It's good that he has been practicing this year, especially out of a stand. Now he has no excuse to miss this time. If you have not done it already get out there before the season opens and range a perimeter around his stand of say 25-30 yards and either mark it, or use landmarks as reference points. This way he will not have to guess yardage as much. If a deer walks inside that circle he will know he can take it. It takes a lot of the stress out when shooting a deer.

Make sure he knows not to rush the shot as well. If it wants to get closer, let it. And wait until it is relaxed and envision the path the arrow will take thru the deer. Like you hear a lot of us say, aim for the exit wound.

I hope he does great this year. I understand his mistake last year of getting down too soon. The first deer I shot I had a really hard time staying in the stand as well. And I was in my mid 30's, not a 12 year old kid. It's pretty exciting stuff.

Paul