What have you done this year to prepare for the 2016 season?

[HuntingNY]

What have you done this year to prepare for the 2016 season?

 

Have you added new stands / blinds? (Post pictures!)

New Bow / Gun?

 
Practiced for weeks on end?

 
Do you have any crazy rituals?

 
What have you done this year to prepare for the 2015 season?

 
Food? Whats going on at camp and what are you bringing?
 

[sweet old bill]

to get ready for the 2016 season I shoot my bow all year long. Most days I shoot about 20 arrows from unmarked range out to  max of 30 yards. At 74 years young it is a requirement for me to keep the shooting form. I also take walks thru the areas I hunt to see if the deer has changed there normal areas they are in, such as bedding area to there food sources.

[Doc]

I have finally got most of the spring and summer work under control so I can begin to get ready for the up-coming bow season. The big holidays and family gatherings are done and it is now time to get my mind ready to prepare. All I'm waiting for now is the damned heat to back off a bit. Hard to concentrate on shooting with that trickle of sweat running down the center of my back.

[GreeneHunter]

Not a Damn Thing !   LOL

[NYBowhunter]

Had a guy come in with a bulldozer and grade a road up my mountain so i can access the higher elevation of my property with my tractor, had him also open up 2 new food plots. I laid down lime, ferterlizer in those 2 new plots and planted rape and ladino clover. With the help of my young boys and my dad we cut up and stacked about 30 trees of varying size. Mowed existing food plots. Planted couple more apple trees.

[wooly]

I hung a new trail cam yesterday.

[fasteddie]

NYBowhunter -- That wood pile should should last a while .

[BKhunter]

Joined a hunting league so I've been practicing with the bow for a few months now to get ready. I need to get up and move some stands and tinker with the rifles. Seems like I will never have enough time to ever be ready for a season with work and other life commitments that take up most of my time. 

[ny hunter]

As of today nothing......................But I plan on starting soon...

[NYBowhunter]

5 hours ago, fasteddie said:

NYBowhunter -- That wood pile should should last a while .

Oh yeah without a doubt and its stacked 2 1/2 rows deep. I have other piles of smaller size throughout the property. Gonna try to get all these piles back to the house so they can get split and stacked. Heres a side angle to give a perspective of how big that pile is, i was wielding the saw and everyone was stacking,  got it all done in about 4 -5hrs.

[jjb4900]

nothing as of yet.

[DirtTime]

Moved further south, added another rifle to the safe, been PC/topo/satalite scouting some state land, started knocking on doors for private land. That's about it for me.

[Nomad]

 

My hunting clothes from last year have not even been washed yet.

 

[jjb4900]

42 minutes ago, Larry302 said:

 

My hunting clothes from last year have not even been washed yet.

 

I'm one step ahead of you, I just piled some of mine in front of the washing machine last night......

[518BowSlayer]

bought a climbing stand and have been scouting some public land. and buying a ton of hunting clothes from the cabelas bargain cave. good deals

[eagle rider]

other than sited in guns..... NADA!!!!  Putting cameras in camp stands next week.

[Nomad]

On July 29, 2016 at 9:03 PM, jjb4900 said:

I'm one step ahead of you, I just piled some of mine in front of the washing machine last night......

Lol mine are  in a laundry basket outside my gun/hunting room where they've sat since last Nov. I figure by the season I'll think they're clean and need to be put away .

[Jeremy K]

New bow (Impulse 31) which i can't get to shoot as good as my old bow (Z28) .As far as cameras and stand placement ,nothing changed , I did just receive  my order of cinnamon tooth picks from amazon ,so those are ready for me to chew on in the stand.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Jeremy K

[Bowguy 1]

I've been at this a while. Started early eighties Bowhunting deer. 

I have no crazy rituals n rely on no luck. Some days/years just turn out better but the freezer is always full. 

If I had to pick something it's getting kids ready. I mentor a lot  n they get my highest odds sets. 

All year long I look for game n sign, maybe intensifies just a little come later summer watching acorns grow n  corn start being harvested. 

Make a few arrows, change some strings. All normal stuff but I guess it is prep for the year. Early Sept I start w broadheads. 

Don't need rituals, we just need to be ready

[Core]

Just got my license two days back. This will be my second year out. I've practiced a bit in the off-months, but not a ton. I'll be ramping up more now. This time last year I had not even shot a bow, and this is what I did earlier in the week, so I'm well ahead of the game from last year.

My plan this year had been to not spend money on much other than arrows but unfortunately I got my eye on a rifle that I spent way too much money on. At least I'm okay for actual hunting gear; tree stand, clothing, range finder, etc. all stuff I bought last year.

Will likely still do public land. Last year I found a spot I wanted to use but despite two hearty attempts I couldn't get good, reliable access to it (basically through a hellacious bunch of brush). I went out earlier in the spring to see if I could identify a path through and I did. I'm pretty happy about that as I think it's going to be a really nice bit of public land that most people won't bother getting to because doing the more conventional route is really a long hike up and down hills.

I'm not going to obsess as much this year as I did last. I really had something to prove to myself and I have, so I'm hoping I can enjoy it properly and be okay even if I am not successful.

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Core

[Steuben Jerry]

Picked up a double stand (Outpost Elite) from Field and Stream a couple of weeks ago and put it up over the weekend to replace a wooden stand that had deteriorated beyond saving. The stand is better built than the brand I've previously purchased from Dicks, and has the D-shaped tubes instead of square tubes. It definitely seems more solid.

It came with the fabric blind and roof kit, but for this one I tried out an idea I've had of building a hard sided box type blind by fastening some 2x4 sections to different points using U-bolts, and then adding plywood sides and a front panel with a hinged door.

It's currently in primer brown, but I'm going to add a green camo job to blend in with the pines, and then for the finishing touch, I saved our last Christmas tree that has the removable branches, and I'm going to try stapling a bunch onto the box.

I'll have to devise a roof next. I was thinking doing a similar wood addition to the strap on roof frame that came with the stand. The fabric covers that come with those things leave a bit to be desired.

I'll use the fabric blind for one of the other double ladders around the property.

[WNYBuckHunter]

So far just put in our brassica plots and have been shooting my bow here and there. Stand work and rye/oats plots soon to come.

[mlammerhirt]

Picked up a double stand (Outpost Elite) from Field and Stream a couple of weeks ago and put it up over the weekend to replace a wooden stand that had deteriorated beyond saving. The stand is better built than the brand I've previously purchased from Dicks, and has the D-shaped tubes instead of square tubes. It definitely seems more solid.

It came with the fabric blind and roof kit, but for this one I tried out an idea I've had of building a hard sided box type blind by fastening some 2x4 sections to different points using U-bolts, and then adding plywood sides and a front panel with a hinged door.

It's currently in primer brown, but I'm going to add a green camo job to blend in with the pines, and then for the finishing touch, I saved our last Christmas tree that has the removable branches, and I'm going to try stapling a bunch onto the box.

I'll have to devise a roof next. I was thinking doing a similar wood addition to the strap on roof frame that came with the stand. The fabric covers that come with those things leave a bit to be desired.

I'll use the fabric blind for one of the other double ladders around the property.

Can you add some interior pics of that stand....the box addition looks sweet.

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[OldNewbie]

Someone on another thread mentioned that 90% of the work happens before the hunt. Sure seems like it (though this is my 2nd yr hunting and 1st bow hunting). August is a slow month at work, Sept. is much busier, so I'm trying get as much ready now as I can.

• Acquired a new used bow several months ago, had bow shop do new strings and rest, been shooting and tuning it for a while now
• Ditto for the cross bow
• Set up 10, 20, 30 yard targets in the back yard, as well as a 3-D deer
• Pestering my daugther to get shooting her bow on a regular basis
• Bought a tub and filled it with hunting clothes, hats, gloves, etc. Will wash with scent free soap someday when wife is gone long enough to run a couple loads through. Got some activated carbon to put in the tub when clean
• Recording deer sightings on/near my land since last season (definitely a lot of mid-day movement here)
• Built a ground blind on my own land, brushed it in recently
• Asked several neighbors about hunting their land
• Took a broken plastic lawn chair, fixed it with zip ties, painted it camo, and practicing shooting my crossbow out of it
• Read some books, recently Hunting Pressured Whitetails
• Bought licenses, had to call to get the bow because hunter ed class wasn't entered in system properly
• Bought some camo fabric for ground blinds, hung it on a fence so any factory smells can get washed out by rain

Anything major I'm forgetting?

[Chef]

Put down payment on new land and house, sent I'll items requested to lender just waiting for closing so I can get ready...... Looks like at best I'll
Have one weekend to prep for bow season once I'm in


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