Well, you already have an accurate rifle. All you need to do is get real good with it.
Eons ago, I was grumbling about the difficulty of a particular shot. My uncle looked at me rather scornfully, and sorta muttered, "When I was your age, anything jumped up inside 300 yards belonged to me." He was referring to an iron-sighted Springfield 1903.
Repeat after me: "Learn th' gun ya got." Work on eye-finger-sights coordination until it's reflex that when you put it to your shoulder, you're just all married up to it and it sorta Zenlike goes off and hits the target.
Benchrest just enough to get the basics. After that, offhand and hasty rests.
I wear soft-soled, flat-soled boots. No lugs. In rough country, the trick is to glance at the ground to figure out your next three steps. Then, look around while you take those steps. Repeat. There ain't no deer or elk on the ground under your feet. My way, you spend more time looking for game; it only takes that glance to spot rolling rocks or cactus.
Learn to set your feet down sorta flat. Heel-first makes noise or vibrates the ground. I regularly walk up to within 25 yards or so of snoozing deer at mid-day. But you can't be in a hurry. Don't march; you ain't in the Infantry. Sorta zig-zag from bush to bush.
Wool pants or old, nearly-worn-out khakis don't make that "wheep, wheep" of newish Levis or any nylon. Nylon front "brush pants" are good in quail country stickers, but lousy for deer or elk. "Noise is Bad!" And camo clothing is a waste of money. It's wonderful for hiding from people when you're sitting still, but Bambi and friends only see shades of gray. (Bird hunting is different; dove and turkey see colors quite well, thank you. Doves avoid the color blue. Dunno why.)
"Real" bucks tend to lay up just below the downwind crest of a ridge, and near a saddle. That way, when spooked, they can run into the wind and not be skylined. You walk the ridgeline, crosswind or slightly in to it. A lot of times a muley will try hiding instead of running--so you have to learn to look for an ear or an eye or the shine of an antler. Not a whole deer; not out in the middle of a clearing. (If one shows up really obviously, look around behind him. Big brother might have run him out for bait.)
There's a start; have fun...
, Art
