Scouting and practicing are importand as is stand set up. You don't need a rangefinder if you hunt on your own land and can pace off the distances in your shooting lanes. In the summer you can mark these distances with little flags the deer will ignore them come fall. As far as cow prints versus deer, this should be obviuos there are a lot of resources and maybe someone can go scouting with you. In the late summer can you glass the areas at a distance, see where the deer are moving? As far as missing low,practice practice practice at 3-D targets and from you treestand or balcony etc. I know it seems cumbersome but the practice is really important! Good Luck to you. Oh BTW for your first deer don't hold out for a big buck any legal sized deer will do!