The takeaway: Don’t get caught off-guard. This checklist covers everything you need so you are ready for when hunting season starts.

 Deer season is just around the corner–are you ready?

A successful season typically requires a lot of pre-season prep, and having everything ready to go long before opening day helps ensure your hunt goes smoothly.

Have you thought of everything? Read on for a pre-season checklist.

Gear Inspection and Prep

Weapons and Optics

  • Bows: Inspect limbs, cams, and strings for wear or separation. Wax strings and replace anything that looks questionable. Shoot regularly to build consistency.

  • Rifles: Clean and oil your rifle. Check the scope for secure mounting and check zero at the range.

  • Broadheads and bullets: Use an arrow spinner to check straightness and alignment. Any wobbling at the tip of your broadhead could cause poor arrow flight.

Clothing and Footwear

  • Wash everything with scent-free detergent

  • Check for holes, worn seams, and fading

  • Break in new footwear

  • Verify waterproofing

Safety and Navigation

  • If you use them, inspect your treestands, ladders stands, and climbing sticks. Look for rust, loose fasteners, cracks, and frayed straps. Repair or replace as needed.

  • Test your full-body harness and practice using it with a lifeline.

  • Charge handheld GPS units or download mapping apps to your phone. If using an external battery pack, make sure it’s fully charged. Note that Xtra offers enhanced mapping with property boundaries and landowner names and addresses, as well as advanced on-the-ground navigation tools that easily integrated mapping with your trail cam setup using custom pins and paths. Sign up for Xtra here.

  • If needed, treat your clothes with permethrin to protect from tick-borne illnesses.

Stand Hanging and Site Setup

Stand Placement Strategy

  • Hang your stand at a pinch point, funnel, creek crossing, or staging area near food or bedding.

  • Understand where it is that bucks feel safe moving in daylight.

Pre-Hang Work

  • Hang your stands as early as you can so deer will have time to acclimate to their presence and forget about any human pressure you may have put on the area.

  • If you trim shooting lanes for visibility, do so conservatively to reduce noise and exposure

  • Use quiet, scent-free methods when hanging stands.

Map Scouting

Why Map Scouting Is Important

Scouting your hunting area using maps is an important pre-hunt activity. Whether you are hunting in remote public lands or on your family farm, knowing the land from the perspective of a map can inform where and how you hunt.

What to Look For

  • Topography: Study the contour lines to find saddles, ridges, and draws that deer may use to move undetected.

  • Water: The presence of creeks, ponds, and low spots can concentrate traffic.

  • Using satellite map features, mark nearby ag fields, oak stands, or natural browse areas.

  • Access points: Study your target hunting areas and trailhead or access point to understand how you can get in and out of your stand without spooking deer, especially under different wind conditions.

  • Xtra, an add-on to Tactacam REVEAL plans starting at just $4 a month, includes enhanced mapping that lets you view property boundaries, property information, and property access, and includes shape and path drawing tools, new custom pins, and more.

Game Camera Strategy

Camera Placement Location Tips

  • Mineral licks: Good location for inventorying and early patterning

  • Trails from bedding to feeding areas: These spots increase in value the closer you get to opening day

  • Field edges and corners: Monitor evening movement patterns over food sources.

  • Water source: May be particularly valuable on hot days or during the rut when bucks need more water due to increased movement

  • Power management: When placing your cameras, make sure your power management game is set–this can include a lithium cartridge, solar panel, folding solar panel, and/or battery belt

Inspect and Prep

Make sure your trail cameras are ready to go and deployed in the field long before opening day. When you are ready to place them:

  • Ensure batteries are fully charged

  • Format and label SD cards if you are still using them–Ultra and the REVEAL 3.0 series cameras have internal memory, so SD cards are optional

  • With the cameras in place, test field of view, motion activation settings, flash settings, and other camera settings

Cellular Cameras

  • Activate and update before heading out

  • Ensure you have the most recent version of the REVEAL app

Other Items to Check

  • Inspect your tent for wear and tear, or missing stakes or cracked poles

  • Wash or air out sleeping bags and pillows

  • Fill camping stove fuel canisters and ensure all cutlery is present

  • Inspect your camper for wear and tear, or missing items

  • Practice shooting in your hunting clothes

  • Double-check the content of your pack, including tags, snacks, water, license, and first aid kit

  • If hunting private land, make sure to communicate and coordinate your plans with land owners

  • Get in shape–it will make those long hikes and climbs that much easier