Hunting season begins each year with hunters dreaming of successful hunts and trophies to hang over the fireplace. As well it should! Successful hunts are what drive us as hunters. The success of a new season begins long before the sun rises on opening morning, whether you hunt deer, hogs, or any number of game animals. I often say, "Luck favors the prepared". What does that statement mean? Well the fact is you can throw a stand and a feeder out in the woods any place that looks good, then hope and pray that the dumbest animal in the country finds it. We all know what the results of this will likely be…many long hours watching the squirrels play under your feeders! For me the formula for success comes in five steps. They are scouting, stand and feeder placement, picking the right equipment, bullet selection, and ultimately shot placement. Hopefully all of these things combined with a little luck will ultimately yield a full freezer at the end of the season.

I like to start scouting at least 6 to 8 weeks before the season opens. This way I can get a good feel of what’s going on in the area I’ll be hunting. The things I look for outside of actually seeing the animals them selves are food sources, tracks, scat (droppings or poop), and other tale-tale signs. The first thing I look for is what food sources are available. This may be acorns, various vegetations, wild fruits such as persimmons, or any agricultural plots in the area. Next are water sources, and their location relative to food sources and bedding areas. Always try to remember animals have the same three basic needs as we do. Food, water, and shelter. Trails the animals are using to travel to and from these locations are very important as well. Tracks are an excellent source of information. You can find out not only what animals are in the area, but also approximate numbers and size. Scat is a valuable resource. This can also be a clue as to what the animals are using as a food source. Other signs for deer include rubs and scrapes. One thing about rubs and scrapes, the buck that made them will be returning periodically to work them. The best sign for hogs is roots. Nothing else looks like where a group of hogs have been rooting up the ground. Hogs usually return to the same feeding area for several days once they’ve found something they like. I like to do most my scouting before the season opens, although, I will continue scouting through out the season on a limited basis. As conditions change so will the patterns of the animals. Just a little time spent scouting your hunting area will really pay off.

Once the hunting area has been scouted its time to place stands, feeders, and food plots. Stand placement is key; it is also determined by your hunting style. A handgun hunter will have different needs than a rifle hunter, but some aspects apply to both styles. Animals will generally become accustom to a stand or blind, if put up early on. Box blinds are the most comfortable to hunt out of in bad weather or over long periods of time and conceal virtually all movement inside. They are also good for hunting with partners and videoing or photographing wildlife. Tri-pods, ladders, and hanging stands can also be productive. These are a little more versatile, and can allow you to get closer to the game if placed properly. Another advantage to these types of stands is they are easily moved if need be through the season. I try to find some natural cover such as a clump of trees or brush in the area to help camouflage the stand. A piece of camouflage material draped around the stand can go a long way in concealing you and your movements. Remember to place your stand so you won’t be to close to a given area or silhouetted against a skyline. I for one do not like to look strait into the sun early in the morning or late evening. This may or may not be possible for a given stand. We all know we can’t control the wind or the weather from one day to the next, especially here in Texas. For these reasons I like to have more than one stand. Besides, you may want to handgun hunt in the morning and rifle hunt the evening. Feeders and food plots are a good way to keep animals in your area. As the season progresses times become more demanding on the game to find food sources. By having food plots of oats, winter rye, or perhaps winter peas on your place you have given the game a constant food source. Feeders not only provide a food source but also along with a timer give the hunter a slight advantage as far as what time he or she is likely to see game. I like to find a good game trail or trails and place my food plots and feeders reasonably close to them. Animals will find and use them much quicker if they only have to make minor changes in their day-to-day patterns.

By now you should be familiar with what animals you have on your lease. The stands are in place and you know the situations you are likely to be in when you are in the field. This is the fun part, picking the equipment you are going to use. I’ve always heard "you’ve got to have the right tool for the job". This means everything from a pair of binoculars to a good knife to do the dirty work and the right rifle or handgun. Binoculars are a personal choice, the best advice is, buy the highest quality you can afford. A lot of time is spent looking though them and if the optics are not high quality you’ll defiantly know it. Eye fatigue is a good way to miss an opportunity. Personally I like an 8x to 10x for all around use, not too much magnification but enough to have good detail and a wide field of view. Once 10x is exceeded binoculars generally become bulky and hard to hold steady without some type of support. A spotting scope is a good thing to have when you’ve spotted something with your binoculars and need more detail. I wouldn’t suggest one as a replacement for binoculars but as a compliment to them. The field of view is narrow on a spotting scope and with the magnification being in the 20x range or more a tri-pod or some sort of rest is a necessity. Another tool I take along is a game hoist, it can help in field dressing as well as dragging heavy game. The best knife I’ve found is the Cold Steel "Master Hunter" with the Carbon V blade. A high quality carbon steel blade will get sharper and hold an edge longer than any stainless steel blade. This may just be my opinion but after cleaning a white-tailed deer and three, 100 or so pound, wild hogs at one time before having to sharpen mine. I’ll stay with the carbon steel blade. Carbon steel will rust so keep this in mind when storing a knife with a carbon steel blade. Another piece of equipment that can come in handy is a laser range finder. It’s a good idea, when using a range finder, to check the distance of landmarks around the stand. Such as trees, the feeder, or a fence line and make a mental note of these distances. Often there is not enough time to use the rangefinder on the actual target.

The gun and scope combination should match the hunting situation. For hunting in the brush I like a short quick handling rifle with open sights or a variable scope somewhere in the 1x4 or 2x7 range the Leupold 2.5x Scout IER is also a good pick for this situation. Low powered scopes like these or one of the many "red-dot" scopes on the market offer a wide field-of-view and fast target acquisition on moving targets. A large caliber heavy bullet is highly recommended for this situation. Cartridges like the 35 Remington, 444 Marlin, 45-70 Government or the new 450 Marlin will get the job done. My favorite rifle for this type of hunting is the Marlin 1895 "Guide Gun" in 45-70 Government. It handles quick and delivers all the power necessary to down an animal quickly. For moderate to long ranges cartridges like the 25-06 Remington, 270 Winchester, 280 Remington, and the 30-06 Springfield can’t be beat. If you are a short-action fan the 260 Remington, 7mm-08 Remington or one of the new "Short-action Magnums" in 270, 7mm, or 300 (from Remington or Winchester) will fit the bill. Matched with a quality scope, say a strait 6x or a mid-range variable, and your set. This type of rifle will handle almost any hunting situation as long as you pick the right bullet and place the shot properly. For extreme ranges I go to my Remington 700 "Sendero" chambered in 300 Winchester Magnum with a Leupold Vari-X III 4.5x14. It works! As long as I’ve done my part it has never let me down. Other cartridges to consider for long-range hunting are the 7mm STW, the 300 Weatherby Magnum, or the new Ultra-Magnums from Remington in 7mm and 300. Hunting with a handgun offers it’s own set of challenges and rewards. If you are thinking about taking up handgun hunting the 44 Remington Magnum or the 454 Casull, in a revolver, will handle most situations out to 100 and 150 yards respectively. The addition of a 2x or 4x scope will help shot placement at ranges over 50 yards and in low light. Once ranges exceed 100-150 yards a single shot or bolt-action pistol is the way to go. These guns fitted with a 2x-7x to a 3x-9x long eye-relief scope and chambered in a flat shooting cartridge make shots out to 250 yards possible. The 260 Remington or the 7mm-08 Remington handle these ranges in stride. A solid rest is a must for shooting a handgun at these long ranges. Resting over a daypack or the use of a bi-pod will provide a solid rest when you need one. I will not even consider a long shot without a proper rest.

No one seems to have a problem picking a good cartridge, but the right bullet, that’s a little different. Knowing the anatomy of your quarry is a big help. Bullet construction is one of the aspects most people overlook. When it is one of the most important and least expensive parts of hunting. Compared to the price of stands, feeders, guns and so on. The price of a couple of boxes of premium ammunition or bullets is rather insignificant. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, you’ve chosen a 30-06 Springfield, loaded with a Nosler 150-grain Ballistic Tip bullet, an excellent deer cartridge and one of my favorites. The area you are hunting is sparsely wooded with an average shot of about 60 to 80 yards. The 30-06 will push the 150-grain bullet around 2900 fps. At shorter ranges the construction of the 150-grain Ballistic Tip bullet at this velocity is more likely to "blowup" on entrance, especially if it hits bone. Thus, improving the odds of a wounded and perhaps lost animal. A 180 to 200-grain bullet of heavy construction is better suited for this situation. With the new lines of premium ammo most companies are now manufacturing, it’s easy to find a good bullet to fill your needs, in the cartridge you’ve chosen. If you are not sure what you need a quick look through a reloading loading manual, ammunition manufactures web site or flier should give you the answers you need.

Once you’ve found the right bullet for the cartridge your gun or guns are chambered in. Be sure to spend time at the bench. After the rifle or handgun is zeroed in continue to practice from the bench as well as hunting positions. Nothing replaces being familiar with you gun and chosen load. I always like to check my guns through out the season and before every hunt. In my opinion shot placement is the most critical aspect of hunting. Whether it’s a coyote or a cape buffalo. It doesn’t matter what you hunt with a gun, bow, or for that matter an anti-air craft gun you still have to put it in the right place to get the right results. All the power of your shot is wasted if not properly placed. Let’s say the trophy you’ve hunted all year is feeding at the edge of your food plot. This is it "The Moment of Truth" is here, hold the crosshairs steady on the kill zone; slowly squeeze the trigger and the gun will do the rest. Follow thru with a good shot and this year, maybe even several years, will be a success! If not, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it!

One Sunday morning I was listing to a church service on the radio while returning from a hunting trip. The preacher was of course preaching his heart out to save souls. When he mentioned the verse "God gave man dominion over animals" and remarked with that, came great responsibility. I couldn’t agree more! We as hunters owe it to the game we hunt to put forth every effort to make a quick clean kill each and every time we take an animal. Hunting and taking game as ethically as possible is the responsibility of all hunters when we head to the field.