Getting Ready For Bow Season by GirlVSWILD Copyright Oct. 2007 Getting prepared for the hunting season is very critical. With bow season for deer in Alabama is quickly approaching. Many things are going through my mind right now as to how to be better prepared for this year's season such as: What do I need to do to be prepared for opening day? What are some thing that I didn't do last season that is a big must on my list this year? I wrote this article so that it might help you become prepared, especially if you are a newbie! "Bows & Arrrows" I first want to stress if you don't practice with your bow year around, you need to start practicing NOW! Practice makes perfect- and a better, cleaner kill. By practicing often you'll know if your bow is in tune and ready for the season. Tuning your bow can mean killing that big buck of a liftime or missing it. I suggest going to your pro shop to have your bow tuned but if you would like to do it yourself there are many places online that will show you how to tune your bow! I really enjoyed the bow tuning article from Peterson's Bowhunting Magazine: http://www.bowhuntingmag.com/tactics/tune_0112/ If you've ever had an arrow that doesn't want to group with the others, don't blame yourself! It could very well be the arrow is damaged in some way. I have had the best luck with Gold Tip for producing the least amount of crooked shafts right out of the box. With other brands I've had 2-4 out of the dozen that were not usable. Inserts are often the culprit as they can be inserted crooked. Sometimes broadheads could be the culprit too for causing the flight of the arrow to be different than the rest. To check your arrow you can do this by getting "The Arrow Inspector" . To check your broadheads Apple makes what is called a Broadhead Spin Tester. "Clothing" Next in line is clothing. Your clothing has been stored for a while now, right? Ever opened up that box and it doesn't quite smell scent free? I always recommend washing your hunting clothing, even if they smell scent free to you. Wash your clothes in your favorite camo clothing laundry detergent. Please make sure if you have carbon clothing to use the right kind of detergent! It is also good to make sure your detergent does not have UV brighteners in it. Now that you have your clothing washed. You might think about drying your clothing outside, if you use scented dryer sheets in your dryer. What was the point in scent free washing your clothing if you are now going to dry them in a scented dryer? I don't use dryer sheets so after I dry my clothes I hang them out on the clothes line for several weeks anyway to make them smell like the great outdoors. http://www.keystonecountrystore.com/Scent_Elimination/Clothes_Wash/ALS_Scent_Lok_Premium_Clothes_Wash/Page_1/LUR2114304.html How much clothing is too much? Well, if you're like my dad and have almost every kind of Scent-Lok they make for every single type of weather then you are pretty much good to go. *I* am not lucky enough to have all of it so I wear most of my gear year round and just do layers. Alabama Opening Bow Season- October to early sometimes Mid November In Oct. in Alabama it can still be pretty hot during the mid parts of the day and mornings are just cool. I normally wear: Pair of Camo Jeans - I have no clue what brand these are. I don't even think they make these anymore since they were my mom's when she was younger... but to tell you the truth I LOVE THEM for this time of year. Long Sleeve Camo Shirt- I really don't think brand matters here, I think I bought mine at Walmart! Lacrosse Alpha Burly Boots- I love these boots! You can read my review on these. Late Nov to January Later in the season it gets cooler in the mornings and evenings and I have to wear my Game Hide Jacket for Women ! Once it gets really cold....okay, well to me anything below 50 degrees is freezing cold. ;) I like to wear my Game Hid Insulated Bibs for Women. My parents bought me a pair of these for Christmas and I LOVE THEM to death during the winter. Depending on the coldness I will actually layer my Polartec undergarments and will even have a sweat shirt on underneath my heavy jacket. I get cold easily and when I get cold, I get cranky.. so the key is keeping warm. WHILE keeping warm you want to make sure you can move and draw back. I will also walk to the stands in my lighter weight clothing and get dressed in my heavier weight clothing AFTER I've made it to my stand so I don't sweat as much. "Backpack" EVERYTHING goes in my backpack. I would have quite a large list listed here but I have just really listed the basics and then afterwards I have listed a few of my required extras. Safety Harness Release Small Emergency Kit WATER** This is a MUST !! Head Light and/or Flashlight. I prefer a headlight to help me when I'm walking in and out of the dark. I recently did a review on a Gerber headlamp. Knife - I normally just keep mine on me in case of emergency. Optics/Rangefinder RADIO or some form of communication!- This is a must for me. I hunt alone quite a bit and I just like to keep in contact in case something should happen. Take your cellphone even and just put it on Silent. String- If you don't keep the string that you use to pull up your bow, I recommend you keep it in your backpack. You can also get a backpack with a built in bow "holder". I have one of these and just carry my bow in on my back now. Shewee- Ok, what? Yes, I have found a new addition to my backpack and its called a She-wee. Now us ladies don't have to crawl out of our stands to go the bathroom. I'll be doing a review on this later on so watch out for it! These are really just the basics but I always like to pack unscented lip balm, my Gum-O-Flauge, Snacks if I'm hunting for a long time, Coffee in my thermos (for the mornings, I can't go without coffee), Contacts (I'll pack an extra set of contacts in case it is needed), GPS, etc.. the list can go on and on from calls to wind direction detection thingy mabobs! ;) "Treestands, Trees & Those Dreaded Vines" If you have a tree stand, after you have put up your tree stand make sure you have clear shots but you haven't chopped down so many limbs you are now sticking out like a .. a huge bump on a tree. You do want some cover and shooting lanes as well. Sometimes it is also best not to pick the tree closests to the green field either. If you pull up your bow with a string, make sure there isn't a ton of brush down there or on the way up that your bow could get caught on. From experience, I know this. Apparently it was a bad morning to be in the stands. I got up in the stand late, tied myself off to the tree and while trying to get my release on dropped it. No, it didn't drop straight down, it decided it was going to land right on my aluminum steps making loud noises on it's way down. "UGH, not THIS morning, please!", I was thinking. Untied myself, climbed back down the tree, found my release. Climbed back up the tree, got my release on. Decided it was now time to pull up my bow and as I was pullied it up it got caught on some sort of vine. Needless to say I was NOT going to get back down there as I was already tide to the tree again and had my release on. JERK ....JERK....JERK..... "I refuse" .. JERK.. "To get down" .. JERK.. "OUT OF THIS STAND!!!". JERK!!! Needless to stay it was as stubborn as I was and it was not going up. Reluctantly I gave up and went down to untangle it. FINALLY, I get settled in my tree stand bow up. After about 20 minutes I'm freezing cold and I look down at my bow and my sights are as crooked as a dog's hine leg. Well, we *all* know why. Lesson well learned, don't fight with vines while PMS-ing, please just cut them down. If you are using a climbing tree stand make sure you practice using it. It is always good to build up the leg and abdominals too so its not such a huge workout for you on opening day. Also make sure you know the distances of things around you to help you estimate the range of that animal! "Trails" You want to make sure I have a clear cut trail or brightly marked so you don't get lost early in the morning or late in the evenings. Fire Tacks and Fire Tape from www.firetacks.com will get the job done! "The Night Before" I always like to lay my things out on the porch. Make sure I have everything packed in my backpack. Make sure I have enough clothing if it is going to be cold. I do this before every hunt, actually. I will also wash my clothes in my camo clothing detergent too if I hunted the day before to make sure I'm completely scent free of human odors. "Bathing" I always get up and shower the morning. Use you're favorite scent free shampoo/conditioner/soap. If you're like me and your hair absorbs the smell of hair products and doesn't want to come out.. I use cedarwood EO or Oakmoss EO scented body products. I find for me it is better to mask the odor of my hair rather than try to fight the odors coming out because I never seem to win. You can buy my own specialty made Cedarwood Soap from the WomenHunters.com Store! I will soon have a review out for Monkey Boy Product's Oakmoss Soap, Conditioner and Lotion. Their products are made from Oakmoss Essential Oil and really smells like the woods. www.monkeyboyproducts.com If you have extremely thick hair I might suggest you use the Mimi's DIVA DRYER by Aquis! This is a big must for me as my hair will never dry fast enough and using a hair dryer is just way to harsh. If you have to put on your make-up, as I know a few ladies who wouldn't even think of stepping out of their house without it... please try and use something such as a mineral make-up without scent! I hope these tips will help you prepare for bow season this year!
"I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the time. I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown to any paved highway, and the deep peace of the wild to the discontent bred by cities."
Everett Ruess (1914 - 1934) - from the last letter Ruess sent to his brother, dated November 11, 1934
Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.