I think too many folks take it way to seriously. Trail cams, scents, scent suits, walkers game etc. Are you kiddng me? My grampa bolted a 1/2 barrel to a tree and crawled up in it and sat in he overalls and flannel, tagged a buck every season. I grew up and pretty good deer country, Illinois. Deer were scarce back in the day, and a doe was gather round occurance. I can still remeber my dad sneaking around with his old double barrel and slugs, but he put meat on the table. I thought back then that deer hunting was really the only reason to live. I moved to Montana many years ago and started hunting other game, and deer hunting took a long back seat. I manage to crack out after some whitetails now and again, but is just not the same. Frankly, it is ridiculously easy. The area I hunt here I have killed 4 bucks and 2 does in 5 hunts, thats 5 hunts not years. I'm I a good deer hunter? No, not really. I just sneak around the forest and glass, then shoot.Other areas I'm sure its more difficult. I think deer hunting is way too hyped with all the videos etc.
At the end of the day, it is just a deer. The real value in deer hunting is the time in the woods with family and friends, the time a camp, and all the stories you accumulate over the successful seasons, and the ones not so successful. I confess that most of our fond memories of camp, do not involve the taking of a deer, but in the scenarios and mishaps that occured. If your focus on deer hunting is to get the "big one", I believe you are missing the best that hunting has to offer, and you won't find that in a 150" buck, on a video, or in any technical goods you tote in the woods. Once in a while, it's good to pull out grampa's old 30/30 open site, and just stalk thru the woods remembering the deer that fell to this rifle. We all grow old, and somedayI won't be able to take those strolls thru the timber, but my memories will carry me back to those hunts, andI doubtI will much care whether or not I saw a deer, only that I was blessed enough to have been there.