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Preseason Bowhunting Preparations

By Hunting NetworkJuly 31, 2011

LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015

Tomorrow is August 1st and as the summer finally winds down this month, I’ll be ramping up my preparations for the impending hunting season.  If you’re a hunter like me, the anticipation—and the accompanying scheduling, strategizing and planning—is almost as exciting as the season itself. 

Of course, preparation for the upcoming season starts way before August.  I spent some time this June and July creating Monster Raxx mineral sites—in my hunting spots in Minnesota and Wisconsin—and strategically placing trail cameras around these sites.  Recently, I’ve had time to check my various trail camera locations and have been pleased to see that some of the bucks I was chasing last year, along with some new ones, that are showing up on my cameras. 

 
This “High-Brow” buck showed up on my CamTrakker on July 17, 2011

These next few weeks leading up to opening day will definitely give me an idea of what big deer I’ll have a chance at this season as I continue to check my trail cameras in different locations.


Monster Raxx mineral sites have been extremely effective for me this year.

Apart from all the time I spent collecting vital information on the deer in my properties, I’ve also spent time working on fine-tuning my new Matthews Z7 Extreme to tightening my shot groups at 20, 30, 40 and even 50 yards.  I have always liked the advice to “practice at 50 yards so 25 yards feels like a chip shot” when getting my bow ready for the season. I have spent a few afternoons doing this very thing at a local target range near my house. With my sight pins adjusted and I am very close to being “dialed-in” for the 2011 season (most years my goal is to be ready August 1 – this year is no exception). 

 


Real Avid’s “Toolio” makes bow tuning fast and easy; here I am adjusting my site pins while target shooting. 

As if the anticipation of whitetail opener wasn’t enough to fill up my August, on the 15th of this month, we’ll be heading to Wyoming to hunt Pronghorn Antelope.  This will definitely be a new experience for me; I’m excited for the new challenges that this hunt will bring—from the open terrain to hunting a new quarry—it should be a great adventure.  We’ll be capturing the hunt on film, so for those of you who follow the Bowhunt or Die webisodes, check back at the end of August to see how our inaugural antelope hunt turned out.  


I may not have any trail cameras on Wyoming Antelope; but this southeastern MN buck has my attention.

Good luck with your preseason scouting and hopefully your seasons are successful.

See you in the woods,
Neal McCullough

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