I balance my bow for carrying and shooting. Most bows are top heavy so I attach my quiver to the bottom. I almost always carry my bow via hand on grip. If my bow is not balanced it puts a lot of torque on my forearm and kills me on long hunts.
For mule deer I like 12x binos on tripod and then use a 80x spotter after they are spotted. For archery elk I usually leave the spotter and tripod at home. I have the highest end vortex models but the Leica binos are the best I have looked through for me.
I have shot them all times of the day but my favorite is during the morning while the morning thermals are still strong. I end up catching up to them as they get close to bedding and thermals start shifting 9-10 am.