As a hunter it's easy to forget that you are a predator. At least in my brain when I think of a predator visions of a wolf or raptor come to mind, maybe even a tyrannosaur, not a human with thousands of dollars worth of gear waiting in the woods for a deer. We are however predators, so it stands to reason then if we can be a better predator we can be more successful hunters.
Becoming a better predator
The first step of being the best predator that you can be is to control what you can control to the best of your ability. Doing everything you can to be as scent free as possible, moving in the woods when your prey is dormant, and having a stand site selected and prepared well before the season begins.
Hunting Plan
As a disclaimer: I am a mobile saddle hunter who hunts almost exclusively on public land. I think the best strategy is to sit in your favorite spots sparingly. This makes deer less on edge when you do hunt it. It also forces me to find new trees to sit in. I keep a running list of trees to hunt marked in my GPS app. I visit these trees in August when deer are still on their summer pattern to ensure I still have a shooting lane, and the tree will be huntable when I come back with my bow.
Here is how I go about making a hunting plan
I make a list of all of my huntable trees
I decide when I will sit in which tree (this will change as the season starts, but it helps for planning)
I decide at what stage of deer season I want to sit in which tree.
a. Early Season Sept 15 to Oct 15: afternoon hunts between bedding and food, and staging points
b. Pre-rut Oct 15 to Nov 10: morning hunts in bedding areas, afternoon hunts on heavy use corridors to food sources. Halloween on all day hunts on primary scraping areas.
c. Rut Nov 11 to Nov 30: all day hunts, post up in cover. Be patient this time of year is incredibly boring with spurts of ridiculous action.
d. Post Rut Dec 1 to End of Bow season: I have never been good at hunting this time of year. Focus on the cover that is still holding deer, and focus on food sources. We will have to learn this together.
What makes a good hunting spot?
Many books have been written on this topic, and rightfully so. Here are a few spark notes to get you started, just remember bowhunting is an adventure not a destination.
Be in or close to the brush. If the forest is too open deer, especially bucks, will avoid it during daylight hours.
Be able to get high enough. Every foot higher you get in the tree makes you less and less visible to the deer beneath you. How high is high enough? Bottom of feet to ground 18 feet. I sit bottom of feet to ground 20 feet. This is why I saddle hunt because I can get to 20 foot in a tree with no screw ins or pegs. Over 20 seems like overkill to me, but that is up to you. One of my favorite oak trees I sit nearly 30 feet because it is a really comfortable spot. I would never hunt in a tree I couldn't get to 18 feet it's a waste of your time.
Think about a shooting lane. How are you going to arrow this deer? If you are on public your options are limited, but the dead stuff can be removed. A little prep work goes a long way to success.
Entry/Exit How will you get in the tree without disturbing the deer you are trying to hunt. Pro tip: Don't walk in on your shooting lane, that is for deer. How will you exit without alerting the woods to the fact that you were there.
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Bowhunting is hard, have a plan do some preparation and you have a chance. The next year you will be more experienced and can make better plans. Do that for 5 years and you will be amazed at how much you have grown as a hunter. Sadly there isn't an easy button short of paying somebody else to do the homework. Hard work pays off and practice makes perfect.