With the opening of the regular hunting season for deer just a couple weeks away (the season opens Nov.15), the days prior to that are probably more critical to hunters' odds of success than are those of opening day and week. Why? Because the average firearms deer hunter has probably not shot his firearm or scouted where he plans to hunt since last fall.
Certainly luck always plays a part in successful deer hunting – being in the right place at the right time – but the hunter's odds increase proportionately with the amount of time they've spent scouting the area they plan to hunt. Just plunking down on the same log you saw deer from last fall is no guarantee you'll see them this season. Things like logging, food source changes and hunter movement patterns all play a role in where deer are and how they react.
With so many hunters choosing to sit on watch, if there are no hunters moving about in the area they're in, the deer will not be forced to move unnecessarily. So effective stand locations boil down to those routes used early and late in the day as deer move to and from feeding areas. If a sufficient number of hunters are moving, then the best routes are those the deer use to avoid or escape the hunters. If either the primary food source locations or moving hunter density patterns have changed since last fall, so will the deer movement patterns have changed.
No hunter likes to admit they're poor marksmen, but unfortunately many are, regardless of the firearm they use to hunt deer with. Generally, the trusty deer gun stays in the gun rack the majority of the year, and only comes out a day or two before opening day to fire a couple rounds at a target. Satisfied the gun still shoots accurately, it probably won't be fired again until a deer appears during the open season. Often in his excitement – coupled with only having shot the gun once or twice since last year – the hunter either misses or makes a poor shot. I compare this to a golfer who expects to hit an accurate drive after not hitting his driver for the last year.
Little things also play a role in deer hunting. Things like pre-planning your approach to your hunting or stand area so you won't spook deer en route. And what about sudden changes in the predominate wind direction – where your scent will be carried downwind to the very area deer are most likely to come from? Better to have at least a couple stand locations picked out that will avoid that and allow you to change locations should the wind not be favorable.
