It happens every year: I have the best of intentions, but by the time hunting season is over, I’m tired. I fully plan to clean up all my gear and get everything organized, but I end up shoving my stuffed pack into the closet and vowing to deal with it next week — which turns into next month, which turns into oops, opening day is in two weeks and that pack is still in the closet, full of last season’s empty Little Debbie wrappers and used hand warmers.
Even if you’re more organized than me and put everything away properly last season, you still have a little homework to do to get ready for opening day. Here’s a 10-step checklist to get you ready to hunt.
1. Get Your Paperwork in Order
In some states, particularly out West, this was handled months ago. But in many states where licenses and tags are sold over the counter, you still have time to buy your hunting license and acquire any necessary tags and public-land permits. Don’t forget a duck stamp if you’ll be hunting migratory waterfowl!
2. Get Your Firearm in Shape
Pull your rifle or slug gun out of the safe and give it a good once-over. Does the action still work smoothly? Do any screws need tightening? Is the sling still in a comfortable position? Is the scope dialed down to its lowest setting? You should have cleaned the gun or at least wiped it down at the end of last season, but if you neglected this chore and find yourself with some cleanup to do or some rust to tackle, now’s the time.
3. Shoot Your Gun
I know, your gun was shooting just fine at the end of last season, so there’s no reason it shouldn’t still be good to go. But weird, unexpected things happen when a rifle gets put in and out of a safe and cleaned, so it’s important that you fire the gun at a paper target and make sure it’s still hitting where you’re aiming. I always shoot at least twice, and if the two shots aren’t close enough together to suit me, I keep going until I get my grouping worked out.
While you’re sighting in, take stock of your ammo supply. Do you need to pick up another box or two? This is especially important to do ahead of opening day if you shoot an unusual chambering or if the type of ammo your rifle likes has to be ordered online.
4. Get Your Bearings
Download any offline maps you might need and check things out on OnX or any app you use—or topo maps if you’re old-school—to refresh your memory on property lines and the general lay of the land. If you have permission to hunt private property, check in with the landowner to make sure that permission still stands (if you haven’t already been in contact with them and helping them with management chores over the summer). If you haven’t marked your stand locations with GPS pins, it’s now or never.
5. Clean Out Your Pack
I like to dump everything out of every nook and cranny and pocket so I can start fresh with a critical eye on what I want to keep and what is just taking up space. Check the batteries in your flashlights and headlamp. Sharpen your knives. Has your first-aid kit expired? Does your pen still work? Do you need a fresh supply of TP or lip balm? Is it time to buy more hand warmers?
6. Inventory Your Clothing
Make sure everything still fits and is in good shape, and wash your hunting clothes in unscented detergent if they’ve been sitting around your house picking up human smells. What’s missing that needs replaced—did you lose any gloves since last year or develop holes in your favorite pair of socks? Do you have enough hunter orange to meet your state’s requirements?
Inspect your boots as a part of this inventory, too. See if the laces need replacing or if the soles have cracked, split or dry-rotted. Fingers crossed you don’t encounter any catastrophic failures—it’s a little late to be breaking in a brand-new pair of boots now, but you have to do what you have to do.
7. Check Your Stand(s)
Get into the woods and make sure your treestands are still in good shape. Check for rusted-out bolts, rickety ladders, rotted straps and other safety hazards, and inspect your safety harness and lifeline, including the Prusik knot and carabiner. Keep in mind that harnesses do expire, as the materials degrade over time and lose their ability to withstand the shock load of a fall—even if they still look like they’re in fine shape.
If you hunt out of shooting houses, now’s the time to chase out any mice or wasps that have set up shop. Work the windows to ensure they all open and close smoothly and quietly, and if you left a chair in there all summer, make sure it didn’t suddenly develop a squeak.
If you use a climbing treestand, set it up and test it now. Opening day is not the time to find out that something doesn’t work right. And if you plan to hunt out of a ground blind, ideally you would have set this up weeks ago and brushed it in well—but if you haven’t, get on that immediately so the deer have time to see it and get used to it before you hunt out of it.
8. Clear Shooting Lanes as Needed
Climb into your stands and see what the area looks like from that perspective. Have nearby branches grown over the summer into your line of sight? Trim (judiciously) whatever needs cutting back so you can shoot safely.
9. Recheck and Move Trail Cameras
If your trail cameras need to be moved to keep up with current deer patterns, do it now. While you’re at it, double-check that their attachments are still solid and batteries are still charged, or give the solar panel a quick wipe and once-over if you use one.
10. Make a Plan and Stay Out
Once your stands and cameras are in good shape, get out of the woods and stay out for at least a week before the season opens, if possible. The more you’re in there mucking around, the more the deer will learn to avoid the area, especially during the daytime.
Go home and check the weather forecast, prevailing winds and sunrise times, which will help you make a plan for which stand you want to hunt on opening morning (assuming you have options). Your trail camera data will help inform your plan, also.
You’re ready. All that’s left to do is pack a lunch, go to bed early and try to get some sleep the night before opening morning.
