A helpful tip in the wintertime; use a children's snow sled to easily drag your deer out of the woods. A real time saver!!

After dragging a deer for almost 2 hours a few years ago, I  have found an easier way to get your deer out of the woods. Put a 4-foot by 4-foot plastic tarp folded in your day pack. After dressing out your deer, wrap the deer in the tarp, and put rope through he eyelets on the tarp and tighten. It is now ready to drag out. The tarp keeps out dirt and debris, and the deer slides along the ground a lot smoother. This works great when you have snow on the ground.

To help find your stand in woods in the dark, put small bicycle reflectors on your stand with double face tape. A small flashlight is all you will need to find it in the dark.

Tampons are are great scent wicks. Tampons are sent free and sterile and come in their own sent free package, they also have their own string to hang them up in a tree, or use to drag behind for a sent line. 

To assist in finding arrows try putting a 1/4-inch piece of reflective tape around the end of your arrows between the noc and the fletching. It will not affect the flight of your arrow, but will help you to find your arrows in the dark much easier. You just shine your light around, and the tape will make your arrow light up.

The best natural sound to produce a shock gobble that I've found is a  coyote howler and locator call.  They go ballistic in the mornings with that one.

After the season, put you diaphragm calls in a baggie and then place them in the refrigerator. This will keep them conditioned for next seasons hunt.

If you hear a hen on one side of you and a Tom on the other, move between them and use the real Hen's noise to call the Tom. It works!

I think the most important thing when hunting is to just be patient. That's what always made my hunting trips successful.

When aiming your weapon at a moving deer, a whistle or a grunt will usually stop the deer long enough for a shot.

If you're a smoker and hunting from a tree stand, use a 35mm film container to put your ashes and butts in.  It helps with the smell and you don't litter.  Empty it at home.

On the first day of deer season, a good idea is to pack a lunch and sneak into the woods early. Then just sit tight for the rest of the day, and when hunters enter and exit the woods they will spook deer your way

Look for scrapes and rubs along trails or in a broad area of land. Before hunting the scrape, pour buck urine on the scrape, hunt it 1-3 days later in a climbing tree stand using antlers and a buck call. The side of the trail in which a buck has made a rub is the side it is coming from.

When deer hunting and deer are running past your deer stand, don't worry so much about putting the cross hairs on the deer.  I have learned that when deer are close and running to just fill the scope with fur and squeeze the trigger.  If you concentrate on the crosshairs on this type of shot, you will often miss the deer. 

Hunting is tough on the feet, but if you carry an extra pair of  socks and change them at noon, it can make you feel like new person.  Be sure your socks are made of wool.  If changing in the field and you're deer hunting, carry a Zip Lock bag to put your dirty socks in so the  deer don't get wind of you ...  and to be kind to your fellow hunters. (Ha-Ha!)

After shooting a deer, approach it carefully and watch its eyes. If they are open and glassy, the animal is probably dead. However, watch out if the eyes are closed, because the deer may be only wounded or stunned.

Dents can be removed from the stocks of guns by covering the dented area with a damp cloth and pressing it with a hot iron. The steam lifts the dent up to a level of the wood. You may need to do this several times if it is a deep dent.

Home Brew Muzzle Loader Cleaner
16 oz. water
4 oz. peroxide
2 oz. Lestoil
1 oz. water soluble cooking oil.