Don't put off until tomorrow...

I think it was Benjamin Franklin that once said, "Don't put off until tomorrow, that which can be done today."  ...probably all of our parents, spouses, and bosses have told us that from time to time as well!  :-)

Well... add me to the list, because I'm telling you!

If you're like me, things can get pretty crazy around the house, with work, with the kids, with commitments that we've agreed to and promised other people, etc. and we lose track of time.  While we're able to juggle most of our "important" responsibilities, sometimes the "other" things we need to remember to get taken care of get overlooked - namely prepping for the upcoming turkey season!

As we head out of February, and start into March, for many of us across the U.S., we have some turkey seasons kicking off between mid-March and early April.  Among all the other responsibilities in your lives, don't forget to:

1) Take the decoys out of the closet and make sure the stakes are there, and see if any need a little TLC or whether they might just need to be flat-out replaced;

2) Pull the blind out and see if everything is working right, and if anything needs to be fixed;

3) Double check your bow or shotgun and make sure things are shooting the way they should be, and that your groups or patters are still looking good;

4) Archery hunters - if you use the "head chopper" style broadheads (Bullheads or Gobbler Guillotines), make sure they're ready to go, and that if any need replacing, that you send them in or arrange for any warranty replacements (...something that yours truly needs to get working on!!!!); 

4) Go through your turkey vest to make sure it has everything in it that you need, and that it's organized in a manner that will be useful and handy when you get out into the field; and - maybe most importantly -

5) Double-check with the landowners that own the land you might be wanting to hunt on, and make sure you're still good-to-go, have permission, that you won't be messing up anything that they have planned out there this spring, and that you offer to help them take care of whatever it is they might need taken care of out there.  ...take care of your landowners, and they'll be more likely to continue taking care of you!

Over the next few weeks, if you can start taking care of odds and ends now, you'll be more prepared - and more relaxed and unstressed - when the season actually rolls around.

Oh...and if there happens to be a youth, a significant other, or a "new hunter" that might be interested in tagging along with you this year, start putting the plans in place to TAKE THEM!!!!  :-)