We are only 3 days from the opening day of whitetail deer bow season here in Michigan. Soon we will be heading out with our treestands into the woods. Historically, I have found myself up late the night before the opener doing all the last minute things necessary to get ready. In the spirit of better preparedness, I made this list of things to make sure you have ready. Good luck out there!
- Practice shooting your bow with the broadheads you will hunt with. Make any sight adjustments if needed. Don’t assume the broadhead will fly the same as your field points.
- Wax your bowstring.
- Know where you’re hunting and when on opening day. Have a specific tree in mind to set your stand in, don’t just go in blind and pick one on the fly. Decide if you will hunt the morning, evening, or both. This will largely depend on access. Have a plan.
- Make sure your hunting clothes are washed with scent-free detergent and stored somewhere they will remain scent-free until you go to put them on.
- Check your treestand or saddle setup. Is everything working properly? Do you have all the ropes and straps you need for it?
- One is none and two is one. Have backups of essential gear in case you lose something or it breaks in the field. At a minimum, I would always have a backup bow release, backup flashlight, backup knife, and backup gear pull rope. A spare car key stashed in your hunting pack is never a bad idea either—trust me.
- Get tracking permission on neighboring properties. If you shoot a deer and it runs to the neighbors land you want to have advance permission to track it there.
- Rest up and take care of anything around the house that needs to be done. If you’re like me, when hunting season starts my mind goes one track for a while.
