What is your method?

[lpcjon2]

Yup, we all can tell it is the off season,and it is a hard thing to deal with.So to help everyone out and get them in the mood for the upcoming season I thought we could get your method of preparation.

 So what is your method of preparation for your up coming season? I want it from your gear,your area your home life,and your body. Whatever it is you normally do to get ready. This may help some of us with those last minute things we forget.Thanks in advance.        

[Bowwild]

I never stop shooting. I even launch a broadhead pointed arrow from time to time just to make sure all is well. I try to shoot my 3-D trail every day with realistic hunting shots.  I will put up some tree stands this month -- 30-45 days in advance of the season opener on Sept. 4th.I try to make sure I schedule work and travel to minimize interference with my hunting. My hunting tackle, packs, and clothing was all put away after turkey season (early May) and will take only an hour or so to get organized again. My family (wife now -- kids are grown) has been experiencing bow season with me for 32 years and knows I'll be trying to hunt nearly every day at the home site. She knows I'll make 3-4 trips to Indiana (250 miles).  Since I'm not going west this year (just cancelled plans yesterday to elk hunt) this will be a simple, near-home season. This year I'll add a wrinkle to my deer hunting by using a ground blind a bit, mainly to take better advantage of turkeys that mosey through my area.

[Izzy]

I gotta say, this is what I do.Next to family and work hunting and fishing is all Ive got, not complaining but thats how it is.Everyday a good portion of my daydreaming and scheming has me planning stands, weekend hunts, equipment.As far as conditioning, I walk on average of 3 miles a day with the mutt, jog 4 times a week whenever its not 100 degrees,lift a bit of weights.I shoot at least 5 days a week even if its just one arrow but usually 10-15 shots. Then theres this place,.I guess I check in 5 times a day or so for an average of 10 to 20 minutes.Ive learned too much to mention just from reading threads here.

[Mitch-In-NJ]

I ramp up on my practice.  That's key.  Right now I am shooting at least every other day, usually daily.  Sometimes I shoot in my yard.  I can get as far as 30 yards from a target to shoot so space isn't an issue.  Home also has the advantange of being able to shoot from an elevated position.  My basement is full exposed in the back of my house and my back yard slopes toward the lake.  So, if I shoot from my back porch it's 30 yards away and about 18 feet higher than the target.  I also have one of those bendy, foldy ladders that I can make a 5' scaffold out of.

I also stump shoot a lot more now.  Sometimes real stumping in the woods, sometimes I just toss some empty cans or plastic bottles around a field and shoot at them.  I found a Pee Wee league football doing that and now its a target.  It's my favorite because its a little hard to see and just slightly larger than a full grown rabbit.  Makes hitting it that much more fun.

When I stump shoot I am also looking for sign and when dusk hits I jump in the truck and glass my spots.

I put out the trail cams a couple weeks ago and have started setting up blinds and stands.

All that pretty much covers scouting, practice and the physical prep.

The mental part of it is to start daydreaming about it, pop in the occasional trad DVD and post a lot here.  Once the season starts I don't post much again until the next Spring.

[Sean B]

Well I shoot everyday. rain or shine. During the summer, I take an inventory of what I need, what I don't need, any changes I may want to consider. I "freshen" up my spots, where needed. Try to figure out when I want to set my vacation time for.as the season get closer, I'll sharpen broadheads, knives...wash my hunting cloths in baking soda, and bag em.

[slivrslingr]

Tinker, shoot, try to stay in shape!

[Night Wing]

I practice at my home and sometimes I go "roving" which is similar to stump shooting.

[straitera]

Lift weights year round. Stump shooting again in April to June with increasing frequency. Add short yardage bales to 15 yards. Try focusing on holding extra long at full draw before shooting. Bow exercises (both hands) 2-3 times weekly. October, it's on with my regular 70-80# hunting bows. Same gear as years past.

[COMPOUNDLESS IN CONCRETE]

Well since this is my first upcoming hunting season, this is what I am doing.

Starting tomorrow, 45-60 mins on the eliptical trainer @30 degree incline with increasing resistance every 10 mins.  Days when it is not sub-boiling temps in my shop I will use the bowflex.

Shooting every chance I get.  I try to shoot early in the morning and late at night till it gets too dark to see the yellow jacket in the back yard.

Starting sometime in the near future I will be gluing my new Magnus II 2 blades to the steel adapters and shooting only the broadheads from now until the end of my hunting season.

Going through my gear and deciding on what I need and don't need in my daypack.  

And last but not least and what will be the most fun part of it all, taking my 4 year old daughter Brooke with me in the woods to do some scouting.  We have been practicing being quiet and walking very slowly in the back yard and seeing if we can sneak up on birds and squirrels.  If she does well with the quiet thing when we are scouting I will most likely take her with me in the woods on occasion come september.  Man this is fun.  

[BOWMARKS]

I never stop , I enjoy shooting my bow and getting together with my friends to shoot the bull about archery and anything else that comes up .  

[twitchstick]

It is crunch time for me! Just over 30 days until the opener. The deer and elk are just getting settled in there summer patterns and I have started scouting heavy but there is never enough time in a summer. Today I shoot my bow and build a couple of blinds for some bucks I glassed this week.

[lpcjon2]

Now I have time to list my methods. Like the rest of you I shoot as much as possible.I also take a dozen matched arrows and set them up with BH's and the best six get sharpened and stored for the hunt, the other get tweaked and are used for practice.I take all my clothes out and check for rips and make sure they still fit(fix accordingly).I take a walk at least every three weeks around to my stands and check for unwanted guests.And check all the stands for safety and replace them if they need it.I try to keep active(eat good,work out weekly) so I can make the hike in to the stands and be able to drag out a kill if I get lucky.A month before the opener I go over everything I use flashlights,(always remove batteries at the end of the season)boots ,packs,ect.Then I double check my hunting arrows and shoot them again, and if they are on I sharpen them up again and load the quiver.I wash the gear and hang outside for a few days and then pack them in a Rubbermaid cont.with pine bows and leaves.For the home life I put up pictures of myself for the kids to look at and one on the milk jug that says hunting not missing,And I bring out the poster of me for the wife to talk to...LOL
  Hope any newbies can find some tips to help them out in the prep for this years hunt.  

[centaur]

I shoot, both in the backyard and stumping. I hike 6 to 7 miles a day, and I just got in from a mountain bike ride that I try to do 3 to 4 times a week. The mt. bike ride is short, but as intense as I can make it. I will go to the mountain and camp for a couple of days this week, doing some pre season scouting for elk in an area that I have not hunted before, so that will entail a lot of hilly to mountainous hiking. Eat, sleep, repeat.

[wapiti792]

I shoot daily. I also start making myself shoot harder shots...not distance but I put a bush or a tree in the way and do a stalk on my 3d targets. I start to think more like a predator when I am shooting. I carry one arrow instead of three and make myself take a real hunting shot.

I train for my last triathlon of the year. It is usually the 2nd week of August. That way I have 2 weeks or so until elk country to get my packing legs in shape. I stop running miles and start walking miles with a pack on.

I get all of my glassing in to find food sources and whitetails together. I pour over sat photos of my whitetail spots and visit each stand site for pruning. I begin to see my Oct spots and rank them in order for wind direction and big buck sightings.

I am a crazy person and Sept can't get here fast enough. My wife tells me I have the 1000 yard stare by the time my least triathlon gets here and lasts until January. She also knows I am in my best moods in Oct, Nov, and Dec....

[LimbLover]

I work out almost daily but I don't change it for hunting season at all. I shoot almost daily so I don't need to ramp that up at all.

This is only my second season and the only thing I'm really trying to figure out is which bow I am hunting with and with which arrows/broadheads. I have three potential setups right now and the decision is becoming way harder than it should be.

Planning out what type of quiver I'm going to use is also part of it. Back quiver with fanny pack? Bow quiver with daypack? Etc.

[Jack Skinner]

My equipment setup is almost identical to yours ipcjon2 making new arrows with broadheads keeping the best for hunting the others for practice. I begin shooting my go to for that year selfbow only. Hit several local 3-d shoots as well as shooting in the yard as much as weather allows. All my hunting clothes and gear are in plastic containers ready to load and go at a moments notice.

(centaur we need to get together sometime) I also hike/run at least 5 miles 3-5 x a week. As the season gets closer I will add my hunting pack and its weight to my walks/runs. Along with mtn bike rides up to 1-1.5 hrs at a time. Two weeks ago I crashed and dislocated and fractured my left thumb. Has slowed down my preparations very little. Shooting is uncomfortable but do able. Some usual lite lifting pushups/situps/pullups. I am going to prepare for a 8mile trail run/walk that is held in Aug. Preperation for this event will also get me ready for elk.

My wife and I will begin to camp over in my elk area. We will go for hikes and look over the area this allows me to do some lite scouting, check range conditons elk and deer sign what-have-you.

[Sam McMichael]

I am shooting regularly getting ready. The only problem is that have tendonitis, so I have to be careful not to shoot too much. That is about 3 or 4 times a week and shooting 30 to 50 arrows at a session. The equipment is ready to go as long as the elbow holds out.

Also, I have begun to inventory all the gear and am looking for misplaced items, especially socks - I must have 7 or 8 half-pairs of socks in the drawer.

This year my son and I will set up our own special deer camp. So I have really been checking out kitchen equipment, coolers, folding tables, etc.  For many years, I have gone to a camp where all the food preparation gear was furnished. Now that we are doing our own, a whole new horizon of "stuff" looms before us.

I am really beginning to look forward to opening weekend. All the thinking and planning is really fun.

The last thing on the to do list is to relocate a couple of my stands. I'll wait till a little closer to the season to make sure my placement is good the first time. That way, maybe I won't need to stink up the woods during the season simply because I was not correct in my original site selection.

Physically, I don't do a whole lot of preparation, because my stands are all fairly close to my son's house, where I park the truck. There's nothing difficult about getting in or out of any of my stands. If I need help getting one out of the woods, I just go get my son. (Hey, if I wanted to do all my own lifting and carrying, I would have had all girl children.) Seriously, that is the greatest flaw in my hunting preparation.

If the season itself is as fun as the preparation and anticipation, it ought to really be a great year. Overall, I am just getting antsy waiting for opening weekend.

[swamp donkey]

Only thing I do really is to spend alot of time scouting my hunting areas. I shoot year round and have for 45 years so shootings not a factor really.

[vernon]

My gear is always ready to go although I might wash it or throw it in a bag with some sagebrush and pine boughs for awhile.  I try to shoot as much as possible which hasn't been every much this summer.  I basically stick to stump shooting and do this while hiking with my hunting backpack.  I try to shoot a bunch with my backpack and bino's cause thats always the situation I'm in with game.  When hiking I also hike hard enough to get my breathing and pulse elevated then try to gain my composure and take a couple shots to simulate another hunting situations.

[Bill Skinner]

To get ready for deer season, I go hog hunting.  Try to practice at least 3 times a week, walk several miles each day, try to stay active.  Bill