Hunting is a dangerous hobby. It involves roaming around in wildlife and carrying around a gun or a knife. As a result, you’ll get into situations you don’t encounter in your daily city life. The hunting grounds have a lot of uncontrollable elements, and that’s what makes it dangerous. But it will only be risky if you don’t plan and prepare, so here’s what you need to know to hunt safely and enjoy it.
If you want to go out and enjoy the thrill of hunting, it’s best to know the things you need to do to get ready for the actual hunt. A lot goes on in the background that you need to take care of to have a smooth-sailing hunting experience.
If you’re just trying to get into hunting, you’ll have to secure a state hunting license. In most states, this hunting license is given as a certification or in the form of an ID card. This serves as proof that you have undergone some basic hunting training and have taken hunting safety courses.
Hunting licenses allow you to legally hunt on permitted hunting grounds or areas where there are regulations. The hunting license also lets you obtain hunting tags—a permit that authorizes you to hunt certain kinds of animals.
To get your hunting license, you have to go to your state’s Natural Resources and Wildlife Department and present your state identification card. If you can’t go in person, you can also purchase your hunting license on your state government’s website.
Whether you have or haven’t been to the hunting ground of your choice, go and visit it. When you do an ocular visit, study the terrain. Get a map of the place to familiarize yourself with the area—this is important especially for first-timers. On the other hand, for those who have been in the same hunting ground, it helps you get updated on what has changed since the last time you were there.
Find out the weather in the area. Get to know the hiding spots of the animals you’re permitted to hunt. If you plan to go hunting for several days, find out if there’s a safe area where you can camp out or if there’s a cabin you can stay in. In addition, find out if the hunting ground has other hunters. All these things account for planning a safe hunting trip.
Once you’re done assessing the risk and planning your hunt based on the territory of your choice, it’s time to buy your hunting gear. Here’s a checklist of what you will need.
Clothing—the following articles of clothing is what you’ll need for the hunt:
Boots: For boots, you’ll need to get something that’s waterproof and that can keep your feet comfortable in different weather conditions.
Hunting backpack: You’ll want to go for something that fits your needs. If it’s a single-day hunt, a small backpack will do. If it involves camping out, buy a larger one but make sure you can comfortably walk and hike around with it. Also, don’t forget to buy something with a lot of pockets and is waterproof.
Other essential hunting items—these are camping items that you’ll need if you’re camping out:
You’ll need to prepare your body for the hunting activity. Make sure you put in some conditioning exercises so your body can keep up with the demands of chasing down the game. You’ll need physical strength if you’re going to carry and lift an animal that weighs a hundred pounds or more. Here are some exercises you can do to help improve conditioning.
Running: You can start long-distance running at your own pace. Start with 1 to 2 miles, then work your way up. This will increase your endurance and stamina. In addition, it will condition your legs to run without your muscles aching afterward. During your pace runs, do some sprint intervals so you can pump up your cardiovascular health.
Planks: This exercise helps tighten your core and gives you the balance you need to carry the game on your back, or when trying to cross a river with strong currents. Do a plank every day for half 30 seconds and gradually increase it in 30-second increments every week.
Lunges: This will strengthen your lower body and make you more agile when running or climbing. You can do this with or without weights. Do three sets with twenty reps of this every day until hunting day.
Old-time hunting knives have a traditional look, with the knife designs specially made to fulfill the needs of a hunter or a camper in the hunting ground. Buy the Old Timer Pocket Knife for your camping needs, that is, for opening cans, cutting food ingredients, or even starting a fire.
There are also Old Timer knives that are used for field game dressing. The Old Timer 165OT Woodsman, for example, has a fixed blade and a full tang that’s built for dressing an animal. The Old Timer Sharpfinger is for skinning an animal, but it can also be used for deboning and cutting meat and even fish.
Bring several of these old knives with you during your hunting trip. You’re going to need several of them as substitutes for each other. In addition, unexpected situations may result in losing some of your tools, and you’ll need to have a spare knife to perform necessary activities.
The Old Timer Knife is one piece of tool that represents the essence of the hunting experience. There’s nothing quite like dressing your game and preparing it for a meal to enjoy or as a trophy that you can take home. These experiences can only be done with a hunting knife.
Be sure to follow all the necessary prep work for your hunting. To have fun hunting is to do it safely and responsibly. But most importantly, don’t forget to bring your Old Timer knives so you can capture the essence of the hunting experience.
