Getting Ready for Bow Season

Getting Ready for Bow Season

By Troy Creasy

Success during archery season depends on your pre-season efforts.

Bow season for whitetail deer begins on September 27 in the Northern zone and October 14 in the Southern zone. If you are like most bowhunters, you will begin scouting about a week before the season starts and on opening day you probably will not take a deer or worse, you will miss an easy shot at a nice animal. Then, on the way home, with your head hung low, you will wonder what went wrong. The answer lies below.

Being Prepared
You start by taking the time to get your equipment ready. Take your bow to your local archery shop and have the archery pro do a tune-up and get your bow checked out for the season. They will check your string and cables, tighten up anything on your bow that may be loose, take the axles and grease them, and then tune your bow. You should put a new string on every year as well and then shoot 100 to 150 arrows to break it in. If you shoot aluminum arrows, make sure the shafts have no dings or dents and if you shoot carbon arrows, inspect the shafts for cracks. Check your broadheads next to make sure they're sharp and have no nicks on the blades.
The next step is to practice, practice, practice. Not only does practice improve accuracy, but it also builds your confidence needed to support that accuracy. When a whitetail presents itself, you want to know you can harvest that animal, rather than simply hope to hit the mark. That confidence will only come with practice at different distances and angles from the ground and from the trees.

Treestands

Do you hunt from a permanent stand? How long has it been up in that tree? Last season? The year before? Better inspect the wood, steps, screws, etc. When was the last time you serviced your portable stand? Tree stands do need oiling, tightening and inspecting. If you oil your tree stands do it well before the season, so the oily smell will have time to dissipate.

Scouting
Once you have all your equipment ready, it's time to scout the are you are planning to hunt. I like to use a topo map and my GPS, and I start eliminating the spots that are least likely to hold deer. These spots include areas within a quarter-mile of any access road. If you hunt leased or club lands, determine where most of the hunters aces the area from and mark the areas where you're likely to encounter the smallest number of fellow hunters. Mark those under-hunted regions on the map. You still need to check them out later as there could be a very good reason no one targets that area, or it could be your new secret Hot Spot. As you move to these areas, look for old rubs, bedding areas droppings, scrapes and trails. As you mark deer sign, also look for sites where you can hang your stand.
The more you scout before the season, the less time you need to spend looking once the season starts. We all enjoy just spending time in the woods, but it will improve your odds if you are in the right place.
With the right preparation, practice and utilizing motion-sensor cameras, hand-held GPS receivers, and topo maps you will be one step closer to harvesting that trophy buck.