What to do
 

So I am a new bowhunter and I am in need of guidance. I have a bow, camo, mild tracking abilities, and scent block. I am looking for any advice from all the bowhunting veterans on tips or tricks, as well as some knowledge of public hunting land in the North metro area.

Make sure you wear a Harness if you hunt from a Treestand. Good Luck this season and welcome to the site.

Hatchet Jack

Practice a lot,know Your yardage and have lots of patients....make only good shots You know are going to be good clean kills.After shooting a Deer wait 30 minutes to an hour before tracking if You don't see the Deer go down?If You think You've made a bad hit and hit too far back or low gut shot wait even longer or back out quietly and search much later and get experienced help!

As mentioned wear a safety harness and enjoy the time out,some times Your Hunt can go quickly and other times it can take days before You have a Deer come even close enough for a shot!

Binoculars are a good tool to use as well as a range finder.

Are there any good quick setup treestands to look into?

Latter stands are OK. If you know anyone that hunts with a climber have them show the ropes on using one, they are very comfortable and mobile, and I feel safer in my summit than any other type tree stand I have ever used. Pop up blinds are quick, safe and mobile. Just all depends on what you want to do.

Get out and scout, now is the time, early mornings and evenings find out where they are moving through to get to food and their bedding areas. Then you will be able to find a good spot for a stand.

Your question is so big, you can't really get a good answer in a single book. The tips given so far are good. What you really need is to makes friends with someone willing to teach you the sport. Beyond that, the deer will teach you a lot. A simple minded deer in the woods will make you feel like a fool.

Hunt the wind! If the winds not in your face,the deer won't be in your eyes!!! :s4:

I would say one of the keys to success is playing the wind. As mentioned before always keep the wind in your face. If you find a good spot don't ruin it by over hunting it or hunting during the wrong wind. It's pretty easy to find where the deer are moving, just need to figure out if it evening movement or morning. You can usually tell this by the location of the food sources. Put all this together with some of the previous advice and that should get you on the right track. One last thing. You should be able to draw your bow back while sitting down. If you can not then it's set to high. Good luck

If ground hunting, make sure you clear out the leaf litter, twigs, etc where your standing. This will provide a near silent pad to allow you to move (slowly) on.

Hunting the wind is crucial. Get a windchecker app on your smartphone (I use one by Primos). Also helpful is a talcum powder squeeze bottle to visually check where your stink is blowing.

Plan your movements so your not stomping out the paths deer will be taking and move silently as possible enroute to the spot you will be hunting.

While in your stand, conserve your movements and if you have to move, make it slow. The deer will see you before you see them if you don't control every movement. Even scratching your nose, or turning your head to scan the area should be slow and methodical. Have fun with it, go back to the days when you were a boy in the woods and pretending you were GI Joe stalking Cobra.

Once set up in your spot/stand, put your rifle/bow in a position that enables you to swing into shooting position with as little movement as possible. Nothing is more nerve racking than getting spotted by the deer because you moved to much to swing your bow/rifle into shooting position. Also, as soon as you get set up in the stand, practice swinging it into position a half dozen times so you don't overthink it when you see a buck

Know that hunting isn't merely about the killshot. It's about developing and always improving the skillset needed to go into another animal's world, scout it, pattern it, predict it, outsmart it, stalk it, kill it, shoot it, process it, cook it and eat it.

For me, the more I get into the primal aspect of hunting, the more I enjoy the hunt. I get into my head as much as I did when I was a kid in my backyard pretending to be Rambo or GI Joe. Sounds a little looney, yes I know. But it's too much fun to care about what other's may think, lol

Its late to go scouting now, stop at a gun shop or retail store start talking to folks, they will help you out and give you some ideas.

Scouting never really ends, a deers habits and movements will change throughout the year.