By Alex Comstock
Summer is about many things, and among those is preparation for deer season. Before you know it, you'll be taking steps up a tree, ready with a bow in hand. It may seem like a little ways away right now, but summer usually tends to fly by, and all of a sudden it's deer season. With that said, today I wanted to go over why summer is so great, and touch on a few of the best things that go into summer and prepping for deer season.
1. The Anticipation/Excitement
There are a lot of things that need to get done during the summer months to be fully prepared for deer season. Prep work such as hanging stands, cutting lanes, running mineral sites, and checking trail cameras to name a few. And some days can be brutally hot, sweaty and buggy. But what gets us through some of it, even when it's so hot your shirt is dripping wet from sweat? The anticipation and excitement for what's to come. If you're not downright excited or full of anticipation during June, July, and August, then maybe deer hunting isn't truly for you. This is the time of year that you really start itching to be in a stand, now that it's been awhile since you've hunted, a lot more videos are being watched, all in excitement for the fall. Summer can be a critical time of year for success, but the best part of it is that feeling of knowing what's to come in just a few short months.
2. Trail Cameras
When I think of summer prep work, one of the first things that pops into my head is trail cameras. It's the number one time of the year I'd venture to guess that people are actively using and checking trail cameras, and more than that, trail cameras in the summertime almost act as a symbol. They're a beacon of hope. Here's what I mean. Before you start running trail cameras in the summer, all of your hopes and dreams are still alive. That big buck you've been after for two years could still be running around, there could be a new giant on your property, etc. And then you deploy trail cameras, and once you start checking them, every time you slide an SD card into your computer, there's hope, and that's part of what makes summer so awesome. I don't know many people that don't get excited about trail cameras, especially in the summer.
3. Velvetfest
Velvetfest is a term that was started by Exodus Trail Cameras, and it's more or less a word to describe the time of the year that velvet bucks start dominating our world. I mean what's more exciting than a big velvet buck? Not much in my book. Velvet bucks get everyone pumped up. Whether it's a late night drive on the backroads, seeing them on your trail camera, or strategic long distance scouting, a big velvet buck makes everyone smile. Heck, my heart rate is going up just thinking about them right now!
Conclusion
A lot of the content here on WhitetailDNA is serious and tactical stuff to try and help you improve as a deer hunter. This blog post on the other hand is trying to remind you what makes right now, this time of year we're in, so much darn fun. As hardcore deer hunters, we often take it very serious, and that's great. But at the end of the day, remember why it's fun, and during the summer if you're not finding these three things to be enjoyable, then something isn't right.
