I've been on several pronghorn hunts during the rut, and the action with a decoy can give a real adrenaline rush. I've seen bucks come on a dead sprint from over 500 yards, only to stop mere feet from the decoy. Other times, they may skirt around the decoy to check it out, then waltz in for closer inspection.

Pronghorns rely on their eyes for survival, and using decoys during their September rut is a good choice.

Elk hunters can also benefit from decoys. A cow decoy, be it a side profile or one that's facing away, may be all it takes to bring that bull a little closer for a high-percentage shot.

Often a bull will hang up, looking for the source of the bull or cow calls that have brought him this far. A decoy placed beyond the hunter's position can making a bull approach, walking past the hunter to check things out.

Deer hunters are also using 3-D targets with amazing success on late-season blacktails and whitetails. Again, put them beyond where you anticipate the bucks will come in from, so the deer will pass by your tree stand or ground blind.

Also, decoys help focus the attention of approaching animals. That allows you to reach full draw safely.

Tip No. 4: SPOT 'N' STALK
For an archer, it's hard to beat the thrills of stealthing to within range of an animal, then the satisfaction of closing the deal with a well-placed shot. Last season, after four blown attempts, I finally got into shooting position on a 29-inch-wide mulie, and connected at 17 yards. Previous stalks had me within 3 and 6 yards of two other bucks. But they were bedded tight against a cutbank, and all I could see were antlers.

Early-season mulie hunters can target bedded bucks looking to escape the beating sun. Locate bucks early, watch where they bed, and use the wind to help you work into position for a shot.

The same is true for early blacktail and white-tailed deer. Targeting all three deer in a feeding area can also pay off. If the terrain allows, stalking to within range can be done in this habitat. Just be watchful of too many eyes that might detect you.

Elk and pronghorns are also quite stalkable. For elk, play the wind and use timbered shadows to work within range. If you break a branch while stalking, give a slight blow on a calf call to calm an alerted bull. For speedgoats, use broken terrain to get within shooting distance.

BE PASSIVE
Sometimes, being too aggressive can spook an animal out of the area. If you suspect this could be the case, a more passive approach is your best method. Here are three passive tactics worth considering:

Tip No. 5: TREE STANDS
More hunters out West are turning to tree stands, and with good success. Once you've done your homework and found the big game's bedding and feeding areas, and the trails they utilize to travel between the two, you're on the way to being an effective tree-stand hunter.

Positioning is critical. It's a good idea to have at least two stands in place, so you can enter at least one without having to worry about the wind giving you away. If the wind is blowing around you toward where the animals are, hunting from that tree stand will be futile.

Tree stands work any time of year. And once you start hunting from them, it's amazing how much game you'll actually see. In addition to working well over trails, tree stands are also effective over water holes, near feeding zones and with decoys set down below. They are also good to rattle from when it comes to brush-country blacktails.

Tip No. 6: GROUND BLINDS
Open-country pronghorns. Early-season elk and deer. Rutting deer. All three can be hunted from ground blinds with high success.

In each case, however, the key is strategic positioning of the blind. There must be a reason to place the blind where you want it, be it near water, food or a trail site.

You can erect a blind and hunt pronghorn that same day, but it may take deer and elk a while to get used to it. Erect the blind a week or two before you plan on hunting from it. For these species, you should brush-in the blind.

That is, place brush around the blind's bottom, top and edges to help break up the outline and set passing animals at ease. And as with any bowhunting approach, play the wind.

Tip No. 7: WATER HOLES
An early-season water hole can be a highly effective site for archers to watch. For elk, this can provide both drinking sites and wallows. For deer, it may be a small pond or creek. For pronghorns, it's likely a pothole or seep in the desert.

Hunting water holes with stick and string is a sit-and-wait game. So hide yourself in a ground blind or get up in a tree stand. These two methods let you reach full draw without detection.