.

3) Posting as close as possible to a buck bedding area to get daylight movement

4) Hunting smart ( waiting to hunt a certain spot for the right wind, weather, time, etc.

5) Studying and knowing the buck I am hunting and his habits and hangouts.

6)Ability to be versitile and hunt differing situations (ground, 25 feet up, 10 feet up, off a step ladder, stalking, etc.)

7) Time in the woods. You don't shoot big bucks sitting on the couch.

8) Being quiet. Sounding like other critters, getting there early to let sounds be forgotten, silencing my equipment

9) Stand placment

10) being proficiant with equipment. Accuracy.

This was off the top of my head, given time I might change something.

[Dor]

1. Location. You can't kill whats not there.
2 thru 10 can vary.

[muddy]

1. Smart, efficient scouting. Wandering aimlessly is pointless, using topo and aerial maps to quickly deduce where to scout saves time when time is hard to be had.

2. Smart hunting. Get there early, stay late, approach/leave the stand the smartest way rather than the quickest way. Keep your head in the game while on stand, day dreaming has saved more than one big buck.

3. Scouting WHILE hunting. Pay attention to your surroundings when you're leaving or walking in, be quiet while doing so, that shot can present itself at odd moments.

4. Multiple hunting locations. Spread yourself around, give yourself as many stand locations as possible for as many wind directions as possible. More farms = more better

5. Mobile hunting. If you have an area that you can hunt on several wind directions just by moving 50-100 yards hang a stand for the dominant direction and then get a few other trees in the area ready for a stealth approach on a weird wind.

6. PLAY THE WIND.

7. Practice and be efficient with your weapon. Once season starts you should not stop shooting your bow. Practice with all hunting clothes on too.

8. Trail cameras are a God send.

9. Use equipment that you are confident in. If you believe that using a certain camo, broadhead, etc is a reason for your success then it is. Mental happiness, and confidence, is HUGE

10. Have fun. When hunting turns into work take a break for a day or two and get your head back into it. I know a ton of guys who shoot a buck after a week of crappy hunting only to turn around and be pissed off about it because they wouldn't have shot the buck under normal circumstances.

[magicman54494]

I look at it as a three prong approach.
All are equally important because without all three working success is very tough.

A great spot to hunt. As someone else said "you can't kill what ain't there"

knowledge of how to hunt those animals. Without the knowledge you will not put yourself in position to kill.

Having your equipment in top working order and being proficient with your equipment. What good is great land and knowledge if you can't make the shot or your stand squeeks at the wrong time or you misjudge the distance etc.

If you have all 3 clicking bucks will fall!

I see people all the time that focus on just one or two of these things and fail to score because they didn't focus on the other.

On a personal level I'm lacking on the land. I'm putting more effort into finding new places because my old places just aren't what they used to be. Spots change and I need to react faster when I see areas going down hill. After a solid month of hunting and not seeing anything over 120" it's time to make some changes!

[Arrowbender]

Ten is too many.
Like Magic, I feel there are three also.
Mine are:
Location
Opportunity
and Preparation.
These 3 pretty much cover it all.
I am very fortunate to have the opportunity( health, wife, land owners and money )to spend so much time at this passion that I always try to be prepared. I found that trying to self film can test my preparation a great deal. As far as location I seem to be losing them faster than I can find replacements.
Being prepared includes having all of what I feel is necessary equipment and being proficient at using it. It also includes entering and exiting your LOCATIONS properly.

[gjs4]

cant say theyre in order but will try

location-cant kill whats not there

knowledge of deer- rutphase, likes, bedding, feeding,behavior, etc

optics- binos are my bf

wind- and a stable wind

knowledge of specfific deer, grounf & area hunters- bucks, feeding patterns, other guys bad habits, aerials

quality gear (camo-predator, accustomed to weapon, gear for temps, lw run & gun millenium all day sits, etc)

a clear head- common sense wo overthinking, ability to change

time in the woods- more time prevails for many but would prefer the righ time and place regardless of phase. simply put and hopefully it is an understandable though complex premise

luck- and boy do i lack this one

and ???

[mrjbigfoot]

1. Scouting
2. Using trail cams when/where possible
3. Use of mineral licks/blocks when possible
4. Assessing travel, food, bedding & escape roots/funnels
5. Assessing approach paths for different wind conditions
6. Scouting trees to climb with my climber for best winds
7. Prepping trees to climb with my climber
8. Use of scent elimination & attractant scent
9. Getting up high in my stand (20-25 ft)
10. Spending as much time possible in the woods, especially pre-rut and rut!

[virginiashadow]

Location (not a great spot where I hunt but it has potential)
Scouting (picked up big time the last few years)
Time on stand (dwindling due to family responsibilities)

It seems that the last few years I have gotten more serious and have hunted smarter. BUT my hunting time is decreasing b/c of life. My family is the most important thing to me and my children's development is numero uno. So as I become a better hunter my hunting time is decreasing, so I am not really seeing the fruits of my labor. It is a tough pill to swallow, but those are the cards I am playing these days.

[GBTG]

1 Location (macro) especially for trophy class bucks.
2. Location (micro) scouting, stand placement preseason and stand prep for mobile stand hunting.
3. Using the proper wind for entry and stand location.
4. Knowing the deer habits in relation to the time period your hunting.
5. Time to hunt
6. Support of family to the addiction.
7. Knowing your weapon and shot selection.
8. Persistence.
9. Scent control I know it's kind of looked down upon here but my personal observation supports my scent control efforts result in downwind deer being less spooky when hitting my scent stream.
10. Luck

[Spysar]

Think outside the box.
Remember deer are individuals, just like people.
Trust your gut feelings.
Scout hard. (there are many forms of it)
Hunt hard.
Don't let it get stressful.
It ain't no fun, if it ain't no fun.
Get away from people.
Explore, a lot.
Gain at least one new spot a year......

Just some random thoughts, and like Dan said these are subject to change if I thought about it more...

[ryanm]

1 scout
2 scout
3 matching the right location and time of the season
4 mobility
5 hunt smart, play the wind, be quiet, still and attentive while on stand
6 online satellite mapping tools
7 knowing your weapon and shot selection. (thanks GBTG)
8 don't sleep in when it's time to be hunting
9 watch where other hunters hunt... be very selective who you share hunting locations with.
10 learn from consistently successful hunters

[GBTG]

Spysars buck personality. Definite good point for trophy hunters