We are just over 2 weeks away from Michigan bow season opener 2020. Hopefully, by now you’ve been practicing with your bow, scouting, and have a general idea of what gear you’ll be taking out into the woods with you this fall. Let’s talk about a few things you can do to get ready over the next couple of weeks.

1. Keep Practicing With Your Bow. If you’ve been practicing, keep it up. If not, you need to start. Make sure you bowstring is in good shape, have your bow looked over by an archery tech if possible, flex all of your arrows to make sure none have any cracks or splits, and make sure you have done some shooting from an elevated platform. Get out at least every other day and shoot for 15-30 minutes. The practice now will make sure your draw is smooth and that you are putting the arrow where you want to.
2. Do A Dry Run With All Of Your Gear. Load your pack up with everything you will be bringing on opening day. Take a walk in the woods. Practice setting up your blind or treestand and practice taking it down when you are finished. You’d be amazed at the little things that we forget in the offseason, but by testing your setup you will ensure that there are no surprises when it counts. The muscle memory developed by a dry run will help you out a ton when you are setting up or tearing down in the dark.
3. Have A Plan. Know where you will be hunting on opening day and how you will be rotating properties or spots to make sure you aren’t educating the deer too much. You need to know if a particular spot is accessible in the early morning when it’s dark, is huntable in different wind directions, and how hunting pressure may affect deer movement in the area.