Opening day is fast approaching and now is the time to be practicing whether you muzzleloader, archery or rifle hunt. Don't assume that your gun or bow is still sighted-in from last season as a number of things could have happened between then and now that could throw off the alignment. For you bowhunters, developing the muscle memory of pulling that string back is important and will certainly help you as the temperature gets cooler and more clothing is layered.
As many of you who have played competitive sports know, you don't just join the team and then go play the game. You spend weeks in practices getting ready for the games. Over and over again you do the same things ad nauseum. But there are reasons for this, not just that the coach enjoys seeing you and the others sweat and suffer. It is to get you ready for what might happen in the game and so when it does happen in the game, you don't have to think about it, you just do what you need to do.
The key to practice is to practice what you will encounter in the woods. In all my hunting years, I have yet to have a shot in the field like the straight up, straight on shots that are common at the range. So, I practice the shots I anticipate I might have in the woods - kneeling, sitting, leaning over/around a limb, elevated from a treestand, in the ground blind I plan to hunt out of, etc. I practice at different distances to determine my effective range. I practice nearly every day. I practice because I owe it to the animals I hunt to make a quick, humane kill.
Practice doesn't have to be drudgery - change things up and make a game of it. Go here to get some free fun targets: http://www.targetz.com/fun01.htm
Keep this in mind...practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent.
