1. Hunt with the wind mostly in your favor, but at such a direction that the deer you are hunting feel like it is in their favor. If you have to bail out at 9 in the morning and let the wind finish shifting...do it! This exact thing happened to us a couple weeks ago (we knew it would by the forecast). We left the stand just as it switched enough to hurt us even though we were seeing deer every 10 mins or so still. Got down at 915, came back and sat the opposite side of the area at 1115 and killed one at 1125.

2. Be willing to hunt in the middle of the day. From Nov 4 to Nov 12 this year, every shooter I saw (at least one per day) was between 10 and 3. None seen morning or eves.

3. Choose a stand that allows easy access. Easy in, easy out with minimal disturbance from visual, scent, and noise standpoints. Getting "way back in" ain't all it's cracked up to be. But...don't confuse "easy" with "short walks".

Bonus 4. Shoot some does so you can learn how to shoot deer. I feel it is very important for me to make sure to get that feeling, that real life shot sequence back in my head every year. I know my success on killing bucks would go down if I only shot at shooter bucks each year (or once every two years, etc.). There is no substitute for actual kills when it comes to experience.