Summer Preparation for Fall Hunting Season

Now is the time I usually take my guns back out of storage, give them another cleaning and head to the practice range. I start practicing my shooting about the end of June or in early August. This gives me a good amount of time to get my guns sighted, and find any glitches or mechanical problems that I might need to have my local gunsmith look at and fix.

The reasoning behind practicing and finding any mechanical problems with my guns are simple.

1. I need all the shooting practice I can get. I don't want to let an animal get away do to a missed shot. And the last thing I want is to wound an animal and have it suffer from a shot I know I could have made had I practiced a bit more. I'm far from a natural shot, and even the trick shots that are will tell you they practice for hours on end.
2. Sometimes a mechanical problem with your gun or bow requires the gunsmith or bowsmith, to replace parts. They may or may not have these gun parts or bow parts on hand. Often they don't and need to order them. Sometimes due to back orders or the gunsmith's supplier being out of stock, it might take a couple months to get the required gun part. If I catch it early enough, the gunsmith or bow smith should have ample time to get the parts and repair my beloved firearm or bow.

I usually take the guns to the firing range at least once a week, twice if I can squeeze it into my budget. If you are lucky, you live or have a friend that lives out of the city and you have an area to do target practice that won't cost you anything. But if you are like me, you live within the city and your friends do too, or don't have the amount of land to make it safe to fire your guns. The latter being the case, you must figure in the firing range into your hunting budget.

Next, check your ammunition. If it's getting old, use it up in practice. The gunpowder in the bullet has a shelf life, and using it after that can cause injury. Sometimes they might not fire at all, other times the ammunition might misfire. If you have any ammunition that is real old, contact your gun dealer or gunsmith about how to dispose of it properly, and "DO NOT" let anyone try to fire it.

Equally as important as your gun is your bow. Again, practice is a must, it's far better to find these problems during practice in the summer than when you are in the woods on a hunt. As with a gun, the working mechanisms of a bow will become worn and in need of repair and replacement after a lot of use or after a long storage period.

The bowstring often become stretched or worn which means you won't have the proper power behind your arrow, making for inaccurate shots. Or worse, it could break in the middle of drawing back on a target. So make sure the string is in good condition, replace and wax as needed.