I'm sure most everyone here is a diehard bowhunter. It's a year long adventure for most of us. But... when does "it" really kick into another gear? When do you really get that itch or feeling of not being able to wait for it anymore? When does the hunting juices start flowing? When are you scanning the fields a little more than usual when you're driving? When do you start smelling the fresh air and wanting to be sitting in a stand? When do you wake up on a cool peacefull morning watching the sunrise and get that hunting feeling? To be honest after the season is over I'm about 15 pounds lighter and pretty whooped physically. That's probably the only time I'm not ready to run out to a stand, wake up in the morning, scout, practice, etc.... After a gruelling season in the golf business and then right into a gruelling hunting season, I'm ready for some rest and relaxation for a month or so. Yet I find myself doing some late season scouting, but not as intense as the time and effort I put into pre season and during the season. Then spring rolls around and the blood starts pumping again. The woods come to life. The critters are out and about again. Fields are being planted. Start making goals and plans for the upcoming season etc... During the summer I'm really busy working 80-90 hours a week or so. I dont' really have time to think about anything else. BUT... somewhere around now (end of June/beginning of July) something clicks in the hunting portion of my brain. I find myself talking about and thinking about it more. I start getting that feeling again. My drive by my land on the way to work is a little slower stopping at all my "lookout spots". I start thinking of new stand locations. I start shooting the bow more. I start looking into new gadgets and gear that I want for the upcoming season. I try to aquire new pieces of land to hunt etc... That's the point where it initially kicks in and not on standby mode anymore. Then July and August it gets slowly magnified. By September I'm in full nutcase obsessed hunting mode By October (season starts mid October here) my family and friends are suggesting I seek psychological help. I can't sleep at night thinking about being in the woods in a couple weeks. I eat, breath, and sleep (very little) bowhunting. Then it happens. The day comes and you are finally sitting in a stand doing what you love. All the work, time and effort pre season is finally over and you are actually huning Very interesting progression throughout the year.
It really starts to kick in for me now. Once I start scouting and placing trail cams out it has begun for me.
Shooting wise, right now I concentrate on improving my form and shooting groups from known distances and also tweeking my bow. Around August is when I transition over to my hunting arrows and start practicing out of a treestand at various distances. August is also when I'll spend a few mornings in the woods hanging stands and trimming lanes.
I've already been glassing some fields. Haven't shot my bow since late December and probably won't for another month. Couldn't shoot now if I wanted to. Right now, I'm helping my kids get ready for bow season. My 3d deer has been shot in places that an arrow just shouldn't go! LOL They've made great strides already, they are working on a little longer distances now. I don't get serious deer fever until late September. Trail cams, fishing and dove hunting keep me busy until then.
after the season winds down I take a breather, after the weather finally breaks around here I start thinking about it... this time of year I start getting prepped... but i don't go into "rut" until november
Once that first cool,(60s), night hits in mid-September. Then the anticipation really gets going. I'm ready year-round but its that first cool night, that smell, that feel......
About late July early Aug is when I really just can't take it anymore...but I start itching in June. Come Sept Im all to peices til Oct 3rd.
Done that already...When turkey hunting is over and the trail cams get put out and I start getting pics of velvet bucks is when the fuel starts burning for me. Is going to be here soon.
I go from Hunting season to trade show season, to shed season, to velvet footage season, to scouting / hanging season, back to hunting season again. I used to count the days until the season - now I never seem to have enough time to get ready! I live it and love it year-around!
I stay pumped up about from the end of the season through spring scouting... Then I get busy and don't worry too much about hunting until September rolls around... Did I mention its been above 95 degrees for 3 weeks straight?
For me, this year, was early June when I applied for my Illinois tag. I had it under control till then...... Normally, though, it's when I get the annual archery catalogs in the mail. Early July.
By July I really pick up the practice. By late July I am in full hunt mode even though it is 2 months until the season opener. I start replaying all of my old hunting videos, begin to chew tobacco, and basically turn into a neanderthal man for the next 4-5 months.
Opening day for me is August 15th. My last hunt finished on May 25th. This is pretty typical for me. I shoot everyday-I wouldn't know what to do with my time otherwise. Thanks to Russ Barber, I now have a new lifestlye to pursue. The traditional arrow flinging starts tomorrow. The hunting bug never goes away...
It usually takes a little while in between the end of spring gobbler and about now. This time last year I was hanging stands, cutting lanes, glassing fields, etc. I'm a bit behind this summer, but I still have the itch. Ironically it's the summer heat that spurs my longing for cool, crisp autumn weather that makes bowhunting all that much more enjoyable.
