You can learn what the deer is likely to do, but you cannot dictate when he will do it. And one thing I haven' t seen mentioned here is time on the stand.

After you have done everything you know how to do to put yourself in the best spot, and you pictured in your mind what might happen at your stand, I would say that a lot of smart hunters don' t give it time to happen.

This is especially true on opening day. How many hunters do you know get out before daylight on opening day, and roll back into camp at 9:30 or 10:00 because they expected to see a herd of deer at sun up? Heck, it seems like I see most of my deer between 8:00 and 10:30. I call it the " hot time." My rule on opening day is go prepared to sit all day. Don' t leave until you shoot what you have planned to shoot. Whether it be a doe for meat, or whatever has been making the biggest tracks around your stand. If you catch that buck trying to sneak back to his comfort zone at noon, I wouldn' t call it luck.

When you work hard in the off season, and put the time on the stand, I really don' t call it luck.

Now, the luck comes in to play when you are trying to get a good nights sleep before the alarm goes off at 4:00 a.m. in November.

C. Davis