Share a "simple" tip on hunting/woodsmanship-

[Mike Bolin]

Hope I worded that right. I really never had a bowhunting mentor, but my Grandpa taught me alot about the outdoors and spending most of my early years with him is the reason that I am who I am.
One thing that he told me when I was only 5 years old that has paid off time and time again is-"look where you been". We were in a big woodlot checking out some timber to be cut and I noticed that he kept looking behind him and I asked why. He told me that if "you look where you been" you'll have an easier time finding your way back. Pretty simple really, but it has paid off for me in Quebec tracking Black Bear and and further north chasing Caribou.
One time I got so involved in a blood trail that I didn't keep track of my back trail and ended up "confused" for about an hour. Hit a logging road and made my way back to the truck and then the blood trail, but I have to say I paid alot more attention to my surroundings after that.
May be ridiculously simple, but most times, simple is better!! Share a tip if you have one! Mike

[ronp]

Trust your compass.

[7 Lakes]

But don't hold your compass close to your metal climbing stand on the way out.

[7 Lakes]

If you were smart enough to bring your compass I know you thought to bring a map.

[hawk22]

Sit still

[BowMIke]

watch out for chiggers and ticks!

[ChrisM]

Slow down, slow down, slow down

[GO Rogers]

Be capable of making fire, using at least three different methods.          

[Jake Diebolt]

Pay attention to the wind (I'm still working on this one)

[TIM B]

Go early and stay late-
Hunt any time u can.  
Hunt while your young and CAN'T afford it- cause when you can afford it, you may not be young

[Bud B.]

I usually gut my deer near where they fall. I locate a large enough tree to hold the weight of the deer and look for a y branch coming off the trunk. Lift the deer's head into the y and wedge it in there to gut. The innards fall out to the ground as  you work.

If not that way, take a rope and hang'em up for gutting.

[Mike Vines]

Get outdoors, it's a great place to be.  The only thing your going to shoot from the couch is the chit.

If your wife is happy, you will stay happy.  If she's not...Well you know the rest.

[graybarkhunter]

never look a deer in the eyes...

[58WINTERS]

When going into a new area check your compass before leaving camp so you know where the cardinal directions are. We set up an elk camp last year late and the next morning it was foggy and rainy. I told my buddy I would be hunting north out of camp. I checked my compass before leaving camp and I was exactly 180 deg. out. Not having a topo of the area since I didn't know exactly where we be hunting this info. was critical in getting me back as my mind had not adjusted to the lay of the land and I had to TRUST that old Silva Ranger to bring me back out of the hole with intersecting ridges I was in. It still took a couple of days to get my mind to agree with that compass.
get a good compass learn to use it and TRUST it.

[Rebel Yelp]

Take time to think about safety. If you're hunting with others, plan and talk about the hunt. If you're going to hunt alone, tell someone where you're going or leave a note at home.

Wear a whistle. Decide signals for I'm hurt, I'm lost, and deer down.

Also trust your compass. Take a reading before you set foot in the woods. Know how to get out.

I hunt the Adirondacks every year. This past year we took a day to try out different State Land. No trails, footpaths, cell phone reception... just wilderness. After scouting and hunting, it didn't take long to look behind me and realize everything is starting to look the same... I got into "ok... after this hill is the road." That went on for some time and I started to panic that I had been walking off course for some time trying to get out.

I pulled out my compass and put my faith in it. I didn't recognize any of the terrain, but found my way out. I was considerably off course, you could only see the dirt road if you were within 30 feet of it.

I've heard stories about this experience happening to others and truly understand how it happens. It almost got the best of me. Honestly I was close to "I read my compass wrong, and the way out is not what I thought it was... I should have been out by now."

I had a real chilling thought afterward about someone standing only 30 feet from the road in a state of panic and then walking off for days.

[SheltonCreeker]

Stop every few feet. Humans are the only thing in the woods that just blunder thro.

[Squirrel Bait]

When that little voice in your head says something, try listening to it ! its right most of the time!

[John Scifres]

Listen more than you talk or make noise.

Sit longer than you walk.

The longer you observe the woods the better woodsman you will be.

[BuckyT]

While in the stand, investigate and pinpoint the cause of every noise you hear in the woods.

You might be surprised that a 200lb buck can sound like a chipmunk rummaging through the leaves.

[straitera]

Good thread Mike. You're reading my mail. Found my 12 point deep in the woods around midnight. After dressing, we got lost coming out & drug that deer for miles the wrong way. How can you lose the same bloodtrail you followed in? No compass. Lesson learned.