I'm in my late twenties and have only been hunting for a few years. Since my family and friends don't hunt, I'm having trouble figuring out what techniques are required and what techniques are just good ideas. Do you have to do scents? What about calling? Do you need to be in a treestand or can you hunt from the ground if you lay in some brush?

Wow..there is no easy way to put this..techniques come with experience..and different techniques work for different hunters. You dont have to use calls or scent at all..you can just sit in a field and wait for one to step out..but..you generally wont get the big boy goin that route. If you really want to get in the game you must utilize scents and calls at the same time and the right time. Doe in heat scent for example..works during the rut..regular doe urine..pre rut and buck urine works pre rut..rut and post rut..the buck urine will make the dominate buck in the area think there is another buck tresspassing in his territory or tending his hot doe..rattling works through all three rut phases as well as grunting..but there are different grunts and growls you can make that sends a different message..and combining them almost always ends up with success if you do it at the right times and make the right sounds..using the right scents etc..i know it sounds a little confusing but the best way to learn is practice and through trial and error..the best thing to do is to purchase a dvd and watch it..read magazines and take notes

Spend as much time watching the deer on the properties that you hunt. You will begin to pick up certain little things, where they enter a field from, which direction they generally feed towards and where they exit the field. It'll be exciting when you start seeing a lot of deer so remember to be quiet, still, and move slowly, it's amazing how easy it is for you to spook em if your not careful. But listen to countrymudder, watch, read, and any time an old timer talks, listen and take notes. After a few years you'll start to put it together.

Have you had in luckharvesting any deer? If so start off by by analyzing those hunts. Try to think about everything you did right in your successes and implement them in future hunts. Then also think about what you could have done better. Like countrymudder its all about experience, mixed with a little luck. There is no substitue for time spent in the woods. As far as scents and calls thats personal preference. I have been deer hunting for about 15 years and I don't use attractant scents or calls. In my opinion, the single most important thing you can do to improve your chances at harvesting a deer is scent control. By that I mean being as free of human scent as you can be. I go to great lengths to control my scent. I do use a Fresh Earth cover scent to mask any remaining scents but I spray that on right before I step into the woods. When picking hunting locations focus on feeding areas. Before the rut bucks and does both will be there, during the rut does will be there thus the bucks will follow, after the rut the bucks will be back there refueling. I like to find the travel routes in and out of feeding areas because often if the does go out into a field to feed and the bucks will hang out on the fringes of the field. There is only so much you can be told mostly you will just have to use trial and error. There are several good magazines that discuss hunting strategie and even have illustrations of their points, i.e. Bowhinting and Peterson's. I know it is hard starting from scratch but it is all the more rewarding when you have done your homework and it pays off with you harvesting a nice deer, or whatever you may be hunting. GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE!!

yep your right bornhunter cant rule out the old timers..i got a swath of info from my dad and grandpa when i first started huntin..i started going with my dad when i was 4 and shot my firtst deer at 6..and im now 21..and ever since i stated hunting ive absorbed every word that was spoke to me or that i heard about huntin like a sponge and its proved successful..go to my..arkansas whitetails post and check out my most recent kills..proof of using scents and calls at the right place at the right time