Outdoor Canada’s 50 top tips, tricks and tactics for hunting white-tailed deer

I shot my first white-tailed buck, a respectable 4×4, four decades ago. It was a classic spot-and-stalk encounter, with me hopscotching across a southern Alberta hayfield, one round bale at a time. I eventually closed the distance to 100 metres, leaned against a bale to steady my aim and, in the next moment, sentenced myself to a lifetime of whitetail fever.

I’ve hunted white-tailed deer every year since, collecting numerous practical pointers along the way to help ensure a successful hunt. Some I learned on my own through trial and plenty of error; others I gleaned from hunting partners generous enough to share their knowledge. Here are my 50 favourites…