Power

Great advice so far guys, especially BullWinkle's sums up a lot of them nicely.

GoreTex. I've tried dozens of other 'waterproof/breathable' garmits and none ever work as well. Buy GoreTex or don't bother. Boots, coat, gloves, those are the big 3. Make sure your coat has an attached hood, ones that snap/zipper on or off WILL be left at home or lost and they leak when it's really wet and cold.

Buy the best glass you can. Cheap scopes or binos will eventually fail, usually when you want/need them the most. Good glass is worth it, trust me.

Always know your backstop. I came within an inch of shooting a grouse once with my rifle. I held off, knowing there was a camp around the corner in years past and sure enough, there was one this time too. That would have been a really bad day for me and anyone in that camp.

Stay out all day, every day. I've got a few of my deer/elk in the middle of the day when everyone else was back at camp for lunch.

ab_newfie

???
Your kidding right?

Schultzy

This person says it all! Good hunting ethics makes all of us look good. Thats the best thing you can do, non huntersmay think hunting is ok when they here of someone saying good things about you and its also good fire power when animal rights people here of this! Hunting ethics is everything my friend so never ever forget that!

djschuett

You can't shoot a deer when you're not in the woods.

Likewise, you can't shoot a deer when you're sleeping This sounds obvious, but from experience, there is nothing more embarassing than falling asleep and having your dad come check on you, see you're sound asleep and having him shoot a deer 30 yards from you while it watches you snore!

Get a good night sleep (as best as you can, I personally have such a huge adrenaline rush the night before I hardly sleep a wink).

Don't be afraid to drink caffeine to keep awake. The 5 min of hunting time you lose to pee an extra time is better than an hour lost to an un-planned nap.

Bring lunch with you, this way when everyone else is heading out to get lunch and spooking deer in every direction, you're set up for the shot.

Bring toilet paper, it has two uses; the other is to mark your blood trail as you follow it. It's a helluva lot easier to follow toilet paper stuck to trees than to re-locate a drop of blood.

Site your gun in every year.

Leave a map of approximately where you'll be hunting with your wife or someone who isn't going hunting with you.

Handwarmers and feet warmers. Nothing is more miserable on stand than frozen toes and feet!

Warm boots, preferably rubber.

Know what is in the distance in every direction, that way you know where it is safe and unsafe to shoot. No deer is worth taking a chance of overshooting and hitting another hunter.

Control your scent as much as possible, I store my hunting clothes in a sealed box with pine branches from the area where I hunt, I don't shower, shave or wear deodorant the day of, and I avoid coffee or any other strong smelling liquids. That said, my dad used to smoke on stand and has shot more deer in his life than I have.

Control your movements as much as possible. When you do have to get up, be smooth and slow. My doe last year was 50 yards from me behind a brush pile. I stood up slowly to pee and there she was. I slowly got my gun, aimed, took off safety, and fired. She never knew I was there.

Each year when you go hunting, give your wife/significant other permission to go buy a new outfit/purse/whatever she wants within budget restraints. This way she learns to associate hunting with buying things she wants which makes her excited about hunting in an indirect way. This will make it much easier for you to go hunting in the future without getting a massive guilt trip or a 2 month exile from the holy land.
My wife's mom would always take her shopping when her dad and brothers went hunting, so this association was already set up for me. She looks forward to hunting season almost as much as I do!

Take your sons/nephews/cousins/daughters/nieces/friends' kids hunting. They are the future of the sport. If the youngest generation never learns to hunt and all they know about hunting is the anti-crap spewed on TV and the internet, we will watch our right to hunt be taken.

Know your range and your own accuracy. If you know you're accurate out to 100 yards, don't try to force a 120 yard shot where you may wound the animal and never find it.

Most of all, be safe, be smart, and have fun! No deer is worth shooting a hole in your foot or in someone else. Enjoy nature and having nothing to worry about but the hunt!

Power

Nope. Here in Washington you can shoot grouse with basically any weapon. A lot of the hunters here have shot grouse off the ground or out of a tree with their hunting rifle, usually while deer or elk hunting. Pretty stupid unless you are very sure of you backstop obviously (and the reason for my post) but it is legal.

savage3006

Don't listen to what others are telling you on the Internet

Jimmy S

Before you even think of packing the old rife, compass, rope, camo,etc, etc...
The number #1 thing:
Flowers,preferably Roses and lots of them for the wife or girlfriend or mother...

If you do that, you might even get an extra day or two during the season....

ab_newfie

WOW, it works I guess, like you say if your careful. I don't think I'd shoot a grouse in a tree with a rifle, though, seems dangerous to me.
I usually carry my .410 or 12 gauge in the truck, thats when I'll shoot a grouse. But if I'm stalking, there is no need to shoot the grouse cause I might spoke the big game animal I'm after, so the sotgun(s) stay in the truck.

dippinfirefighter05

gotta love washington, i try to keep my .17 or .410 in the truck with us for grouse but there comes the times that you forget them, use the ol .30-30 or .30-06 and pick the head of them off, like powers said make very sure of your backstop before doing it though

StillHunter90

Keep a positive attitude and take something you learned or saw etc home with you everyday. Keeps frustration away.