Nov 5, 2016 4 min read

With deer season just around the corner, it seems appropriate to get ready for this anticipated big-game hunt.

While there are many factors that lead to a successful downing of a deer, I think I might be able to point out a few I think are important. While I am far from the greatest hunter – I know many that are far better at the sport – I am truthfully not at the bottom of this list. Therefore, I have opinions on what leads to success and failure.

After giving some thought to how I have bagged so many bucks, I decided the most important part of the hunt can be summed up with three Ps, preparation, patience and perseverance. There certainly are other factors besides those three alone but I feel they are the most important.

I’m going to cover preparation this week.

Preparation means exactly that, being prepared. While 100 percent might never be reached when preparing for the hunt, strive for 95 percent. Preparation means more than clean socks and underwear.

You must pay attention to your but rifle, scope and sling. Has the old .30-06 languished in the closet since last year? How about that scope? Did it give you trouble when last used? If so it needs to be replaced. These things don’t get better while lying around unused.

Is the scope still well anchored to the rifle by those itty bitty screws? Lenses can become dirty. If a resident smokes, that will cause a fuzzy image through the scope. In other words, clean it gently with a soft-clean tissue or lens cleaning kit.

Preparation means walking a bit so that hill in front of you isn’t so intimidating. I have often thought even the eyes need to be trained and retrained a bit so identifying a deer in the woods becomes easy.

Watching beautiful girls walk down Fifth Avenue hardly trains the eye for looking for the parts of a deer in the briars. So get off of the sofa and take a walk in the woods. Try to observe the natural world.

How is your ammo supply? Don’t wait too long to match the ammo you used to sight the rifle in. For heaven’s sake, don’t switch brands or bullet weights unless you have time to re-sight in the rifle!

Perhaps you want to upgrade the rifle.

Better do it now before the wrong person wins the election the buying of firearms – and your deer rifle is a firearm – becomes expensive and harder to find.

An important part of preparation is getting that favorite rifle ready for the hunt. This might mean a good cleaning and a shot to foul the barrel. A shot out of a clean barrel often doesn’t hit where the following shots are placed.

This is a good place to mention the carrying sling, for I have seen many so rotten it’s a miracle they hold the gun for three minutes.

Of course, the rifle should be shot before taking it out hunting. This shooting should be done utilizing some sort of rest. Remember you are testing where the rifle is hitting not your own shooting ability. Most sighting is done at 100 yards, although if the range is available it doesn’t hurt to check the sights at longer ranges. Three-hundred-yard shots are rare but do occur occasionally. It doesn’t hurt to be ready, just in case.

Another thing I think helps is if the bullet from many of longer-range rifles hits a couple of inches high at the 100 yard mark. That way the shooter can aim dead on the target out to about 300 yards without holding over.

Remember, the target on a deer’s chest is almost 12 inches and a one-inch hole group is hardly necessary on a deer.

• The Dormont-Mt. Lebanon Sportsmen’s Club has a sight in day for the public coming up Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is a small fee charged that goes to charity. Active members will be there to assist anyone who might need it.

George H. Block writes a Sunday outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.