LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
Every year when the middle of January comes and the bowhunting season here in Illinois draws to a close there's a little feeling of sadness that comes over me. I know that I'll have to wait what at the time seems like a very long 9 months before I can climb back in a tree and do the thing that I love most in life – deer hunt. Although I will admit that a small part of me is thankful I don't have to wake up early and spend any more mornings in a treestand freezing my tail off, it is a very small part! By the time the middle of summer comes around I'm usually doing other things like playing softball, going to a few concerts, a few baseball games (GO CUBS!) and bowhunting starts to drift towards the middle, but never the back, of my mind.
A bean field during the early summer here in Northern Illinois.
Now here we sit on the brink of September and the itch to get back out in the field is in full force. After reading Scott's entry about seeing a hard-horned buck already now I'm really pumped up! I've spent several days of the past few weeks with Todd, Mike, and my dad hanging stands in the summer heat and at the time I don't think I cared if I ever bowhunted again in my life, I just wanted a drink of water! But now that the bucks are shedding their velvet, I'm getting some decent trail camera pictures, and the nights are getting cooler it is definitely time to start getting geared up for the bowhunting season.
My dear old Dad clearing some shooting lanes for a new stand we just recently hung. Once the corn is down this secluded field is a great spot to see bucks checking on feeding does during November.
The corn is as big as it's going to get, which means the season is just around the corner!
Starting next week I'm going to be screwing on some broadheads and doing some testing and tuning with the new Diamond Marquis. I'm planning on shooting NAP HellRazor broadheads this fall, so I'll be able to do a full write-up on their performance once I start testing them out.
Remember – if you're going to be hanging treestands in preparation for the season make sure you're wearing a safety harness of some sort! Yes, it takes a little bit longer but it is certainly not something worth losing your life over. I personally recommend the Treehopper lineman's belt for getting up and down trees safely and securely. You can purchse them right here at Bowhunting.com and they make a great addition to your stand-hanging gear.
