Written By: Ryan Reading, Fall Obsession Field Staff

Marching to a new tune is the way we look at this calendar month. Most locations have been out of deer season for quite some time and there isn’t much going on now in the deer world; except for some shed hunting. If your weather has been decent, maybe some scouting too. 

Most of us have spring turkey to look forward to and that’s why we march to a different tune in March.  For most, this is the “down time” after a long arduous season and many days in the field trying to connect with that bruiser buck or fill freezers. However, this month for me, is no longer “down time”.  I’ve set forth some things we’ve started doing in March. 

In no order, we go through and clean all our hunting firearms. I make sure my bow and crossbow are up to par. If they need new strings, or a sight, or arrows, I get them ordered early. If we believe one of our firearms needs sighting in, we’ll head to the range. I personally go through my gear and organize all of it after the season. I make sure clothing is cleaned and packed in totes until next season. We even go as far as ordering new batteries for the Reveal cell cams. Some items are also cheaper in the off season. 

We’ve turned March and the beginning of April into our get ready months. We are getting all the things done that we need to for the up and coming season. Most people would say why? There are many reasons, and I will outline some of my reasoning.

Firstly, come May, we are usually getting fields ready for food plots on the hunting properties, and we all know how much work that takes.  Then in June, I like to check or move all our sets. Making sure they are safe or possibly moving them into areas where we’ve seen big buck movement the previous year. In July, we usually spend time with family and vacation like most. Once August hits, we set out 20 Tactacam Reveals in locations we are familiar with and we’re usually planting some fields for late winter months and checking the fruit bearing trees and acorns. 

In between all of that, we’ve scouted quite a few places, and that stops in September. We have a rule at our camp; that after September 1st we no longer enter our hunting areas at all for any reason until October 1st, or the most optimal day of bow season.  We feel the 4 weeks leading into the season is crucial. Bucks are leaving home ranges in through October and looking for does by November. So during the four weeks prior to the season we give the deer a buffer to stay relaxed and to keep does on their daily patterns. We don’t want the everyday deer in the area or the wandering bucks to have any clue that we have set stand locations waiting to ambush them. 

As you can see, most of the year is filled with many activities. Hence, why I am now using March as my go to month to get everything organized and ready. Time flies quickly and another season will be here before we know it. Once again many will be late to the party being ill prepared. I believe being prepared is one of the best things a hunter can do. Being unorganized and unprepared and usually just winging it, is just asking for a poor result and an even better excuse during the season. Take the time to get your ducks in a row and give the sport one hundred percent to have a better result, even if that means starting very early.