In the blink of an eye hunting season is over.
Another hunt season has come and gone and this one was a particularly good one by my standards. I was fortunate to harvest three good deer this year, one eight point and two six points. After a season that I didn’t harvest any deer it is good to have meat in the freezer again. The first package of venison that we cooked up was amazing!! Our season in Florida is nearly four months long. Two months of primitive weapons and two months of general gun and it always amazes me how fast that four months goes by.
What to do with my time now…
Fortunately for me, I have other passions in addition to hunting. During the off season, we (my wife and I) spend a lot of time hiking, canoeing and camping. Being outdoors is what we love the most and it doesn’t matter what we are doing, just as long as it is outdoors. This past season we combined some hiking with our hunting tear down. Each year after the hunt season, we bring back in our blinds and the equipment stored in the blinds like chairs and shooting sticks. I have learned from experience leaving these items in the woods is not a good idea. The Florida sun wreaks havoc on blind material and getting these out of the woods as quick as possible is very important unless you like replacing your gear. We managed a three-mile hike just picking up our hunting gear and that marked the beginning of the off season for us.
In the off season, the weekends go by almost as fast as the hunting season does. We must balance the outdoors with the normal chores that one has with a house and property but that doesn’t preclude us from thinking about our next adventure. Most of the time when I am cutting the grass and sprucing up the place my mind wanders from what I am doing into what could I do different to increase my success in the next hunting season.
What I can do to make the stands that I currently have be more comfortable in the next season. How I can improve my accuracy in my next shot. It has become a joke between the wife and I when she notices that I am off in Never Never Land again and she ask me “what are you thinking of?” I have learned it is easier to say “you of course” but she knows that I have drifted back into the hunting woods and I am thinking about that next big BUCK.
FLATWOODERS 