Man I learned so much....Second year bowhunting and I got my first deer - a small 6 point that was 15 yards away completely downwind. Then a week later I got an 8 point at 10 yards away during 30 mph winds. My first year hunting I became focused on becoming a good archer but I didn't see any deer. This year I focused on hunting and finding deer. Some of my lessons learned are below:

I learned how effective Scent Lok products are. I had my scent lok dakota and a scent lok head/face cover and my bucks never knew I was there. I was working all day and all sweaty and stinky but the scent lok covered my stink up!A weeklater I got a nice8 point at 10 yards from a tree saddle. I learned how much I like the tree saddle. I was able to completely move around the tree to shoot at that buck since he was directly to my right. At 10 yards he never saw me because I kept the tree between me and the deer. I never could have done this in a traditional tree stand. Also, I was able to call two deer back to me after they had after they had left using a bleat can (one doe, one buck). I'm convinced that bleat cans work when used the right way. I also learned that hunting in severe wind is not a waste of time as proven by my 8 point. I learned that my tiny little compact broadheads don't leave a very good blood trail even with a double lung shot. I plan on trying a mechanical next year. And I learned how hard it is to blood trail a deer at night, even with the brightest lights and lanterns. Next time I'll just wait till morning and walk right up to my deer like I did this year.... I learned a ton this year. I learned alot from you guys - Thanks!