What strange things do you do to prep for season?

[jmcd22]

+1 for ripping bugles in the car on the way to work haha.

I workout year around so there's nothing really different about that for me. I should eat some Mtn House meals before the season so I can avoid...yeah...haha.

 

[5MilesBack]

The only thing I really do to prepare for the season is shoot the heck out of my bow. I want to make sure that it's just second nature when it comes time for a shot so there's not much thinking needed. The correct pins should lock in easily in my mind and the shot process should be quick and easy for any and all shots.

 

[Fireman03]

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.

Do you wear yoga pants and if so what brand do you recommend for wicking moisture best?

 

[danarnold]

several of the above and the thing I get the bat shit crazy look from the family is cold water therapy, have a stock tank on the back patio that I get in every AM unless its frozen too thick to bust thru, makes the cold shower with well water seem like kids stuff

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I too practice calling in the truck on the way to office/job sites. Except in the summer it mostly goes unnoticed in Charlotte rush hour traffic...Summers I drive my old Jeep with no top and doors....

My neighbors know I am crazy nobody's says anything about me sleeping in the back yard Jan/Feb testing gear...

 

[stonewall]

I’ve done the elk calls in cars and in my office but I work alone

Running through town and in park with backpack and dumbbell in hand to simulate bow weight. Also same on treadmill at gym. Also up and down biggest hill I could find which was along side a big highway.

Worked up to 800 box step ups with pack before one season. Eventually got away from that. Repetitive motion seemed to be problematic

Pack on mowing yard

Home alone one time. Shut off heat and slept on floor (historic home, drafty pier and beam) to test sleeping pad and bag on hardwood floor. Didn’t Want to bother with tent

Put on rain gear and shot bow in absolute downpour

 

[MtnOyster]

Strange things we do?
I hand wash all of my hunting clothes In Some type of scent shield including socks , underwear , rags I clean with and the towels I dry off with and hang em out to dry, (I don’t go if a single step is missed) then put the dry pants and shirts in a trash bag and put 6 -7 shovel loads of dirt in there with em for at least a week before i start deer hunting, I never get winded by deer even when their directly down wind until later in the year when I change over to cold weather clothes that I just rely on the scent shield.
One other thing...... I went on and stepped out of my stand 20ft up years ago just to see how the harness would work and get a feel for it Just in case it happens unexpectedly.......I had a little more nerve in those days

 

[180splitg3]

1. Shoot my bow every day from August 1st through the day I tag out. Not much of a gun hunter.

2. Shower with hs scent soap starting August 1st.

3. Do everything I can to help around the house outside of hunting season to keep the wife happy so that when I'm gone all fall she puts up with it!

 

[16Bore]

Listen to Ted Nugent.

 

[String&stick]

Lots mentioned, stand in shower with rain gear on to fully test.

Building a shitter for a trailer hunt on my driveway and testing the height. . .

Best way ive found to get serious looks is to start walking down the road with your pack loaded down, and 4 to 8 pack goats trailing behind with their gear on and loaded down. People always seem to find it weird and stare as they go by.

(On the trail in to hunt this year a guy comes tearing down the trail on a dirt bike, kid (bout 8 years old) sitting behind him. Kid has both hands out to the sides, in one hand is the lead rope of 3 horses that are lathered up and at a pretty good run to keep up, In the other hand is an arrow with a broad head that they had found. Guy slows down to a stop, looks at me, looks at the goats and says "well that's the second weirdest thing I've seen today" and drives off! I was dumbfounded and still wonder what else he found weird that day other than himself)

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I walk to work with a pack on, it’s only 1.5 miles and on a nice bike path so it’s a good chance to load up heavy, last year I was doing 75lbs up to 5 days a week then going lighter like 50 for my hikes in the mountains.

I also stop drinking and start tightening up the diet a bit, not that it’s bad but now is about the time to start thinking of burning off a bit of winter excess.

At this point I won’t shoot under 200yds unless sighting in or testing new Ammo I’ve loaded.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

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.

I exercise year round as well but once the ice is gone I start doing more specific stuff which basically means carrying a pack. I don’t do much of that after September if at all. Alaska winters are cold and the days are short so after moose season ends I’m basically doing 100% of my exercise indoors unless I go snowshoeing or hike a peak and ski down.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

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.

never done hot yoga but my native buddies do the steam bath and I get invited for that 3-4 times a week. That’s always nice after workouts or just long days of work.

 

[BuckHunter24]

What kinda website have I stumbled my way into

 

[Hunt41]

Just got done sleeping two nights outside this week to test my new sleeping bag. I left the bag and all my equipment and clothes outside so that everything got nice and cold to start the night off.

 

[4rcgoat]

Dont know about wierd, but as the year progresses, i eventually find myself hitting the archery course with everything on that i will be wearing during September, loaded pack,binos,etc....... like others have stated, everything should come together without any second guessing.

 

[Rich M]

My biggest thing is my rifle shooting (I'm deaf so no western archery adventures for me) - I shoot a couple hundred rounds before heading out west. Figure I'll get a chance at game if I keep at it, so the next thing is being able to hit it. This past year's buck was 215 yards, trip before that got 2 antelope at 25 and 350 yards. Gotta be ready when the opportunity arises.

 

[Snowcrest6]

I go into hyperphasia about a month prior....i lose a lot of weight during season that, for me, is hard to replace in the off season.

 

[jb1842]

Stockpile small amounts of cash throughout the year, so the wife doesn't know how much I am really spending. Get $100 from the atm? $20 goes in the secret stash. Then practice the poker face when I don't tell her how much I really spent.

 

[cnelk]

In August I'll gather up some fresh sage and put it in a paper bag with holes punched, then place it in my camo clothes bin.