Hunting & Prepping Mistakes Have Much in Common

In many parts of the country, deer season has arrived or is right around the corner. Other animals will also become fair game soon if they haven’t already.  

Whether you are a long-time hunter or you’re relatively new to this activity, you could probably benefit from learning about mistakes other folks have made while hunting.

And surprisingly, I’ve found that a number of those errors can be closely compared to miscues some people make in their general preparedness plans.

Today I want to mention a few of those mistakes so you can avoid them. Both in your hunting and preparedness activities.

Don’t procrastinate 

If you’re a hunter, hopefully you have your tree stand hung by now. When hunters wait too long in the summer to do this, they sometimes find few deer in the area when they set up camp.

It’s difficult to hang a tree stand without making noise. Cutting shooting lanes and all the walking around that entails can scare off deer that might otherwise hang around the area. 

This reminds me of people who wait too long to stockpile survival items. Including food, power, and water filtration items.

They have good intentions and figure they’ll get at it eventually. But then a crisis hits and they kick themselves for not having done it sooner.

A crisis could happen at any time. Why wait around and risk being unprepared?

Don’t rush into it

An opposite problem for hunters is carrying out a chore too early. I’m referring to planting food plots. Early August is an ideal time if there’s been rainfall. 

But if it’s been a dry summer as this one has been in many areas, it’s better to wait. Food plots that stay in the ground too long due to dryness won’t attract deer and other animals like the ones that benefit from rain later in the season.

You may be wondering how that can compare with preparedness. After all, it’s never too early to prepare for an uncertain future, right?

That’s true. But if preparing is done too hurriedly without a plan, you may wind up with more than enough of some items and not enough of others. Think first about what you’ll need to be fully ready for a variety of emergencies. Then gather what you can over time.

Don’t overdo it

Many hunters will set up cameras in their hunting grounds in order to check on the number of deer that frequent the area. 

But if you have to go on site to accomplish that task, you may convince deer and other animals it’s not a safe area for them. Assuming you spread out your cameras in June and check them in August, try to limit another on-site visit to just one this month.

Check your cameras as often as you want, as long as you’re doing it remotely so you don’t scare off your game. 

Speaking of checking in, when stockpiling be sure to check the expiration dates of the cans in your cans in your stash periodically, rotating them out when necessary. 

And remember to keep them in a dry, cool place away from light and protected from critters.

Don’t ignore new data

Another mistake some hunters make is relying too heavily on old information and not enough on current info.

They’ve studied the habits of deer and other animals in the past and are relying on that data to tell them where deer are congregating and what their habits are. But like the weather, those things can change. It’s important to stay current on their patterns. 

How does that relate to preparedness? Well, if you’re depending on old weather patterns to guide your preparedness plans, you might want to rethink your process…  

The fact is, weather patterns have changed dramatically in recent years. We have many more extreme weather events than we used to. And they last longer than previously. Stay up to date with weather patterns in your area. Knowing where storms are and where they’re headed could save your life in a crisis.    

Don’t be overconfident 

Some hunters – probably more than we think – believe they’ve learned everything there is to know about hunting. As a result, they become overconfident but then sometimes go home empty-handed.

Smart hunters realize they will never know everything about their craft. So they spend some of their free time studying the latest trends – in books, on the Internet, and in conversations with other hunters. They learn things that make them better, smarter, and safer hunters.

Of course, the same thing is true with preparedness. Even if you already have a good supply of backup power, emergency food, and water filtration items, there is plenty to learn about your craft by reading. 

The 4Patriots website contains hundreds of articles about preparedness. And there are plenty of books on this subject that can help make you better at getting ready for disasters.

Don’t avoid research

Returning to a couple of themes I mentioned earlier – being organized and not procrastinating – I want to mention two more things.

For a hunter, cutting game without a clue as to how it should be done could end up being wasteful. Learn how to do this before you need to. And getting your meat into a cooler as soon as possible is very important for keeping it fresh.

Similarly, if you’re preparing for an inevitable emergency, do your research first to learn what you need to stockpile and how best to store it.

In addition, while you don’t want to rush into preparing without a plan, you don’t want to dilly dally either. You should make sure you’re well on your way to being prepared before a disaster strikes. 

I hope some of the thoughts in this communication resonated with you. Whether you are a hunter or are into preparedness – or both – it’s important to learn from others’ mistakes. The result will be becoming better at whatever you do.