Some folks would say that practicing with your archery equipment many times is more fun then actually hunting, not in the Robbins’ household, I still like to stand over a critter that I shot. But practicing with your archery equipment is important to your fall success. Knowing where your bow is shooting and making any adjustment to equipment is all a part of a being a responsible sportsmen. Practicing doesn’t guarantee success, but it’s imperative that all archery hunters understand the importance.

While I am not the best when it comes to fixing archery equipment I do know what I can get away with and when it’s time to take to a local archery pro-shop. We are fortunate here in Chautauqua County to have several good ones but the few I trust with my equipment are Spectacular Sports in Frewsburg, M&M Sports Den in Jamestown and just over the line in the Keystone State, Tall Tails.

While you spend hours practicing, it’s just as important to scout new hunting ground. It’s vital for your success in the woods to understand your hunting area and with the new early season dates for this fall, it’s that much more important.

Knowing where they are and how they get where they go will do more to make your hunting experience a success than anything.

As good hunting ground is getting harder to come up, it’s important to start getting your permission early in the year. Just as important to gaining permission is staying in contact with your landowner and keeping a good relationship with them.

One of the newest pieces of equipment I started using a couple years ago were digital trail cameras. While I am no expert in this field I do know one thing, using trail cameras has increased my odds many times over. Knowing when critters are moving where and what trails they are using has meant more to our success the past couple seasons than any single thing in the last 10 years.

Having a set of eyes in on your hunting ground 24/7 is priceless.

Just as much of helping you understand wildlife movement is getting to know what quality of game is in a given area. Knowing that you have a big mature buck where you are hunting will keep you in the woods longer and give the confidence you need when the going gets tough.

Another good use of trail cameras is knowing who is in and out of your hunting land. Last season I heard from many sportsmen that didn’t know how many folks had been strolling through their posted land until they started using trail cameras.

So I guess food for thought is, if you aren’t supposed to be on a given property, it may be a good thing to stay off it, cause one never knows, you may be just caught on “candid trail camera”.

Learning the lay of the ground and how wildlife is using it takes a lot of work but is well worth the effort that first time a deer or turkey strolls by your set-up.

To this day I still find the use of a topographical map my best tool for scouting. Years ago finding a good topo map of the area you are hunting has been a challenge, but today in the world of computers, companies offer programs that we all can use to make our scouting trips more profitable. While I used a few different programs I prefer MapTech’s TopoScout. But with Internet access available on cellphone, Goggle Maps has become a must-have app.

While it’s important to know where the deer are traveling, it’s as important to understand that deer will change their travel patterns. Understanding first that deer will follow food sources, will help in setting up your stands.

During the first part of archery season using stands that are set up on the edges of fields is a great way to see where deer are traveling and what areas they are using at that particular time of the day. When hunting areas that you’re not used to or haven’t been able to scout much, hunting field edges during the first part of the archery season can teach hunters a lot about an area.

While deer will come to the fields at dusk, they often times use fields more for mid-day feeding and traveling. Depending on the type of field you’re hunting over and the time of day you’re hunting, deer can walk the edges or just stroll out into the middle.

If you’re looking to fill your freezer with venison then hunting the edge of field can provide great sightings.

Once you have found your new honey hole, it’s time to fine tune the location before you spend any time in it. Archery hunters need shooting lanes to shoot through. Over the years I have seen shooting lanes cleared around tree stands that have looked like a lumber jack had cleared every sapling or bush within 30 yards of a stand. Disturbing an area like that would be counter productive to not letting the deer know your there. Of course landowners don’t like hunters acting like loggers either.