What would you do different?

[UntouchableNess]

I ignored 35 years of intel on one property, failed to hunt out of a tree I missed a huge buck many years ago. The tree is in a corner. I went in deeper with the LW this fall, walked past a trail cam hung at the corner. On the way out, pulled the SD card and a target buck went by an hour before I went in. Should have hung the stand in that corner instead of going in deeper and been there earlier. Hind sight is 20/20, but I should have known from years of hunting there.

Then, I got sparkled by another buck. Set up on ridge/field edge at this same property. The ridge is thick doe bedding and I set up on a side of it where a deer trail goes into the open field. I figured the bucks would scent check the bedding area. I was in a real nice oak, LW step strap just barely fit around the base. The tree leaned a bit to the west, so with the stand on the east side, it was a nice comfy sit. I saw a buck run the next ridge to the north, so moved over there to hunt. On the way out, check a trail cam on a tree next to the oak I had been hunting out of before the move. The cam caught me going in at 8 am, the big boy I was after was under the stand at 11:30 am. Should have stayed in that tree. On the up side, I did get a better look (7 yards from the base of the oak I moved to) at the "sparkly" buck that had me move, real nice up and comer with good G2 and G3 tine length, G4's just bump, hopefully see him next fall.

[Dpoole90]

Keep fresh batteries in my head lamp. I lost a big ol doe to a bobcat, my light was fading and I lost blood 50yds from her so I backed out and returned the next morning to find her all chewed up.
Not beat my self up for being too aggressive on setting up on buck bedding. Pre rut I pushed 10yd to far and jumped a 3.5yr old 8pt. He was the first buck of the season that I was effectively hunting down. The day before I was set up just out of bow range. 2 weeks later I was scouting my way in on a new peice of public and felt like I knew where a buck would be bedding due to wind and terrain but was to conservative with my set up and hung too far back and watched at giant get up out of the bedroom that I suspected and go the direction I suspected but I was 80yds away.
So I need to brush off that busting a buck and just go get after them.
Run more trail cams. This was the first year I ran a trail cam in years. It helped me put together a couple peices of the puzzle on the location of the 3.5yr old.

[WVArcher32]

I've had a very below average season.

My biggest thing is I don't get in a hurry early season. I think I have all season to kill a nice buck and before you know it, I'm out of time. Granted a lot of times in WV, it can be 75-80 degrees late September/early October so I skip out on hunting/scouting until the weather is cool, but I need to get that blockade out of my mind and hunt. There was an instance when I had a decent buck patterned early season and I didn't hunt him because I thought I had all season. Turns out, I'm going to eat my tag.

I love when it's 75 degrees here in late september! It's often 95, so I'm expecting increased deer movement if it cools off that much!

Yeah, that is true. Maybe I should have wrote I don't want to hunt when it's 85 not 75. Because there was a day early this fall I hiked in with no shirt on, wish I would have had shorts and crocs too.

[Bowmet]

I would’ve aimed further to the left

Same…and about 3 inches lower