FALL HUNTING PREPARATIONS NEED DOING NOW

(Author's Dad out on a hunt)

(Fall Hunting Preparations Need Doing Now by Bob Phillips first appeared in Lake Champlain Weekly in July 2010)
In just a few more weeks we will find the fall hunting seasons upon us. The question is will you be ready for those early openers of waterfowl and  bow hunting and muzzleloader season? Chances are you think you are ready and often have a hectic couple hours just before the opener looking for particular equipment or regrets concerning not getting into better shape for the season.
There are three areas of concern for the sportsman as the fall hunting comes into view. Those three areas often make or break a hunt. There is the area of physical fitness of the hunter, the area of equipment needs and of proficiency with that equipment and last there is the scouting and planning.
First, looking at the physical conditioning of the hunter. You enjoy the outings this fall much more when you are physically able to maintain the necessary pace of the hunt. Now is the time to begin conditioning for later. You can not put this off until the last week before the season opener and expect to be in good condition following a few days of walking.
This calls for a bit of weight lifting and quite a bit of aerobic exercise to increase you lung capacity and endurance over the long hunts. This is the time to be walking, bicycling or jogging on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be daily, but at least 4-5 times a week is good. If you hunt with a dog during portions of the season, it is also a great time to start conditioning the dog for the coming seasons.
I shouldn’t have to tell you this, because every hunting magazine you read is giving you a similar admonition. But still, every year we have more people die from heart attacks and other conditions due to poor physical conditioning than we do to hunting accidents. But that is enough said. Get out there and begin exercising.
The second area of concern is the equipment you will be using. Now is the time to replace broken or worn parts, purchase new additions to your gear and generally get set up for the up coming seasons. You not only want to have the new equipment ahead of time, but you also want to have it broke in so that you are well familiar with it.
That translates to getting out and using it. Whether it is firing a new rifle or a rifle with a new scope at the firing range or it is purchasing a new backpack and using it on a couple of overnighters on the trail, you want to be familiar with all equipment you use.
I have never understood hunters who do not spend a bit of time shooting their rifles long before the season opens. This is especially true for bow hunters. They really need to put more time in shooting at the range in order to ethically carry their bow in the autumn woods looking for a deer.
We owe it to the animals we hunt to have our shooting skills as honed to as sharp a degree as possible.
Third is the scouting and planning for the fall hunts. That area that held good concentrations of deer last year may not have any fresh sign this year. Of course you won’t know that until it is too late, unless you get out and scout the area ahead of time. Scouting sometimes tells us that we need to adjust our hunting just a little bit to be more successful. This is a good thing.

(Author's Dad following a successful Adirondack Hunt)

The time spent planning now will pay off later. Perhaps you go to your favorite hunting spot and find it overrun with other hunters. What do you do? If you have already planned for such a situation, then you won’t miss a beat. But if you are caught unaware you may miss out on a whole lot of hunting until you come up with a spur of the moment substitute plan.
So take time now to fit these three areas of concern into your schedule. Get out exercising and deal with those equipment needs now, as you plan for the next season coming up.
I hope your time afield and astream is pleasant this summer.