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Fall Approach
By RutWear Field Expert, Robert Watson
Thoughts of last season rush through my head as I sit back in my office daydreaming, thinking about the big bucks that passed by my stand just outside of bow range. Even though some of the bigger bruits managed to slip through the woods without offering a shot one giant met his fate!
It is the thoughts of last season that seem to make the upcoming season so far away. Although it seems that the opener will never get here it is really closer than we think. Many of us will scurry around at the last minute to get our gear ready and hopefully not forget anything. How do we seem to wait until the last minute when we have the whole summer to prepare? The answer is simple, we are creatures of habit and cookouts replace hunting during the summer. Hopefully I can share a few things that will help you get ready for the bow opener in your state.
A typical weekend for me and my hunting partner starts with some bow shooting on Saturday morning. You can never have enough practice in that department. Start by shooting in the standing position and make several dozen shots at the 20 yard mark. This will loosen those muscles that you haven’t used all year. The same ones that if you don’t practice will cause you problems when you need to draw that bow back on the big one! Move back to the 30 yard mark and repeat, 40 yard mark and repeat. We usually take a break and start to work on our stands making sure all in working order, no rusted bolts that could break, no missing parts that could fail, plenty of stand locks (Sad but true that we need to lock our stands so they don’t get stolen, even on private property), and our safety harness is ready to go with no tears or stitching coming lose. This is a pretty good start but not even close to what needs to be done.
While shooting we like to change things up a bit so we will hang a stand and shoot from it at different distances and practice shooting from the sitting position. Try this simple drill. Have your buddy help you by moving the targets around to different spots and angles; he can also help you retrieve your arrows so you won’t have to get down. This will help the shooter determine the right shot angle and read the distance. Of course with today’s gear distance isn’t an issue if you have a laser rangefinder.
Scouting can make or break your season and now is the time to get out and do your homework. The bucks are still in their bachelor groups and you can pattern their movement from the bedding areas to the feeding areas. Where I hunt it is mostly in either corn or beans and corn can make scouting hard but not impossible. Get your spotting scopes out and glass all of the area. I make notes as to where the sun is at, if there is wind which direction is it coming from, what time of day it is, and of course the temperature. I also note where and how many deer come out and if they have fawns, and how many bucks are using that woods. This will help in many ways but probably the biggest advantage is the wind. If you know what route they take on a certain wind you can setup on that, also what time of day. I don’t know anyone that enjoys bow hunting in the heat and knowing what time of day they travel will help you minimize your time on stand. These tools will help me in placing my stands so that I can decrease the time in the woods looking for sign and leaving scent.
Is your gear ready? It’s already the end of July and you need to make sure you have all of your Rutwear camouflage ready, you need to make sure you have plenty of no scent laundry soap to wash it in and a scent free bag to keep it in. I also get my bow bag ready and make sure I have things like rangefinder, extra release, binoculars, scent zapper spray, bow hooks, marking tape, deer calls, flashlight, extra gloves and facemask, parachute cord to hoist gear up into the stand, and knives. These are a few of the things I carry with me. I make sure I spend some time putting a nice edge on my knives so skinning will be easy and of course making sure my broad heads are razor sharp. You should practice your shooting once a weekend and that will make sure your bow is in tune. Remember you can never have to much practice.
Good luck this season and happy hunting. If you get a chance take a child in the outdoors this season and let them enjoy your passion.
God Bless,
Robert Watson
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