(1) never go on an out of state elk hunt with several guys you don,t really know,for at least a year or more, and guys you have hunted with locally, because without fail at least one of them will be a lazy cheap bastard that won,t pull his weight or do his share of the work or pay his share of expenses as PREVIOUSLY AGREED TO IN EXPLICIT DETAIL, LONG before trip started.
once your on the out of state hunt , the circumstances tend to bring out the best or worst personality traits
(2)a good many times I could not afford both an elk and mule deer tags, and on those years when I just got the elk tag alone, it was almost an iron clad guarantee Id see a few real wall hanger mule deer.
but If I purchased a mule deer tag Id see dozens of crappy quality 3 and 4 point deer.
(3) not having snow chains and elastic cord clips almost always insured getting heavy snow.
