Spring has arrived, so it’s time to unpack your camouflage, dust off your climbing stand and prepare for the archery season. That’s right, I said get ready for archery season. I know the archery season is six months away. It’s time for bagging turkey, and then there will be groundhogs and even early goose season before you need to think about deer again.

Wrong. Spring is the perfect time to think deer. Conditions now are as close as those you will find during the early deer season, and you need to take advantage of them. This will allow you to practice and test your set-up in the same way you will hunt.

TEMPERATURES

One of the biggest problems with practicing later in the year, say during the heat of August, is that temperatures prevent practicing as you will hunt. With the mercury hitting the high 80s, you will be tempted to practice in shorts and a T-shirt, rather than the heavier long sleeves, cargo pants, and boots you wear when the rut hits. This means that you may later encounter problems caused by sleeves getting in the way of your string, boots that change your stance, etc., but not if you practice now. Cooler weather during April and early May resembles those in the early deer season, allowing you to practice as you hunt.

FOLIAGE

Another common problem with summer preparation is the need for an accurate picture of the conditions where you hang your stand. When you select a tree in August, you will do so during the year’s heaviest foliage. This means you will be guessing when determining your fields of fire, where the best trails are, and even where deer may hide closest to your location.

If you select a location now, you will see many of the same conditions before the foliage blooms as after the leaves drop. You will also see what vegetation may provide cover for you and the deer throughout the season. Most importantly, you will be able to observe the trails after a winter’s worth of use — the trails that the deer use during periods of pattern rather than when disrupted by other hunters.

ROOM FOR ERROR

Another positive aspect of scouting and clearing lanes now rather than in August is the additional room for error. Every trip you take into the woods has the potential to alter deer patterns. You are shut down if these patterns change in the weeks before Opening Day. However, if you make those same mistakes in April, there is plenty of time for things to return to normal or for you to learn new patterns. In some circumstances, causing the deer to change their pattern may be beneficial as it can allow you to see what they do when that happens, again with no fear of lasting damage.

TIME TO ADJUST

Finally, if you identify any problems, you have plenty of time to adjust. Equipment that needs to be replaced, repairs that need to be made, or even new hunting spots prepped can all be done with little worry. Waiting until mid- to late summer can lead to longer waits or even needing to cancel your early season hunts. Imagine discovering your bow has irreparable damage and trying to shoot in and become comfortable with a new one only weeks before hitting the woods.

So, get out there and see things now, as they will be six months from now.

Good luck and good hunting.