• Losing track of the deer. It’s one thing to have a buck fade into the scenery because you took your eyes away from the spotting scope. It’s quite another to completely lose track of the deer during your stalk.

Take the time to pick out land references to guide your approach.

“The terrain looks a lot different from above than when you’re at brush level, working your way towards the deer,” Zennie said. “Study that terrain carefully for reference points. Even take a compass bearing if you need to. But you should always have a good idea of where you are in relation to the buck.”

A hunting partner who can keep an eye on the buck and guide you with hand signals can also be huge asset.

• Going in too fast. Sure, you want to get within shooting distance as fast as possible, before the deer leaves the area or while there’s still good shooting light. That said, taking the time to be careful and methodical in your approach -- glassing along the way -- offers a few benefits.

First, it’s quieter, so there’s less chance of spooking your deer or any others. Second, you can assess wind changes and revise your stalk accordingly. And finally, there’s less chance of getting hurt, especially on steep and rocky terrain.

4. YOU STINK!
It’s often said that you can fool a deer’s eyes and ears, but you can never fool a deer’s nose. Their sense of smell is roughly 100 times stronger than ours. There are so many ways your scent can give you away that it’s just easier to make a list.

• Clean up your act. Using scented laundry detergent, or storing your hunting clothes where they can absorb scents from your everyday clothes, are the most common mistakes. Another is wearing your hunting clothes in your car, where the odors of gas, oil, exhaust and last night’s value meal can get all over them. Smoking during a hunt is probably the best way to guarantee solitude from all of God’s creatures -- followed closely by the huge breakfast of eggs, sausage and coffee, with a toothpaste chaser.

Soaps and antiperspirants are all great, but if they have an iota of fragrance in them, they’re useless compared to their unscented counterparts.

5. YOU’RE LOUD
• Making it worse. OK, say you ignore the rule about not stepping on anything that you could simply step over -- and sure enough, some twig pops like a cannon. Hunt ruined?

Not likely, unless that expletive behind your now snarling lips manages to find its way out.

“A twig can be snapped by anything,” Denne said. “It’s a natural sound in the woods. But an audible ‘Dammit!’ . . . well, that’s another story.”

Rather than curse at the forest, it’s better to just sit still and wait a few minutes. Deer startled by a noise won’t automatically bolt unless they see or smell a threat. After a few minutes, they’ll generally go right back to feeding or snoozing if you stay quiet.

• Loud clothing of a different sort. This is any kind of garment that makes noise when it gets dragged along brush or branches, instantly putting any nearby deer on alert.

If you can rub your hand on your chosen clothing and hear any sound, you should go with an alternative, preferably wool.

Likewise, clasps on your gun sling that squeak when you walk, or anything that dangles and could conceivably collide with something solid and make noise, should be silenced.

6. YOU’RE AN EYESORE
Compared to its other senses, a deer’s eyesight is best described as “decent.” But that doesn’t mean hunters have a wider margin for error. There are lots ways to get made.