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Mosto of hunting knives combine a curved section on the tip with a straight blade design on the back; this way the tip may be used to skin a game while the blade body is useful to slice and cut.

In some models even a serrated blade section may be found near the handle, something useful to cut through ribs and small bones.

Blade tip is also a distinctive feature. Hunting knives may have clip point or drop point. Clip point blades are more versatile and may be used to tasks other than field dressing, so cutting ropes, small tree branches is possible with this type, so it will be a great choice to combine on the same tool a hunting and camping knife.

Meanwhile drop point blades are designed for a more specific task and rarely may be used to something else than skinning and field dress a game.

Most of these tips are not related to major changes on hunting strategy but on small details which make the difference and give you an edge on the key moment, so let's see how old school hunters increase their success rates and what we can learn from them.

1. Use waterproof pants below an external clothe layer

Natural way to use waterproof pants is as the external layer of all your clothes, however fabric used for this type of pants is very noisy when you walk around and one leg shear over the other. Using waterproof pants as the most external pants layer will alert all games around about your presence.

To avoid it, wear waterproof pants inside and cover them with regular pants; this way noise will be eliminated. If you don't feel comfortable with waterproof fabric on direct skin contact, add a layer of thin, cotton fabric pants to avoid this contact; additionally you will have more insulation, something useful on cold, wet environments.

2. Not too much oil

Cleaning your guns is vital for hunting success, however you must perform maintenance properly, otherwise your guns might fail because of you!

The main mistake when cleaning your guns is to use too much oil. On the warm, clean home environment this does not represent any problem but later, when you are out on cold weather, the oil excess may become dense and sticky leading to mechanical failures which may put you out of the game; on the other hand, excess oil will catch dirt which might block your gun.

But theses vests may be enhanced with additional features other than improved visibility; thus depending of weather conditions, dog's task and environmental characteristics, your dog's orange vest may count with additional capabilities or may be designed to comply with certain specifications as it may be seen below:

1. Keep your dog warmer

Even when most hunting dogs have a thick fur which keeps them insulated and protected from weather and elements, on extremely low temperatures, hard weather conditions or several days out in the bushes, perhaps you'll need to give your dogs extra protection and then insulated orange vests are the best choice.

This type of safety vest will not only enhance your dogs visibility but also will keep them warmer, however they will be effective only if your dogs remain dry, otherwise you'll need vest with additional features.

These cats are considered big game trophies on many U.S. states and even when they were hunt until extinction on U.S. eastern states (in fact, only Florida Cougars population remains on the east coast), its population on western states is high enough to allow controlled hunting, even when in some states such as California, hunting cougars is illegal unless a particular individual is considered a public menace.

Highly adaptable, cougars live all along America, from U.S. and Canada down to Patagonia; in fact mountain lions are adapted to practically all habitat conditions, from deserts to mountains passing by tropical forest and even mud terrain.

However hunting such a magnificent predator is not an easy task, so if you are a beginner, the best way to find is to know the basics, as follow:

1- You need a mountain lion license to hunt cougars. Requirements and cost vary from state to state but is always mandatory. In some cases a hunting education course is required before a mountain lion hunting license application.

Just keep in mind how ducks react on different weather conditions, set your decoys accordingly and wait still, in less time what you think ducks will be coming up to you, especially when one or more of the following occurs:

1. Windy days

Wind is not a big issue for ducks but when it blows strong the birds will look for shelter and any place with calm water will attract immediately. To take profit of a windy day the key is to set up your decoys properly on a lake side spot with calm water. It won't be necessary to set a lot, just  a dozen will be enough to show bird the wind is not blowing down there and they will come.

2. Ice

For those birds who are still around when coldest temperatures arrive, to find an open water spot on frozen lakes is vital for survival. When ice comes the only thing you need is to see where ducks are landing, probably it will near an open water spot on the center of the lake.