Nov 3, 2023 By Dave Bates for The Observer-Reporter newsroom@observer-Reporter.Com 5 min read

Men, don’t be alarmed. It’s not what you think.

This is not a list of items that have to be completed before you are permitted to go hunting. This is rather a list of chores, dare I call them chores, that need to be undertaken before the real hunting takes place. Where to begin?

n Remember back in August when I wrote about sighting in your rifle in advance of the coming deer season? Well, did you? Me neither. But I have my own range and will walk out the back door one Saturday morning, soon, and do so before I pull the trigger on the buck of a lifetime. I am an optimist to the Nth degree. You just never know when the opportunity will present itself and that’s no time to meet up with Mr. Murphy.

n Get out the rifle and start practicing your gun mount. If it is safe to do so, set the deer rifle over in the corner and shoulder it multiple times a day as you walk through the office or den. Just make sure to check for safe before initiating this drill.

The more you practice mounting the piece, the more quickly it becomes second nature to do so. Pick a spot on the wall and practice finding that spot in the scope as quickly as possible. It will pay dividends when a deer erupts from its bed in front of you and micro-seconds count.

Other than gun safety, I would estimate that many more deer are lost to poor gun handling than anything except not being able to locate a good deer woods with deer in close proximity.

n Make sure you clean and oil your weapon but never fire the first shot at game through a clean bore. It can make a difference, and more than you might believe. My first shot through a clean bore is consistently high left. All others, successively, seem to fall into the target zone nicely but that first one is always somewhat astray. Control what you can, when you can. Also, practice achieving an improvised hunting rest where and when you are able; against a tree, over a post, using the rail of your stand, on top of your pack.

n Clean your optic lenses with a soft cotton cloth before heading for the woods. The time to find that there is a fine coating of dust over the lens is not as you are sitting in your stand the first morning. With any luck it will rain and smear the dust even more.

n Trim those shooting lanes early. You can almost count on climbing into your stand on the first day and having a branch protruding right into your line of sight to the spot where you know a deer will approach. The time for fixing this problem is now (unless you’re an archer). Don’t wait. One of my biggest peeves is guys going out to their stand a day or two before the season opener and playing around. Deer notice these things and if you are not seeing deer around your stand, it might be because the scent you’ve inadvertently left behind. Take mom, little sis or your buddy and make them walk around with the pole saw and prune limbs as you call out the obstructing foliage. Don’t do this the Friday after Thanksgiving.

n While you have those pruners out, trim the path to your stand so you’ll not be stuck, poked, gouged and cut up on your way into stand. Nothing ruins a morning like a stick in the eye and a trip to the hospital. Ask me how I know.

A few glo tacks along the way do wonders to light the way to your stand when you become disoriented in the dark. I make it a point not to use a flashlight as I walk to stand unless I absolutely have to. It’s a personal point of honor but I figure why push your luck by lighting up the countryside if you don’t have to. While you’re at it, maybe hang a piece of brightly colored surveyor ribbon at the point where you enter the woods to your stand. Just do it far enough in advance that the scent has long since dissipated by the time you are ready to hunt.

n Pack your pack. Unpack it. Pack it again. Know where everything is. Be able to find it when you need it, quickly, quietly and without losing everything else in your kit. Glenn, if you are reading this, you don’t have to carry everything in your hunting closet out to your stand. You are getting older and your backpack should weigh less than you do. However, please leave the Little Debbie cakes in there.

n Don’t forget to hang up those outer garments on the back porch to air out.

n Do you have these items on your checklist: In no particular order: license, pen, extra shells, toboggan, neck gaiter, 2-3 extra outer layers depending on cold, hand warmers, knife, drag rope, sandwich, candybar/lunch cakes (10-12), handkerchief, seat cushion, gloves, grunt tube, rattling antlers, binoculars, rain jacket, phone?

I’m sure I’ve forgotten more than one item but that should get us started.

Good luck with your preparations and good hunting.