My sister, Alycia, showing off her 4 point from last season (2007).Gorgeous foliage, crunching leaves, dressing up for Halloween and HUNTING SEASON! Regardless of the fact that I seem to be a failure, it doesn’t stop me from getting excited every time I think about sitting in a tree stand. Each new season has bigger bucks, more ducks and more chances to get the perfect shot.
Lately I’ve been preparing for hunting season. I'll admit, when I should have been target practicing with my bow and guns all summer I sometimes became pre-occupied with getting a tan. Still, I feel a lot more prepared this year. Below I’m going to list everything I’ve done to prepare for the exhilarating months ahead!
1. I FINALLY took my bow hunter’s safety course and got my bow hunter’s license. I already knew how to shoot my bow and I was annoyed that I had to sit through hours of what seemed like “irrelevant” information, but it turned out that I learned a lot. Local sportsman clubs offer bow hunter, hunter and trapper education year round. Check out the list on our website or the DEC website to see a list of hunter safety courses offered in Oswego County.
2. I started shooting my bow about two months ago to build up accuracy and most importantly, arm strength. I am a weakling so I want to make sure I’ll be able to pull back my bow when a buck is standing in front of me! I usually shoot my bow from the ground, standing up about 20 – 30 yards away from the target, which is an unrealistic situation when hunting. Sometimes I was creative as you can tell from the photos below.
3. Besides playing “Extreme Buck Hunter” at some of the local food and drink establishments, I honed up on my shooting skills by practicing with my rifle. I am fortunate to have a lot of property so we have shooting challenges in our backyard. I seem to excel at hitting the target when it’s immobile and doesn’t have antlers.
4. I went trap shooting for the first time! Our friend is a member of the Albion Fish and Game Club in Altmar. Five of us, all guys except me, went trap shooting and during the first set I came in second place; during the second set I came in dead last (I was just giving the guys a chance). I am not a member of a sportsman’s club yet, but I plan to join one in the spring. Click here to view a list of sportsman clubs in Oswego County.
The guys, trying to figure out how I came in second place!
5. I washed my hunting clothes in Scent-Lok detergent! Last year I made the mistake of going out in the woods with clothes that were just hanging inside my house. The bigger bucks are smart and last year I wasn’t. I’m not making that mistake this year. I am also following a great tip from someone: after washing your clothes in a no-scent product, place them in a sealable bag or bin with pine needles and other natural things from outside. Hopefully if I follow this tip it will increase my odds!
6. I bought my sporting licenses. You must have your hunting tags on you when you hunt. I bought the super sportsman license at Woody’s Tackle on Route 3 in Pulaski. It includes bear tags which I don’t think I will be needing anytime soon, because with my luck I would probably become the bear’s lunch, and because you can’t legally hunt bear in Oswego County.
Duck hunting season opens this weekend and if I bag two ducks I’ll be doubling what I bagged last year. Soon after, deer hunting begins! Click here to see the exact dates for hunting in Oswego County.
If you get some great photos of your hunts this year, please email them to me at jtrump@oswegocounty.com and I’ll post them on my blog!
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