Preseason
By Jim Olsson
Preseason is that time of year when all bowhunters have some type of anticipation as to what the coming months may bring. For many of us simply filling a tag is what fills our desire as a hunter. Those of us who cherish the venison as the true trophy from a successful hunt will possibly fill a tag with a doe or maybe hold out for a little while in hopes this could be the lucky year that a big buck shows himself early on and another kind of trophy comes with the full freezer in the basement.
There are many hunters who also dedicate themselves to the chase as much as the taking of a deer for the freezer. For those of us, me included, preseason started when last season ended. We spend days analyzing old trail camera photos wondering if those bucks that got away lived through the winter. We look for sheds and run trail cameras all year long. We spend every penny we can squeeze on food plot supplies. Tractors, implements, fertilizer and seed all need to be included in the list of possible purchases.
After food plots are in and cameras have been checked it’s time to hang stands. We hang for wind direction, morning sets, evening sets and rut sets. We plan for variables and hope that deer follow our script and each hunt is successful. Success that for some is measured in backstraps, some measured in inches of antler and some measured in the peace and solitude we find in the outdoors.
Preseason gives me the chance to be a dreamer. I dream of big bucks, backstraps on the grill, inside tenderloins in a frying pan, opening day of gun season and walking through woods with my dad. I dream of the sunrises I see and the sunsets that fade to darkness as I shiver through the last few minutes of shooting hours. I dream of fall colors and the rustling of a squirrel that has the ability to stop every hunter’s heart. Whatever preseason and then deer season means to you I wish you good luck and please stay safe on your adventures this fall. May your arrows fly true and your hunts be memorable.