Welcome to the board and to deer hunting. As you have read, a lot of the "luck" is directly related to where you hunt. If you are in an area with a large deer population, then your chances are better. I got a deer on my first hunt, but I know that doesn't happen to many people. I was in a good spot. Like Stork and Halcon said, spend as much time as you can in the woods. Off season is a good time to just watch the deer and you'll be suprised at what you can learn from that. Good luck with your hunting.