What strange things do you do to prep for season?

[twall13]

I got thinking about this topic a bit after reading through Robby's sleeping bag review thread. Sometimes we do things to prepare for hunting season that most people would find strange, like choosing to sleep outside in the yard at 15 degree temps to test the limits of your cold weather sleeping bag and getting it wet to add another layer of testing. Post up what strange things you've done the prepare yourself physically, mentally, to shake out gear, etc. It can be related to fitness, gear, or whatever else comes to mind. I'll start off with a few I've done in the past that others find odd.

• As mentioned above, I've done some backyard tests on cold weather gear down to about 14 degree temps and my wife thought I was nuts
• Mowing the lawn with a weighted pack (now that I live closer to a trail head this has mostly been replaced with weighted pack hikes but even those get me weird looks on the trail)
• Practicing elk/turkey calls while driving. I love to rip a bugle at a red light and see how the cars around me react. My wife also appreciates that I do a lot of my practicing where she can't hear me.
• To help mentally prepare myself to be okay with being uncomfortable I end my showers with at least a minute and a half on the coldest setting.
• I've been known to put a different insole in each boot, or different socks on each foot and hike to see how things compare.
• Shooting from other positions besides off a bench rest when at the range can get some funny looks at times but I feel is essential preparation.

I'm curious to see what everyone else comes up with. Maybe I'm hoping I'm not alone in being an oddball?

 

[tgus59]

Almost everything you mentioned, plus:

Weighted pack and hunting boots at the gym.
I do a lot of barefoot walking in the summer to toughen my feet.
Exercise to increase heart rate at the shooting range.
Testing mountain house at work for lunch.

 

[zacattack]

Wash And put away clothes, cut the grass, wash dishes, keep the house somewhat clean, take care of the dog, etc.

Check grocery stores for sales on trail bars, you’d be surprised at how often they go on sale and for dirt cheap. I’ve seen the epic bars for like 30 cents

Hiking in the park with a weighted pack is always good for some odd stares or I’ve noticed some people will move all the way over to the other side of the trail.

I’ll do a quarter to half mile barefoot run once a week on a local track to toughen my feet up and strengthen those muscles. Also improves running posture

 

[twall13]

I haven't really tried the barefoot running to toughen my feet but I do wear vivo barefoot shoes regularly both to work and on trail runs to help strengthen my feet.

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[BeastOfTheTrees]

Make sure my Will is up to date lol ....... I have a lucky cut off old under armor shirt that I swear I see more animals when it’s on me. Make sure my gear is real tip top I got a pretty good mobile system I like. I’m one of those guys that thinks with lucky certain charms, I’ve had the same half deer skull in my truck for like 4 years. I practice different things in my house like trigger pull and some times I’ll tie my boot laces together and sling it over my rifle barrel and do minute or 2 minute shouldering drills. In addition I got this weird little slung to shoulder motion I do that surprising gets me on target pretty quick. I’ve even done rifle jacks lol. I got hit hard with the rifle bug this past year.

 

[zacattack]

I haven't really tried the barefoot running to toughen my feet but I do wear vivo barefoot shoes regularly both to work and on trail runs to help strengthen my feet.

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you should try it sometime but you have to start slowly incorporating it into your running otherwise you can hurt yourself pretty badly pretty quickly
It also helps prevent injuries by teaching you to strike on your forefoot or ball of your feet

 

[robby denning]

Great thread and some funny stuff.

and agree on being careful with barfoot running, I made that mistake and was down for a few months.

You guys know most my dirty secrets but...

Ryan tests adult diapers in the off season—to see how many days he go without changing. Was up to three when he blew a seam, so he’s shopping new brands. Supposed to have us a review soon.


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[twall13]

you should try it sometime but you have to start slowly incorporating it into your running otherwise you can hurt yourself pretty badly pretty quickly
It also helps prevent injuries by teaching you to strike on your forefoot or ball of your feet

I'm no stranger to running with minimalist shoes and a forefoot strike, I've just never done it completely barefoot. I imagine it would toughen up the skin. I appreciate the advice and may try easing into it though I'm not particularly blister prone so the benefits might be marginal for me.

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[twall13]

Great thread and some funny stuff.

and agree on being careful with barfoot running, I made that mistake and was down for a few months.

You guys know most my dirty secrets but...

Ryan tests adult diapers in the off season—to see how many days he go without changing. Was up to three when he blew a seam, so he’s shopping new brands. Supposed to have us a review soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is pure gold, hilarious Robby! And to think, you are using his sleeping bag...

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[ewade07]

I will load the pack up with 30 or 60 lbs and go for a 4 miler walking the dog.

 

[robby denning]

This is pure gold, hilarious Robby! And to think, you are using his sleeping bag...

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I took that thing to the industrial toxic waste & hair removal place hahahahahah

 

[OXN939]

• Shooting from other positions besides off a bench rest when at the range can get some funny looks at times but I feel is essential preparation.

I would be really interested to know the actual percentage of hunters in the field who have never practiced shooting off anything other than a bench. If you had a magic wand to fix that, it'd probably be one of the easiest ways to cut down on wounded animals.

I always set up at least one range before trips where we do a workout and shoot stages in between sets from all sorts of weird rests and shooting positions. Great reminder that geeking out over fractions of a minute of angle at a range is an interesting sport and lots of fun, but rarely what matters in the field.

 

[Fireman03]

I've started doing hot yoga the last few preseasons, seems to prepare me mentally and somewhat physically

 

[robby denning]

oh, I just remembered that I heat our house with wood and cut about 8-10 cord a year. Not a ton, but I know it gets the soft off compared to not doing it. I could afford to buy wood, but it's free exercise and running chainsaws is theraputic because I can't check social media at the same time.

 

[cnelk]

Ill eat some Mtn House before hunting season so its not such a shock to the system.

 

[cnelk]

And of course there's 'manscaping'

 

[twall13]

And of course there's 'manscaping'

It's been awhile since I've seen the manscaping thread brought to the top on here...

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[zacattack]

And of course there's 'manscaping'

I’m always surprised at how much faster I dry after a shower not being covered in body hair like a Sasquatch

 

[OXN939]

I've started doing hot yoga the last few preseasons, seems to prepare me mentally and somewhat physically

Guess I'm weirder than I thought. Don't think I've ever done a trip without at least a few hot yoga classes beforehand. Better flexibility, injury resistance, strengthens stabilizing muscles that traditional workouts don't get... and hot chicks.

 

[Dapper]

I exercise year round, because I'm an old retired fart and need to. But one of my easier exercises is walking the dogs for two miles, currently with 55 lbs in a cheap old daypack that cuts into my shoulders. I feel when I hunt with my good pack it'll make it feel much better. I put on you tube videos that have elk sounds and try to match their sounds, dogs don't know what to think. Also pactice drawing and dry firing my glock 29 everyday for an upcoming hunt that is in grizzly bear country. Hopefully a passerby doesn't notice me through the window and call the SWAT team.