Some of Hunters are extreme outdoor enthusiasts and hunt all year long or their passion extends to Trapping and
Fishing and so there is - NO Off Season but those selective Hunters -here are some ideas to keep you STOKED!
1. Join an on-line forum:
My first choice is www.archerytalk.com - It’s an excellent forum for archery and hunting. There are also a number of state specific
forums so do a search and find one that suits you. You’ll find good information, hunting ideas, discussions on various products and
maybe a friend or two.
2. Scout:
The best time to scout is from the end of hunting season through early spring. The trails are easy to spot before the weeds take
over, it’s cooler, and there’s a lot less bugs. Stretch your legs and get some fresh air while looking for sheds, morel mushrooms,
and new spots. My scouting usually begins with topo maps and aerial photos. They are very valuable tools you should be
using in your scouting too. You can view and/or purchase them at www.globexplorer.com, www.terraserver.com or a number
of other sites. The maps and photos can be viewed on-line but I have ended up purchasing them for the areas I hunt. It’s just easier
to look at the printed version. I lay a piece of plastic film on top of the aerial photos and that way I can draw on them with various
colored china markers. You can buy the plastic film and china markers at any art supply store.
You might want to check out Mapping Trophy Whitetails. It’s a good book. More or less a collection of essays that focus on
scouting techniques and the use of topo maps and aerial photos.
3. Practice your shooting: Do I need to elaborate? Quality is as important as quantity. Slow down and make each shot your
best. Consider shooting with friends or at a 3D meet. The added pressure of an audience will help you tighten up your form.
Whether it’s fear of public humiliation or just plain competition, shooting with other people helps keep us focused. Quality practice
is the way shooting improves. Sloppy practice is essentially practicing mistakes, mistakes that become more and more ingrained.
The more realistic your practice sessions are, the better.
Fishing and so there is - NO Off Season but those selective Hunters -here are some ideas to keep you STOKED!
1. Join an on-line forum:
My first choice is www.archerytalk.com - It’s an excellent forum for archery and hunting. There are also a number of state specific
forums so do a search and find one that suits you. You’ll find good information, hunting ideas, discussions on various products and
maybe a friend or two.
2. Scout:
The best time to scout is from the end of hunting season through early spring. The trails are easy to spot before the weeds take
over, it’s cooler, and there’s a lot less bugs. Stretch your legs and get some fresh air while looking for sheds, morel mushrooms,
and new spots. My scouting usually begins with topo maps and aerial photos. They are very valuable tools you should be
using in your scouting too. You can view and/or purchase them at www.globexplorer.com, www.terraserver.com or a number
of other sites. The maps and photos can be viewed on-line but I have ended up purchasing them for the areas I hunt. It’s just easier
to look at the printed version. I lay a piece of plastic film on top of the aerial photos and that way I can draw on them with various
colored china markers. You can buy the plastic film and china markers at any art supply store.
You might want to check out Mapping Trophy Whitetails. It’s a good book. More or less a collection of essays that focus on
scouting techniques and the use of topo maps and aerial photos.
3. Practice your shooting: Do I need to elaborate? Quality is as important as quantity. Slow down and make each shot your
best. Consider shooting with friends or at a 3D meet. The added pressure of an audience will help you tighten up your form.
Whether it’s fear of public humiliation or just plain competition, shooting with other people helps keep us focused. Quality practice
is the way shooting improves. Sloppy practice is essentially practicing mistakes, mistakes that become more and more ingrained.
The more realistic your practice sessions are, the better.
- Shoot from various angles, standing, sitting, crouching, leaning, kneeling, on the ground, in a tree stand (or at least an
elevated platform), etc. etc. - Wear your hunting clothes, jacket, head net, ghillie suit or whatever you’re going to wear in the field.
- As the season approaches, start shooting with broadheads.
For that matter, you can do the same thing by
just fertilizing the brush and weeds in an area just
before or during the season.
6. Fix your Equipment:
7. Hunt something else:
Turkey, hog, coyotes, bear are all available while
deer season is closed.
just fertilizing the brush and weeds in an area just
before or during the season.
- Mix some Miracle Grow or what have you
with some water in a compression sprayer
and just spray everything in a small area. - Deer will seek out the fertilized
vegetation, but no one else will be able to
spot it.
6. Fix your Equipment:
- Clean, descent, and organise your gear
- Repair last year's barbed wire damage by
sewing the crotch back into your coveralls - Oil the joints on your tree stand so there's
no creaks, squeaks, or pops. - Sharpen your knife
7. Hunt something else:
Turkey, hog, coyotes, bear are all available while
deer season is closed.
4. Score points with your significant other:
You’re going to burn through some brownie points during the season so try to
score some while you can. Work on that honey do list, surprise her with an
evening out that you planned just for her, spend time with her. If none of that
works, my advice is to go hunting anyway. If she’s bitter and unreasonable,
she’s probably going to be like that either way so you might as well go
hunting.
5. Improve your odds by sprucing up your hunting area:
or so into the ground to create a hole and pour about ½ cup of granulated
fertilizer in it and cover the hole.
The nice thing is only the deer will notice the difference, other hunters won’t
be able to tell that you’ve created your own food plot. Browse our line of
food plot seeds
You’re going to burn through some brownie points during the season so try to
score some while you can. Work on that honey do list, surprise her with an
evening out that you planned just for her, spend time with her. If none of that
works, my advice is to go hunting anyway. If she’s bitter and unreasonable,
she’s probably going to be like that either way so you might as well go
hunting.
5. Improve your odds by sprucing up your hunting area:
- Start some mock scrapes
- Plant food plots
- Fertilize mast trees.
- Oak, persimmon, beach, apple, etc., can all be made far attractive to
deer by fertilizing.
or so into the ground to create a hole and pour about ½ cup of granulated
fertilizer in it and cover the hole.
The nice thing is only the deer will notice the difference, other hunters won’t
be able to tell that you’ve created your own food plot. Browse our line of
food plot seeds
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Ideas for the Off Season...
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