Four ways to get within range. They suit different country, different light and different levels of experience, and most good nights use more than one.
Working tracks and paddocks after dark, glassing for eyeshine off the back of a vehicle. Easily the highest-percentage method and the reason a first-timer will get animals. Set up properly and take the shot from a rest, never off-hand from a moving tray.
On foot, into the wind, at first or last light. Slower, harder, far more satisfying. Move three steps, stop, glass, repeat. Most people walk straight past deer because they are moving at walking pace instead of hunting pace.
Sit high, pick the country apart with binoculars, find the animal first and then plan the approach. Time spent behind glass is worth triple the same time spent walking.
During the rut a groan call can bring a buck to you instead of you going to him. Outside the rut it mostly educates deer. Knowing when not to call matters more than the call itself.