In 2006, a female member of my family (OK, my daughter Meredith) received a high-desert mule deer tag. She was excited. Her husband Robert got a similar tag the year before, so he already knew something about the area. Being young parents and incredibly busy people, they figured they could allow only a couple of three-day weekends to hunt.

Ideally, that would be enough time to find a passel of bucks from which to choose.

Wrong! In fact, the deer were scarce, perhaps because the unusually warm weather had them holed up during daylight hours.

Whatever the reason, two weekends were not enough. While the hunting was fun, their efforts did not result in a buck on the ground. Setting aside a longer continuous block of time for hunting, during which they could have explored places more thoroughly, would have given them a much better chance for success.

An acquaintance of mine had much better success. A week prior to opening day, he actually traveled to the particular zone for which he was picked. He took his time, scouting around until he found some deer, including a better-than-average buck that seemed at home in a remote basin. Armed with a plan, our hero left camp in the dark on opening day and again climbed the steep side hill toward the basin.

At first light, incredibly, he spotted the same buck feeding in a patch of thick brush on a knoll less than 200 yards away. He killed the buck with a single well-placed shot.

Getting the deer back to camp was considerable work, but the savvy hunter was more than happy to do it.

Sometimes you can do no wrong. But as we all know, deer hunting is always a game of chance. Even during the best of times, there's no guarantee of success, which is as it should be. You can do everything right, in your attempt to put yourself in the right place at the right time, and still get stymied by unusual weather events, vehicle breakdowns, illness or an emergency back home.

You never know in advance what's in the cards. But simply by drawing a mule deer tag these days, you've won a mini-lottery of sorts. Now, as they say, the work begins. There are no hard and fast rules, but there are definite things you can do to better your odds of tagging a buck.

Talk is cheap, of course, and the best advice is not always followed. Whatever your approach, it might work just fine for you. However, if I were drawn for a tag after several years, I'd at least try to get a head start on the actual hunt before opening day by gathering as much information as possible.

STEP 1: MAPS, RESOURCES
The first logical step is simply to get appropriate maps of the hunting area. A list of contacts is usually included with the hunting regulations, or you can look online. If the area you'll be hunting consists mostly of Bureau of Land Management territory, you can get publications and information on branches by going to www.blm.gov.

If national forest land is involved, go to . From that site, you can look up the particular forest of your choice and get background information, including the cost of maps and how to purchase them.

You can get topographic maps for the various places you intend to hunt from the U.S. Geological Survey by visiting www.store.usgs.gov. Topographic maps are also sometimes available from local sporting-goods outlets. Also available are state-specific books full of topographic maps produced by DeLorme Mapping Company. They are sold through many sources, and you can check them out at www.delorme.com.

Yes, there are other ways to get maps these days, through online programs and such. And if that appeals to you, have at it. You can never have enough maps.

STEP 2: TALK IT UP
Of course, simply getting a few maps won't tell you much about the whereabouts of the deer occupying the space. However, once you have a map or two and have figured out which unit your tag is good for, you can home in on potential hunting areas even before you've actually seen them, by talking with a variety of people.

One veteran mule deer hunter I know had some suggestions.

"You'd be surprised by what you'll find out if you just talk to friends," said Larry Brower. "One of them may have been to the area before, or know of someone who has.