KNOW YOUR RIFLE Deer hunters often wait until the last minute to sight in their rifle before the November firearm season opens. If that has been a problem in the past, just follow these tips.

Go to a local sportsman's club, and for a small fee, you can accomplish two thing, you will get the rifle sighted in and you will become much more familiar with the firearm. Statistics prove that hunters who know their rifle, and shoot often, are far better shots.

Fire three shots from 25 yards to make sure the bullets hit the target. Once you know that each shot will hit where it's aimed, move back to 100 yards and shoot again.

Fire another three-shot group, accurately measure how high, low or to either shot the center of the three-shot group hits and make necessary adjustments to iron sights or scope. Shoot another three-shot group and make your final elevation or windage changes. Shoot three more times and you're ready.

RECOGNIZING DEER SIGN To be successful the hunter must know the deer's habits and be able to recognize sign that signals a buck is in the area. One sure sign that a buck is in the vicinity is a rub " a branch or sapling that has been stripped of its bark by a buck knocking the velvet from its antlers. Later in the fall, as the rut approaches, fresh sign of this antler work may appear on larger, harder trees, as restless bucks shape up their fighting skills.

An even better sign that a buck is around is an active scrape. This is where a buck has pawed the leaves and grass away, exposing a patch of bare earth from one to three feet in diameter. He generously applies his scent and tracks in the scrape, which serves as a signal to does that he is in the area and available, and warns other bucks that this is his territory and they'd better stay out, or risk a fight. A buck fully caught up in the fever of the rut may have several scrapes which he checks frequently, or he may post just one and stay nearby. Whichever is the case, the scrape that is being renewed and maintained is a sure sign that a buck will be along sooner or later, and that it merits careful consideration on the part of the hunter.

TRACKING DEER Of all the sign a hunter is likely to come across, deer tracks are the most obvious and are also the most misused and misunderstood by the novice hunter. A lot of greenhorn deer hunters are likely to latch onto the first set of tracks they find and spend the rest of the day following them, almost invariably without seeing the deer.

Tracks are a valuable sign to a hunter, chiefly as an indication of the frequency and the deer's direction of travel. They might also give an indication of the size of the deer using an area Generally, they provide a lot of the same information as do droppings.

Some hunters claim they can distinguish tracks of bucks from those of does, but other experienced hunters discount this. Generally, the tracks of bucks and does look identical, although a hunter tracking a deer might surmise he's on the trail of a buck if it is traveling alone and sticking to more secluded or secretive haunts.

Following a set of tracks in hopes of getting a shot at the deer making the tracks is an iffy game, and is a tactic mastered by only a few specialists. Most hunters follow a trail too slowly or make too much noise to be successful. And, a lot of hunters cannot distinguish a really fresh track, and thus may take up on a trail half a day old or more.

Most hunters following deer tracks pay way too much attention to the impressions themselves and almost forget to look for the deer standing in the tracks. Experienced trackers look for the most distant visible sign, giving it just a glance while keeping their eyes on cover ahead, while being ready for a shot. They also look behind, because deer often double back on their trail to see if they are being pursued.

About the only time most hunters will need to track a deer is after they have taken a shot at one. If the deer doesn't go down, the hunter should check where the deer was standing when the shot was fired, looking for blood, hair, or other signs of a hit. If none is apparent, he should take up the track for a few hundred yards, looking for blood on the ground, bushes and trees the deer may have brushed against, or for signs of staggering, limping or other evidence of a hit.

Deer should be field dressed as quickly as possible so that the meat cools rapidly. This insures flavorful, high quality meat for the table.

DEER SENSES The sense of smell is the most developed one in the deer, with hearing and sight following, in close order.

Deer are paranoid about human scent. Airborne scent is the most common culprit.

When conditions are just right, a deer can wind 100 yards away. Try to counteract this by staying as scent-free as possible. Your clothing, should be clean and hung outside for at least two hours before you hunt. You should keep clean by bathing with unscented soap, just before the hunt.

Don't eat onions, peanut butter, or other foods with strong odors, or carry highly scented foodstuffs with you. Brush your teeth with salt instead of toothpaste, don't chew gum or tobacco and don't smoke while hunting or just before. Don't overeat or drink alcohol, and try not to work up a sweat getting to your stand.

WEAR WOOL PANTS AND JACKETS WHEN HUNTING Pants and jackets made from poplin, gabardine, denim, chino cloth or corduroy or any other cotton or nylon cloth make a swishing sound as the cloth rubs together between your legs and between your arms and body as you walk. The navy type insulated pants and jackets also make a very bad noise as you walk.

Wool jackets and pants give off no noise at all as you walk. In hunting such animals with keen hearing as white-tailed deer and squirrels, wearing pants and jackets that make a noise as you walk, you destroy almost entirely your.chances of getting good shooting. I know of men who wore poplin pants and jackets who hunted white-tailed deer in heavy brush country for as much as three years without seeing a deer. After switching over to wool pants and jackets they got their deer the first season out.

WHEN TO HUNT DEER IN SWAMPS Under ordinary hunting conditions hunting deer in a heavy Swamp is very, very difficult. They hear you coming and can hide within a few feet of you in the heavy cover without being seen. On a windy day with the wind swishing through the trees, the deer cannot hear you coming and you will find them easy hunting even in the heaviest of swamps.

NUMBER OF MEN ON A DEER STAND If the stand is one that deer will approach in one direction one man is enough on a stand. If the stand is one that deer will approach in more than one direction two men are much better on the stand. With two men they can each cover one direction without moving their heads. Head movements scares more white-tailed deer away from stands than anything else. Permit no talking, smoking, eating, drinking or fires on deer stands.

GENERAL RULE IN STALKING DEER In stalking deer whenever possible go straight toward the game. Never give the game a chance of a glimpse at you sideways. Once they glimpse you sideways they know just what you are for sure in a split second. As long as they see you coming straight at them, they are not always sure of what you are and cannot see you too clearly. Try it yourself on animals. An animal facing you is much harder to see clearly than one that gives you a side view.

FEEDING DEER USUALLY SWITCH THEIR TAIL BEFORE LOOKING FOR DANGER If you have on a fairly good camouflage suit and the wind is blowing from the deer toward you, you can crawl up on your belly within shooting range of deer feeding in the open if you watch their tails. When their tails switch, freeze instantly and do not move again until the deer stop