With turkey season over and deer season two or more months away, depending on where you hunt, summer is one of the most difficult times to focus on hunting.  But the hot days of June, July and August will soon give way to the cool evenings and crisp morning of September and October.  When they do, you need to be ready.

Here are a few things you can do this summer to prepare for the Fall 2009 hunt.

• If you’re a bow hunter, it’s time to get that bow out of the closet and start practicing.  Now is a great time to work on shooting from longer distances than from which you would shoot at a deer.  If you can hit a three-inch target at 50 yards, hitting that buck in the vitals from 20 yards will seem easy this fall.
• If your bow needs a new string, a new site or paper tuning, take care of these things now.  Why waste the summer practicing with a bow that may shoot differently after adjustments are made and parts are replaced.  Spending the money for parts and maintenance now will also ease the pain of all the money you’re going to spend on hunting stuff in the fall!
• Along the same lines, if you need a new rifle, black powder gun or shotgun, don’t wait until October to buy it.  You need time to get used to the new weapon, and shooting ranges aren’t nearly as crowded in the summer as they will be right before the season opens.
• Get your tree stands up as soon as possible!  I’m not too good about this one and tend to hang new stands in August and September.  Nearly every time I’ve done this, the stand has been unproductive in the early season.  If you get the stand hung before the end of June, the deer should have time to get used to it being there and will be less likely to avoid the area.
• Similarly, scout out your hunting area in early rather than late summer.  The less commotion you make in the weeks leading up to the opener, the more likely you are to see game in the early season.

And perhaps most importantly, if you have kids you want to take hunting, start planning now how you are going to get them involved.  Making a youth hunt fun and safe can take a little more thought than hunting alone or with experienced adults.  Work on gun safety with the kids.  Pick a portion of your deer hunting property and designate for early season squirrel hunts.  Start talking about hunting with the kids now and watch their excitement grow!

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