"From Oct. 1 through the middle of the month is very difficult for most guys," he said. "And I'm convinced a lot of that is just overhunting their areas. Bucks just aren't moving a lot, and if you go at it too hard and don't hunt carefully, you're just burning out your areas. You don't have to stop hunting. You just have to be really careful about how often you go, wind direction, all those things that we know about but sometimes ignore."

Once the rut comes and the action heats up, Stubstad relies on some non-conventional tactics to score. As the hunt mentioned earlier illustrates, sitting all day is one of those tactics.

"Another thing you hear all the time is that magic period between 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, and I believe in it," he said. "When I hunt during the rut, I get in a stand and I stay all day. A lot of guys feel that's really difficult, but I enjoy it. For one thing, it's just a fun thing for me to get out in the woods and enjoy as much time as I can. But the other part -- battling the physical needs and mental tiredness that makes you want to quit -- can be overcome, too.

"For starters, I bring everything to the stand with me that will keep me comfortable," Stubstad continued. "And I mean extra clothes, a thermos of coffee or soup, food -- anything that might tempt me to head back to the truck or camp. I just want to be prepared and not have any piece of gear or 'comfort thing' that will make me quit. And for the boredom aspect, I bring things that will distract my mind when the deer aren't moving. Lately, I've really been into those little hand-held games, like Yahtzee, that give me something do when the action is slow. It might sound crazy, but if it keeps you in the stand . . . "

Stubstad is also willing to think outside the box when he pursues white-tailed deer, just like when he hunts turkeys. Stubstad has killed many gobblers with archery tackle and helped others do the same.

"Turkey hunting with a bow taught me the effectiveness of ground blinds," he said. "I'm a big fan of the Double Bull Matrix blind. It's solid and doesn't make noise in a wind, and it also gives you a 360-degree view of the area. There are no blind spots or noisy window flaps to take down in order to see or shoot at game. And they're roomy enough to let me bring the gear I need to stay comfortable."

Though Stubstad has taken many archery turkeys from a ground blind, he acknowledges deer are different.

"They are more suspicious of things they haven't seen before," he noted. "So you need to camouflage the blind to its surroundings. In brushy cover, you need to brush it in, and in open cover, I like it to be more visible. For example, last year I hunted a secluded alfalfa field that deer were just hammering. I set the blind up, then with the landowner's permission, rolled a couple of round bales that were on the edge of the field near the blind. Then I left it alone and didn't hunt it for a while. When I came back, deer would walk right up to it. That's another key: Let the deer get used to the blind before you hunt. They need time to accept it as a natural thing in their world. They're real homebodies and notice strange objects. It's no different than you or me walking into our living room, seeing a new picture, and saying, 'Hey, that was never there before.' "

Like many successful bowhunters, Stubstad recognizes that consistent success means plenty of commitment, as well as the willingness to try new techniques.

"I've been using decoys a lot the last few years and really enjoyed that experience," he noted. "Decoys not only draw a buck in for a shot, but they let you see a lot of great deer behavior. Basically, I think really good deer hunters recognize that this is now a 365-day-per-year sport. Whether it's shed-antler hunting, taking trail-camera photos or scouting in the off-season, the most successful guys are the ones who really put in their time."

Stubstad is intimately familiar with today's bowhunting gear, and he said one of the first steps to becoming a successful deer hunter is getting outfitted properly.

"One of the most common mistakes I see is guys buying equipment that just doesn't fit them," Stubstad said. "I compare it to buying a pair of shoes. Your bow has to suit your body type, strength, experience and situation. I've seen things as dramatic as a left-handed shooter trying to shoot a right-handed bow, but most problems are a lot easier to fix. For starters, guys always want to shoot bows with a heavy draw weight. With the quality of bows these days, it's simply not necessary. It's much better to buy a bow you can draw back easily and shoot accurately."

Gear choices don't end with a bow purchase, Stubstad warned. It's critical to get every element of the setup -- sight, rest and release -- to function as a unit.