By: Ted Nugent
Sure. I know. It’s just the beginning of summertime and our beloved huntseason is still a longways off.
Unless of course you are ready for the California and Florida deerseasons in July!
But lament not my Spirit BloodBrothers of the Backstrap Tribe, for what we do this time of year can and should play a major role in how effective we can be once the season is upon us and we climb aboard our much-anticipated ambush deerstand.
Even though the annual rock-n-roll outrage summer tour is about to erupt for this old guitar slaying backstrapper, (and I can’t wait!) I nonetheless remain deeply in touch with the pulse of my nature relationship pretty much every day all year long.
I run a varmint trapline throughout the year to keep the vermin in check. In doing so, I tread, explore and examine my hunting grounds nonstop, keeping me in tune with critter activity and movement, observing and gathering critical intelligence that will serve me well come fall.
Simple yet very gratifying outdoor activities like building and hanging bird houses and bird feeders may seem unattached to the hunt, but I assure you that my powerful connection with songbirds and assorted small critters continues to teach me much about the sights, sounds and conditions of nature that will surely assist me in continuing to hone my important, stealthy predator awareness.
And speaking of birdfeeders, just like I did when I was a tad of a young’un sixty plus years ago in Detroit, I actually still have a little blind by the feeders next to the backporch by the smoker and grill, ready to whack an unsuspecting bully blue-jay, English sparrow, starling, grackle or red squirrel that dare play havoc on my plethora of beautiful songbirds.
The sniper trigger on my dad’s old Remington model 41 Targetmaster singleshot bolt-action .22 rifle with its tiny buckhorn iron sights may very well represent the definitive aim small miss small training discipline when trying to center-shoot these fidgety little birds.
I have found that daily sniper practice with the old rifle is the ultimate practice routine for my archery trigger release control and focus.
Triggertime, any triggertime will go a longways in muscle memory training for the millions of bowhunters who use a mechanical trigger release, and of course this muscle memory practice is perfect for all firearms efficiency.
Exploring my forests and swamps with my beloved dogs Happy, Sadie and Coco each day puts me in direct contact with the grounds that will call my name come October.
And again, when they tree a bushytail way up high in the leafy oak trees, that aim small miss small, marksmanship trigger control, along with stealthy positioning and timing for the very challenging squirrel shot is phenomenal practice for the real thing come deerseason.
Of course I shoot my Mathews each day at varying ranges for the simple reason I just love it, but doing so is critical for that upcoming sure to arrive moment of truth, and as we all know, killer archery demands constant honing and dedication.
Foodplots are in, mineral blocks are out, crops are coming up, the fish are biting, guitars are tuned up and ready for battle, and the Great Spirit of the Wild gets more intense every day, every year.
The best time to enjoy the outdoors is every moment you can muster. It might not be quite as thrilling as the month of November, but the worst day in the outdoors is certainly better than any day indoors.
Get out there and do it! As far as I am concerned, everything outdoors is a thrill that will cleanse the soul and stimulate the spirit. Get it on! Go for it! Live it up! Go wild like you mean it every chance you get!