Not Quite the Best Time of the Year
by LOU MARULLO | TF&G Hunting Editor
LISTEN: (5 minutes, 43 seconds)
MANY PEOPLE WOULD AGREE that the summer months are the best! I am not one of those people. No sir! And I am not alone. Hunters would agree the very best months of the year are October, November and even December. Those are the months when we once again find ourselves in the fields and woods in search of our hunting prize.
Although sometimes it does happen, you cannot expect to simply walk in the woods, see your prey and shoot. To be proficient in your sport, you need to prepare and that could take months. You will also have to prepare your wife to let her know you will have to spend hours away from home. I am sure she will understand….. I think she will anyway. Personally, I will admit I have started to slack off on some of my preparations. As I grow older, I convince myself that the months of practice are not necessary. However, it never fails that I will find myself in line at the range waiting for my turn to sight my rifle in.
Here’s an idea. Why not go to the range now and avoid the crunch of hunters that wait until the last minute to make sure they are accurate. When I take my bow out, I can shoot up to 40 yards in my backyard and as long as I have permission from my neighbors, it is perfectly legal to practice in the city. Not so much with my rifle. For some unknown reason, I am pretty sure the neighbors might think I have finally gone over the edge, so to speak. Hey! I might be nuts, but I am not crazy! My wife would not agree with that statement. Hmmm, I digress.
I suggest grabbing your rifle, and really hone in on your target. After a long season, and moving your firearm from vehicle, home and repeating the process many times, your sights might be off. I remember once I dropped my rifle. It wasn’t far or that hard when it landed, but when I checked my sight, it still felt secure, and I was convinced that nothing had moved. Still, I thought it wise to shoot a few rounds just to make sure. To my surprise, I was off a ton!! After a considerable amount of time and about 10 rounds or more, I finally started to hit the bullseye. The only good thing about that is the fact that I was alone in my practice. I did not have to worry about being intimidated by other sportsmen who are carefully watching me shoot! And that alone made me realize that July is the perfect month to sight in your rifle.
Bows are a different animal all together. As I said earlier, I can shoot up to 40 yards right behind my house. There was a time when I would have 3 or 4 bowhunting friends come over to practice with me. We would make a game out of it. Believe me, if you are not having fun doing whatever you are doing, you will not invest the time needed to be the best that you can be. That being said, we would get together and play what we called PIG. I have heard the same game called HORSE whatever. We would take turns being the shooter. The object of the game is if the designated shooter makes a shot, no matter how crazy it was, the others would have to try to make the same shot. Sometimes it is not an easy thing to do. It might be on one knee, sitting on a log, or twisting your torso so you end up shooting behind yourself. However it is, it sure is fun! If any of the others miss the shot, then they must take the letter P and so on until they take the last letter G and are eliminated from the competition.
I have introduced many to the bowhunting sport. I was a master instructor for many years and when it came time to shoot some arrows, I would blow up a balloon and attach it to the target. I was trying to make it fun for the young hunters and it really worked. Some would miss the target completely. Others would concentrate, take a serious bead on the target, take their time, release the arrow and also miss the target! But every once in a while, you would hear the balloon break followed by a roar from the rest of the class. Fun times!
The movie “The Patriot” had a line in it that I always remembered. “Aim small, miss small”. How true that is! The smaller your target, the more you will concentrate and make a good shot. I would tell my students that when they aim at an animal, do not aim at the whole animal. Instead aim at a hair on the animal. It is true you will be more proficient that way. I would tell my students when you finally break that balloon at 25 yards, make the next balloon smaller and smaller and smaller until you are consistently hitting your target and that target could be as small as a soda bottle top! I tell you; this really works, and you will be a much better hunter for it.
Although all the broadhead companies out there will say their broadhead shoots exactly like a field tip, don’t believe it. You may find yours really does shoot like a field tip, but you will find many that do not. I strongly advise any bowhunters out there that after they are proficient with their equipment, they should take the time to shoot with the broadhead you are going to hunt with. You may have to make some minor adjustments with your sights.
July and August are good months to make sure everything is ready for your opening day. So, if you are not fishing or doing some of the other fun things to do during those hot summer months, check your equipment and be prepared.
Email Lou Marullo at ContactUs@fishgame.com
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