Free: Contests & Raffles.
if there are losxt of does, there are bucks too. maybe its in an area with alot of hunting pressure, if thats the case then those bucks will become nocturnal(spelling?. i know i'm a scholar. lol) get urself some bikes and spend the summer riding them in the areas you want to hunt. makes for fun scouting.
I would apply as partners if you two are going to plan on hunting together. That only makes sense. Your odds are actually slightly worse if you apply as a group, but really that is only for hunts that only have a few permits. The reason for that is if your name gets pulled and there is only 1 permit left for the hunt you applied for, then obviously there aren't enough permits for the two of you, so neither one gets it. Being that you are not that experienced, definitely learn how to hunt deer first.
Oh so basically applying as partners ensures that either we both get drawn for the same permits or we don't get drawn at all?