The Hunting Season Is Here!

After months of watching deer hunting shows, reading stories on bowhunting and the latest on gear and technology, thousands of us will take to the field this month in the initial quest of harvesting a deer. Some of us will stay with the bow, while others will grab the smokepole in mid October and then most will use the rifle later on that month.

We’re blessed to have one of the longest deer seasons in the country from early September until mid January. In several metro counties, the archery season continues until the end of January. The hot and humid days of August will drift past us like a warm breeze and usher in the telltale signs of fall.

Labor Day ignites dove season when many hunters and their sons and/or daughters will stage around a dove field that has been nurtured by our DNR folks and shared through quota hunts. I’ll be back with my good friend and WRD Wildlife Biologist, Kevin Lowrey in one of those fields. We’ll be cooking some lunch and preparing those kids as they will stroll out for what is for some their first hunting experience. Typically, college football is playing that afternoon, and somewhere around the field, a radio is almost always tuned into a game.

The next weekend, we’ll slide into the deer woods.

For the last several years, mid September has marked the annual NWTF Women in the Outdoors (WITO) weekend at the FFA camp in Covington. I’ve attended these events over the last several years and have no problem taking one weekend of the deer season to teach women the fine art of slinging an arrow at a target. It’s a fantastic event that I hope more women will attend after reading this. Look up “Georgia Women In the Outdoors” on Facebook, and contact Dee Lowrey.

So, what are your goals for this hunting season? As I’ve pointed out in the past, for my sons, our goals always revolved around three things.

1) Were we practicing safety in the field?

2) Did you have a good time?

3) Did we shoot and kill the game animal that we were hunting?

Most of the time, we nailed No. 1 and 2. If we were blessed that day, we took down No. 3. But remember, the sport is called “hunting.” If it was just “shooting,” I can guarantee you that you’d eventually you’d get bored with it.

Think about the hours that you and your hunting mentor will put into the season. Time spent practicing with your bow or getting your rifle dialed in to confirm accuracy. Scouting trails, food sources, travel patterns, watching the weather, the wind. Knowing the times of sunrise and sunset that change daily and adjust our first and last times of legal shooting hours. Going to your favorite hunting store to replace or add what you need. One item I suggest that you need to enjoy your hunting experience is a good pair of boots. I’d rather have those any day over the latest camo or the latest version of technology.

So, enjoy the sunrises that bring the woods to life from dark to first light.

Take in those sunsets that signal the end of another day. Last but not least, be safe in the field.

Good luck this season!